Running from the Law: Santa Was Here!

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Santa Was Here!

Christmas morning at our house was absolutely magical this year. As much as I thought Mac got Christmas last year, he really got it and got excited about it this year, making it our best year yet. We had an entire month of Christmas celebration and countdown, including doing Elf on the Shelf (which I swore I'd NEVER do...totally eating my words on that one) and an advent calendar filled with fun adventures like a ride on the Polar Express, neighborhood caroling, a horse-drawn carriage ride through the park to see Christmas lights, charitable giving and a visit to Santa. Doing all those things and having Mac wake up with such excitement and magic in his eyes made it all worth it. 

But as any parent of young germ-infested children knows, things don't always go according to plan. Unfortunately, two days before Christmas my husband came down with a very nasty case of the stomach flu, which took him out of commission for the entire weekend. Not only did he miss Christmas Eve dinner at his parents house (his favorite meal of the year), he couldn't even stay up with me to help set-up and prep the room for Santa's visit. I know it broke his heart and he's promised to do all the work next year, but I have to admit it was a bit lonely doing it all by myself this year. Thankfully, he did good job quarantining himself from the rest of us and no one else got sick (yet...knock on wood).  

While we parents might not feel the same type of Christmas magic as our kids, there's still something pretty special about making Christmas magical for them and I've taken great pleasure in it this year. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this on the blog before, but Ryan's family has a tradition where all the stuffed animals in the house make their way to the tree to see all the presents that Santa brings. When Ryan and his brother were little, their animals could be found Christmas morning on the raft that Santa brought, hanging out in the tree, playing with trains or just scattered around the room checking out the presents. I love this tradition and I'm excited to pass this on to our kids! Mac was blown away Christmas morning to see all his "babies" hanging out on the presents - he kept asking me how they got there and whether they got to meet Santa. It was adorable. It also makes the pile of gifts look huge and like the kids received 10 times the amount of gifts! 
Mim woke up first on Christmas morning, so we kept her up in bed with us snuggling until she could no longer wait. Girlfriend wakes up HUNGRY and in desperate need of a bowl of cereal and some Curious George, so we made our way to the kitchen to occupy her and give her a snack until Mac woke up a few minutes later. I think he initially forgot that it was Christmas, but once he remembered, he couldn't wait to get downstairs and see if his medical tools arrived. 
Just like last year, the first thing he broke into was his stocking, which was filled with some small gifts and candy. He insisted on eating the candy IMMEDIATELY and was so fixated on it that we couldn't get him to concentrate on any other gifts until we took it away and hid it, resulting in a meltdown from both kids. Mim didn't care about the presents AT ALL and only wanted breakfast as soon as humanly possible. We kept dragging her back into the living room and she kept running back into the kitchen, climbing into her high chair and yelling, "EAT EAT EAT!!" So, Ryan fed her breakfast while I opened gifts with Mac (there was no stopping him now).
As I previously mentioned, Mac requested medical tools (for a vet clinic) and a new garbage truck from Santa and boy, did he deliver! His "real" medical tools came in a sleek black doctor bag and included things like a blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, tongue depressors, syringes, animal x-rays, gauze/bandages, otoscope, reflex hammer, clipboard, lab coat and pen light. He was blown away! Not only did Santa bring all those goodies, but our whole family played along and got him giant stuffed animals for his clinic, pet carriers, books on being a veterinarian and other fun stuff. He's totally set for Mizzou vet school - class of 2038 (or something insanely futuristic-sounding). 
Mac currently has possession and control of my old iPad, much to Mim's shock and horror, so she just might have gotten her own iPad for Christmas (aka: Ryan's new iPad for work travel). It's preloaded with a bunch of obnoxious peek-a-boo apps that she loves and Frozen, so her life is infinitely better these days. Otherwise, she got some clothes, hat/gloves, books, a chair, some diapers, toothpaste, shampoo and vitamins. 
The rest of Mac's haul consisted of a new garbage truck, books, Play-Doh, sunglasses, Disney movies, a giant stingray, socks and Hot Wheel cars. Both kids also got personalized Christmas shirts (from Leah) and plates (from Liz). It sounds like a lot, but I think Santa did a good job this year cutting back on the crap and focused more on quality items that the kids could wear, read, need or use for years to come. Good job, Santa. 
So yeah, that was our Christmas morning! It was so much fun, but over in the blink of an eye. Right around the time the last present was being opened, my mom arrived for Christmas brunch with my family, which we hosted this year for 10 adults and 4 kids (plus  2 dogs, 1 cat, a dozen fish and a guinea pig - all of which received gifts and a stocking!). We love our zoo and wouldn't have it any other way! 

