Christmas 2011

On Christmas Eve the girls went to a party with Nana and G-Daddy (and no parents!), welcomed Grammie Ellen and Uncle Scott to the house, had a lovely dinner, and then got into their new Christmas pajamas.  Since they ask for hot chocolate all the time we thought these were fitting holiday pajamas.

We had decided that the girls would each open three presents before bed, and Nana picked the ones that would be best to open and put them before the girls.

They loved all of their gifts - here are some exuberant thank-you hugs for G-Daddy and Nana.

But after they had opened their three gifts they got concerned that the adults hadn't opened any, and wanted to give out the gifts to everyone else.  It was so sweet that they weren't asking for more gifts, and just wanted to give to others, that we let them stay up for the adult portion of Christmas Eve and we all opened our gifts together.

They left out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer and then went straight to sleep.  In the morning, Santa had arrived, leaving a note and more presents.

The stocking-opening was festive, the girls appreciated all of their new items, and we all had a nice time watching them, sipping coffee, and playing together.

Doctor dress-up sets from the stockings:

Pedicure set from Uncle Scott.

Elena with her new tag reader and tag book - she is loving "reading" her own books with this.

And Clara is, too:

Then we worked our way out of pajamas and into Christmas clothes.

Nana showed them a huge nutcracker she got at work - they thought it was a glittery, fantastic toy.

And then, the surprise of looking inside!  Treats, treats, and more treats.

We went over to see Nana Rose's family at Nanny's house, and had a fantastic time with family all around.  This is the "Rose" picture - Nana Rose, Aunt Rose, and Elena Ashley Rose.

At one point we found the girls hiding behind the sofa eating cookies - they hadn't eaten much actual food all day, so we re-directed the to some ham, veggies, and water before we let them back at the treats.

Here they are with cousin Rachel, who is their favorite!  She helped them find all of their presents under the tree at this house and let them start opening.

New Christmas view masters!  And of slides, and several other sweet gifts, too.

Such lucky little girls to be surrounded by so many people who adore them.  On the way home, driving through the desert in the sunset, Elena took this picture of Clara and a little bit of Christina in a Christmas glow.

And that about sums up the feeling of the day.  We hope you had a Merry Christmas, too!