Merry Christmas!

There is something so magical about being four and two at Christmas - old enough to understand what's going on, but still young enough to be whisked up in the enchantment of it all. It didn't seem to matter if the present was big or small - everything produced an excited, genuine smile, along with a few bursts of "Mommy look!" or "I love it!" and the occasional giggle. I made sure to take it all in, with all its glory, knowing that these days are all too short-lived....
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The girls were still sleeping at 8:30, so Josh and I decided to wake them up (thankfully, he has gotten past his urge to get things started at 6am!) Daddy talked with them in Kaylee's room while I prepped the video camera. They rushed out to the living room to find an exciting gift from Santa... a wooden princess castle!

Then it was on to stockings. Like I said... it didn't take much to get them excited!

(I hate to post a picture of myself in all my morning glory but somehow this ended up being the only picture of me on Christmas day! I keep joking to Josh that one day the kids are going to look back through our pictures and wonder if they had a mother! :-) )

Then it was on to presents! The girls loved everything (and I'm not gonna lie...they weren't exactly lacking in the number of things to love!) but here were a few of the highlights...

A dinosaur for Jadyn from Kaylee (it walks and roars)....

Some cutting food for Kaylee from Jadyn (this could seriously entertain them for hours...)

A Snow White baby for Jadyn...

The Strawberry Shortcake Cafe, Car, and Doll

Kaylee also got a little Disney MP3 player which she LOVES. Daddy loaded a few of her favorite songs onto it for her and we couldn't help but crack up as she walked through the house singing them at the top of her lungs. (Not sure how we didn't get a picture or video of it! Funny stuff.)

Round Two was at Grandma and Grandpa Beck's house. My dad had knee replacement surgery on Monday and was still in a lot of pain, but we were so happy to have him home with us. I feel so thankful to have my family so close and we all had a wonderful day together! (And again, the girls were spoiled rotten and loved every last minute of it!)

I have to say that this may have been my favorite Christmas ever. The only thing that could make this better is sharing it with our little boy. So here's to an even more amazing Christmas next year!

(This is a picture of the girls in their new Snow White cottage that Jadyn got with her money from Grandma and Grandpa McCulloch. They seriously never want to leave the thing! Which is totally cute... until Mommy needs them for something and they run and hide in the back of it, knowing it's a little challenging for Mommy to crawl in there after them with her rather round tummy! Smart little things!)