Merry Christmas!

Finally... my Christmas post! We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas this year! Marc had to work the day after Christmas, so we weren't leaving for any travel until Saturday afternoon. Because of this, we got to spend ALL of Christmas in our p.j.'s at home. It was GREAT! We slept in, ate Grandma DePauw's cinnamon rolls, played with toys and games, made a big ham dinner, enjoyed a few visitors, and even got to relax when the kids were napping.

We started the morning by bringing Sadie upstairs (she didn't like me putting her blanket over her head while we walked through the living room!) We all piled on our bed and read the Christmas story and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.

Kinnick was happier once he escaped his sister...

When we got downstairs, the kids got to check out their Santa presents first. Kinnick liked pushing around his big firetruck.

Sadie was pretty excited about her new talking babydoll--it came with a highchair, pack & play, stroller, and diaper bag. The baby tells you what it wants and responds when you put it into the right place. Kinnick decided to take the little bottle and hide it (he's notorious for this!) and the baby kept saying "I'm hungry, feed me!" and crying. We couldn't find the bottle, so we finally had to turn it off. (We did find it later inside of my china hutch.)

Sadie was thrilled that Santa left her this red cookie--she ate it while we were opening presents. She also enjoyed his note (confirming that he is indeed a Hawkeye fan) and picture.

Sadie helped me put the presents under the tree and she knew what every one's wrapping paper looked like. She was very excited to help sort the presents and couldn't wait to open! Kinnick had fun also, but he got very easily distracted.

Sadie was super excited about this golf set like her dad's. She immediately wanted to hang it up in the garage with her dad's clubs. They haven't got to play too much because she wants to do it outside. She had it out when her friends Carson & Megan came over, but she was very concerned that they were going to loose the golf balls. (I think she's just a bit particular about things!)

The kids opened their "Big" present last. It was a big trash bag with a sled for Kinnnick and a dress-up bin (with a few new outfits) for Sadie. Kinnick LOVED sitting in this sled--he was content to sit in it for much of the morning. Sadie was excited also and confident that her brother would love to share his sled.

We saved the stockings for last. Sadie was very pleased to find that Santa did not forget her "balls and candy"--this is what she has been requesting for weeks leading up to Christmas. The kids were excited for some bath foam and fizzies as well as matching cups.

We gave them their new ornaments last and added them to the tree:

Sadie got an "S" this year because she has learned how to spell her name and recognizes letter s anywhere we go. She said "S for Sadie!"

Kinnick got a football because he loves any type of balls. He loves to chase them, throw them, etc. It also has a picture from his 1-year old Hawkeye birthday party.

As the day went on, we got to enjoy many performances from our little cheese ball. This dress-up outfit and the wings were in her new dress up bin. She couldn't wait to put them on and run to get her microphone. She loves to sing and dance for us.

2009 was a wonderful Christmas for us! We feel truly blessed by our amazing little family. We're excited that it is growing and excited to see what this year has in store!