Christmas Day

Christmas Day started off with an excited Brian waking us up, he was so ready to go downstairs, he had already gotten himself dressed for the day!  (Usually he prefers to get dressed after breakfast.)  I was proud of his initiative, but had secretly been wanting cute present-opening-in-PJs pictures.  We went to get Kendall, who was looking so cute and happy in her crib this morning, then we all headed downstairs and had breakfast first.  While I was getting it ready, we played a game in which Brandon and I had hidden six presents around the kitchen and asked Brian to find them.  They were six Lego Star Wars minikits, which came in Star Wars planets!  Brian enjoyed finding them all, and it was fun watching him search all over.  During breakfast, Kendall got thoroughly covered in food, to the point of needing a bath!  So, I wasn’t going to get pictures of her in her Christmas PJs, either–oh well.  🙂  Brian was able to keep his excitement in check long enough for Kendall to get cleaned up a bit (wow!) and then it was time for present madness!

Brian’s initial reaction to Present Mountain was “Oh..  He didn’t come.”  Which was really confusing for us!  We haven’t made a big deal about Santa at our house, and we’ve never told Brian that his presents came from the big guy..  I’m not sure what he was expecting, but he didn’t seem particularly disappointed, and dove joyfully into opening presents.  He brought gifts to everyone, took turns with Kendall, and helped Kendall with the wrapping on her gifts when she needed it.  Both kids really liked the Lego Duplo Creative Cakes, and started building with them immediately!  Brian got a Darth Vader flashlight and a Stormtrooper alarm clock, books, even a Nyan Cat plush because he’d been so into Nyan Cat earlier this year.   He also got some specially-shaped Magnatiles, and I was touched with how excited he was to get the dry-erase markerboard he’d asked for.  It seemed like such a simple thing, but he was so happy he was about to cry, because we’d remembered that he’d really wanted it.  He got some customized Cars books that had his name and his friends’ names in them, and a cute one called Darth Vader and Son.  Kendall got the plush Nemo that Brian had told us she wanted, and some Crayola Beginnings markers and tub crayons made for little hands.  Brian got a TIE fighter model kit to hang up in his room with his X-Wing, a Cars 2 DS game, a pile of new pajamas, and a cool Lego set that will make a bunch of different vehicles!  He got some more felt food and a space-themed Lightning McQueen and Moon Mission Mater. (This kid really racked up, didn’t he?!)  Mom and Dad didn’t do too bad either, with Brandon getting a set of 3 programmable universal remotes (one for each floor!)  I’d pre-programmed them most of the way, so it was less of a project and more of a ready-to-use present.  🙂  I was totally surprised with a brand new laptop, top of the line and completely tricked out.  😀

After Kendall’s nap, we headed over to Steve and Sue’s place for Christmas dinner.  The kids loved playing with Grandma’s Christmas train, and brought over some of their toys as well (the Creative Cakes continued to be a big hit with both!)  We had a great time, relaxing and enjoying some special family recipes.  The kids got some more presents, including a really sweet Lego Duplo dollhouse!  Kendall (and Brian, too) are sure to get hours of entertainment from that!

At the end of a long day, we were all pretty tired, but I had one more surprise for Brian..  I had the animated short featuring Moon Mission Mater, Roger the space shuttle, and Astronaut Lightning McQueen on our Kindle Fire, and I showed it to Brian during story time.  He just loved it, dissolving into giggles, especially when Lightning gets a little singed on re-entry–“Hot, hothothothothot!!!”

Other than a few uncomfortable Santa-related questions, it was a really perfect day.  We might need to have some further talks about the Man in Red to clear things up with Brian, but he doesn’t seem upset by it all.  Brandon and I are in agreement that the stories and traditions are great, but that we’re always going to come down on the side of honesty with the kids.  It’s quite a contrast to other parents our age that go full-on having their Elf on the Shelf create mischief all over the house, but, we have to do what works for us.  Hopefully, when they are older, our kids will look back and say, Mom and Dad have always been 100% honest with us, even when it wasn’t easy.  We want them to internalize that good behavior is its own reward, not something you do to ensure your name is written in the Nice column.  🙂  Who knows, maybe we’re getting it wrong, and they’ll hate us for not providing enough childhood magic!  But, we’re just doing our best, figuring it out as we go along, like all parents do.  No matter what, as long as these two know just how much we love them, we’ll have done something right.

We love you, Brian and Kendall!  You’re the best presents a Mom and Dad could ever wish for.