Christmas!!!

When I look back on my Christmas memories, the ones that I remember best are when we got new bikes, or a really special homemade/sentimental gift. I can remember three separate Christmases with bikes under the tree and we always went and tried them out immediately. My mom also crocheted each of us a blanket (4 kids) one year, and made us all photo albums from birth to high school. This was back before digital so it was a lot more work. I still have the album and love looking at the baby photos especially since we are always wanting to compare how our kids look at the same age.



Though our kids are still really young, I hope at least these photos will help them remember Christmas this year because we had all the makings for a fabulous day!




We definitely earned our stripes as parents this year- staying up late to finish sewing a tent for Claire's room and assembling bikes and a train table. We had Christmas morning at home this year, and it was nice to have the kids in their own rooms. We invited Matt's family over for breakfast and had a nice time just hanging out and playing. We made it a pajama party and we went out and bought holiday PJs. Matt made a few impulse buys at Old Navy while waiting in line - the shirt he is wearing "Meet Me Under the Mistletoe" was only $2! And, it was a women's XL. :)


Here is the tent for Claire's room - it looks a little crooked in this photo because the base wasn't centered. This took me FOREVER to sew - I finally finished it at 2 am on Christmas - though I still need to add Velcro to the base and sides. It would have been faster if I sewed more often; I made a few dumb mistakes and had to redo things. It turned out cute and Claire has already slept in it twice, which I knew she would try since I find her asleep on the floor with her Pillow Pet at least once a week.