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas as well! 

19 comments:

  1. So great! And I especially love the stuffed animal tradition! Noah would love that :). And where did you find real doctors equipment for Mac??? So cool!

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  2. I loved the stuffed animal tradition the first time I saw it.... It's seriously the cutest!! These pictures are amazing... I can FEEL the excitement! Dr. Mac is so cute!! I love that picture of Mim looking up at you!! So sad Ryan was so sick but hoping no one else ends up with it!! ;)

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  3. Looks like a fabulous Christmas! So sorry your husband was sick though. That stuffed animal tradition is the cutest thing ever! Odette would love it :) She usually has about 20 stuffed animals sleep in her bed every night.

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  4. That stuffed animal tradition is perfect! So cute! Cash actually has that same green monkey. His name is Bugaloo. :) Merry Christmas, friend!

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  5. Love those first few pictures of Mac on Christmas morning! And what a fun tradition with the stuffed animals!!!

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  6. LOVE these pictures!!! The kids look so excited and happy opening their presents! Mac's face when he saw the candy is amazing. I love that they get so excited over the little things. This year Mason actually got it too and it made it 1000000 times more fun! Even though the magic of Christmas has worn off from when I was a kid, having a kid of my own makes it all come back again. I LOVE celebrating for Mason's sake!

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  7. Ok, funnest tradition EVER! Having the stuffies set out is too precious! And that stuffed manta ray is too cute! Love your pictures (as always.) So glad you had a great (though tear filled, and who hasnt, right?) Christmas!!!

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  8. Ugh we had the flu run through our house too!! I'm actually just sitting down at my computer for the first time since Christmas, ready to download photos and figuring out how to write about what has been a very trying week. We all got sick, then my parents got sick Christmas morning, my brother a day later, and my MIL that day too. Seriously???? Glad your husband recovered quickly!! Looks like a great morning.

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  9. Such great pictures. I really like the one of Mac listening to your heart, such a sweet moment. & Mim's jammies - to die for!

    PS - I want that giant stingray, he's cool! :)

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  10. Aww, thew kids look like they got some awesome toys!! What fun!!

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  11. Wow boy did Mac and Mim really hit the jackpot!!! Love the stingray stuffy and the bear or dog? You got gorgeous photos.

    liz @ sundays with sophie

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  12. Looks like you had a great Christmas minus the fact that your Husband was sick, no fun to do the prep by yourself!
    Such a nice tradition with the stuffed animals, love hearing about others traditions! Christmas is so much better through the eyes of children!

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  13. Love the stuffed animal tradition and that Mickey with bunny ears! Too funny about Mim and her breakfast. I can definitely relate. Food + coffee before conversation. Always. ;) That garbage truck is legit. Ez would be in heaven. And if Mac follows through on his vet obsession how fun will it be for him to look back on this Christmas as the start of it all?

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  14. can we talk about the stuffed animal thing? because that? thats my FAVORITE. its so freaking adorable.

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  15. Aww! Best Christmas ever! Love all of the pictures. :) cam actually got the exact same plate as Mac. Ha ha! Great minds. So glad you had such a great Christmas, minus the stomach bug. Glad no one else got that.

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  16. So cool that Mac got a real doctors kit!! I love the last pictures of him wearing the stethoscope. And the first one of him rubbing the sleep out of his eyes! :) I hate that your husband had the stomach bug...that is no fun at all, but totally amazing he was able to keep you guys from getting it!

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  17. I love the idea of the stuffed animals making their way to the tree!! That's so awesome. I've never heard of that idea, but I love it. And Mac's medical tool kit? Amazeballs! Great pictures, as always! Glad you guys had a good & magical Christmas!!

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  18. It is very good to see that you had a very nice Christmas this year and i hope you will get more interesting Christmas next year. I can see you have so much gifts for your kids and hope you have some interesting books for them as gifts. Books will help your kids to be intelligent and professional superior papers writers online in their future.

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  19. I am happy to see that your Christmas was very nice and you had enjoyed it very well. You have very perfect family and you kids are so cute. I want to see more posts here with beneficent information to write besttermpaper and i want you to share more pictures here of you perfect family.

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