Christmas 2020

 I have no words for Christmas morning because is honestly the most magical day of the year!!! Nothing can possibly do it justice than the feeling that buzzes in the air. Liam woke up first. We huddled together on our bedroom floor working on building his lego he had gotten from Uncle Brendan the night before while we waited for Ya Ya to wake up. She did about 45 minutes later and together we all walked down the stairs to find that Santa had come ...

Not only did he come but he brought Liam the beloved blue bird that he was hoping for and a pink big girl bike for Lyla!

I loved watching the two of them get excited for each other! Liam told Lyla what an awesome bike she got and in return, she told him he should put his blue bird in her basket for a ride!

The swelling on Liam's lip that morning was very much still there but it had gone down enough that he showed a few smiles. They were so excited to open their stockings ... Lyla was in that sweet spot this year at age 3 where she would open one thing and want to play with it right then for a while whereas Liam tore through his whole thing in 5 minutes and was ready to open the ones under the tree. 

Santa brought him a Harry Potter ornament for his Christmas tree to remind him of his first year watching Harry Potter for the first time. 

Dad was so excited to get an Apple watch! We both got one actually and I don't know how we lived without them before. The BEST exercise trackers and motivators. I've also loved the convenience of leaving my phone behind on bike rides with the kids to the playground or going into the library. 

How cute is that expression for a few pairs of new socks!! Love her <3

It was also so cute watching her dump the whole thing out rather than reaching for one thing at a time ... she even got all the way down to the orange!

Lots of fun new art supplies for these two who spend so many hours crafting at the kitchen table together ...

We started a tradition a couple years ago where they find a piece of the wrapping paper that all of the presents belonging to them are wrapped in at the bottom of their stockings. They were so excited to find their own under the tree!

Liam's room is FILLED with treasures ... rocks, gems, sticks, small toys, money ... he really needed a special place for all of his favorite things so we gifted him a wooden box with his name engraved on the top that can be locked closed with a special key. He loves it!

Man, she's cute! Building a flower garden ... a gift from Papa and Grandma Dee in Pocatello!

Haha Every present he opened he gave me some face that looked similar to this one. Such an entertainer with the shock and awe! 

I loved watching them open their gifts from each other this year ... Lyla got Liam a Poke ball and mini Pokemon action figures to go with it. His face says it all!

He picked out her very first princess lego so she would have one to play with too ... 

That spelling!

Matching pajamas on Christmas morning with my girl! <3

I love my people so much!!!

Lining up all of her letter popsicles from Grandma Edie and Pa!

And that beloved "small kitchen" from Santa ... the one she asked for just a couple weeks before Christmas and we had no idea what she meant. haha She spent all morning making us bread ...

Building another lego together!

Matching slippers!

Listening to the fun dancing card sing and searching for the candy in Grandma Sue's gift bag from Pocatello!

I made rhodes rolls cinnamon rolls for breakfast (first time trying them and they turned out amazing, definitely a favorite!). We spent a little bit of time cleaning up the endless wrapping paper, boxes, and ribbons strewn about the living room while the kids began opening some of their new favorite toys to play with. I took Lyla out for a test ride on her bike! She couldn't quite figure out the pedals on her own that day but has since completely mastered it and is whizzing around the neighborhood! I have no doubt she'll be riding it without training wheels this summer. She looks so cute on that pink bike and loves bringing along a baby doll, stuffed animal, or "phone" in her basket!

Midmorning we went over to my dad and Edie's for their incredible brunch! Lots of cousin time, amazing food, and more gift exchanges ...

Lyla got a horsey and has become obsessed with riding him around the living room daily to the Greatest Showman soundtrack! It's my favorite thing ever to watch!!

My favorite part of watching everyone open their gifts is seeing their reactions. I don't remember what my niece Ava was opening but she clearly loved it!!

The cutest toddler nephews in all the land ... they were both my buddies on Christmas morning giving me the cheekiest smiles and wanting to sit on my lap! Cute Matthew ...

And this grinning guy is Noah ...

I love the clapping stage!! 

All of the cousins piled on the couch together to take a family picture but Noah and Matthew were beyond tired at this point so it was just the bigger kids ...

Grandma Edie doing her thing and handing out gifts to everyone ...

Later that night my mom and brother came over to open gifts with us too. We were so spoiled on Christmas day by everyone! Lyla got the cutest hat to match mine and her very own suitcase!

We got Uncle Brendan that travel foam roller but Lyla kept stealing it and packing it around. haha

So grateful for the memories we all made together. They are moments we won't forget. I already miss Christmas!!

Christmas Eve 2020

Much like this whole year, Christmas Eve didn't quite go as planned. haha We made the most of it though ... no snow for our sledding tradition and it was too risky with Covid to go to the fun man-made sledding hill we discovered last year so we did a hike in the beautiful sunshine instead! Our kids are adventurers so they loved it!

In the evening we went to my mom's for dinner as we usually do on Christmas Eve and I brought along a gift for the kids to open ... a new family game of Guess Who! It was a big hit! We not only played it several times that night but many days since. 

Sita gave the kids an early Christmas present too. I cherish these pictures because they are some of the few left where Liam is smiling before the accident to follow. More on that in a minute. Lyla's facial expressions while opening gifts this year did not disappoint. She opened another set of magnet blocks to grow the collection and make even bigger castles! She was thrilled!

Liam opened a really fun ninja game! As parents, we made the mistake of playing it with him inside where there was a lot of obstacles (furniture) and in the middle of a karate kick moment between Liam and dad, he fell and hit his mouth on the edge of the couch. It bled a lot and was tough to tell at first what kind of damage had been done because he refused to let us look but after an hour of icing it, we finally decided to take him in and have it looked at. Nic and I are both "better safe than sorry" kind of parents so even though there wasn't a dentist open on Christmas Eve, the ER ended up being the next best thing. Liam was a total trooper and so much more willing to let the doctor there look at it than us. They offered a prescription for antibiotics to prevent infection and encouraged us to check in with our dentist after the weekend but other than that, they didn't feel like anything needed stitches or immediate attention thankfully. 

In the midst of the bleeding chaos, Uncle Brendan tried to come to the rescue with more gifts to make people feel better. haha He gave Lyla an ice cream playdoh set that she is obsessed with and a Pokemon lego that Liam loved too. He is the best!

I love how she interlocked her fingers with his hand, so sweet. 

Liam's accident happened right before dinner so I was sad to eat without them. We had yummy cheese fondue and meat dipped in different sauces. We saved a plate for Nic when they got back but Liam's lip swelled significantly and his front tooth was hit backwards so he got to have ice cream for Christmas Eve dinner. The silver lining for him in all of this!

After dinner we headed home to put out Santa's cookies and milk and a carrot for each reindeer. This is where the pictures began to get sad. Not only was Liam in pain but he was embarrassed to smile. Poor guy.  

We read them new Christmas stories and tucked them into bed. They were both asleep within minutes. We stayed up just long enough to watch a little bit of a Christmas movie.

Then, Santa came!!! <3

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!