images of christmas

At 6:30 on Christmas morning, I heard the boys wake up and turn their light on. A moment later, they tiptoed into our bedroom, Garrett grinning with anticipation and Caleb, half-asleep, dragging himself behind him. As soon as he was inches from my face, Garrett announced in a voice too excited to truly be called a whisper, "Mom! It's Christmas!"

And so began a magical day. Santa Claus had indeed found our house; he fulfilled all of Garrett's Christmas dreams by bringing him a rocket AND a marble run. Caleb got a new dolly and dolly stroller, Blake got a Kindle (which he loves, even though he is a little disappointed that it didn't come with the "new book smell,") and I, after years of pining for one, finally got a KitchenAid stand mixer. The only hitch was that, for the second year in a row, Caleb was sick. He'd been running a fever for the last several days and exhibiting the symptoms of a really miserable cold. He and I stayed home from church, both of us sad to miss the musical program that had been planned (well, I missed the music; I'm pretty sure Caleb was only bummed because he couldn't leave the house wearing his new backpack) while Blake took Garrett to the chapel with him -- and, because none of his counselors were there, let that lucky little boy sit next to him on the stand.

In the afternoon we spoke with various branches of our families and then cooked eggs Benedict for dinner (a favorite of ours, and far less stressful than trying to cook up a turkey or ham with all the fixings). By the end of the day, we were all ready to call it a good day and collapse into bed, which is exactly what we did.

Below are some snapshots that sum up our holiday.

Sick, snot-nosed Caleb, with his Christmas loot, watching his favorite movie (The Snowman) for the second time in a row.

Sometime during the third viewing, he crashed, and spent the next 2 1/2 hours taking a much-needed nap.

It took a little while for him to warm up to a new dolly, but he has since made the adoption complete, and is taking his parenting role very seriously.

Both boys can't get enough of the "running marbles."

Garrett test flying his new rockets.

And brushing up on a few facts about outer space.

After he, in a fit of two-year-old rage, threw his doll on the floor, Blake decided to give him a lesson in the proper care of an infant, which included gentle cradling, neck support, and burping.

Bare bottoms in the bathtub. Apparently the new foam alphabet letters are too fun to sit down to play with.