On Christmas Eve, Mike and I went to bed at 12:30am, which has to be some sort of parenting record. The kids’ presents had all been wrapped two days earlier, so we just had to do some arranging of gifts and we were set.
The next morning the rest of my extended family came over, miraculously arriving before the kids woke up. After everyone brought in their gifts, we stood around in the kitchen drinking hot chocolate until Annie finally led James into the kitchen. She was totally amped to go see the presents, but James was more interested in running up to everyone to give them a hug (that will change next year).
We finally let Annie come into the room with the presents after I’d ran ahead. I love that moment when kids see the gifts…all that Christmas magic come true. Annabel did not disappoint.
She ran around the room, pointing at things and squealing. She even brought James over to his big present, a slide, and encouraged him to come down by saying, “Don’t worry, buddy, I’ll catch you!”
At first, James was like, “There’s a slide in here…and some tents…and all of these boxes and people, WTF is happening?!” But he eventually warmed up when he realized there were things he could climb around and carry.
After everyone had a pile of presents at their feet, I sat back and watched each one get ripped open. I adore giving presents and making people happy, so cheesy as it is, I love watching people open gifts on Christmas morning. Especially my kids.
James meticulously ripped tiny pieces of paper off of each present. It took him approximately ten minutes to open each gift, and he couldn’t have been happier about it.
And then there was Annabel, who tore through each present and shrieked with delight the second she realized what was inside.
After the presents were open, I spent several hours assembling things, and by that I mean I called several help hotlines, visited troubleshooting websites, and requested a few replacement parts. Seriously, kids’ toys are the worst.
Later in the afternoon we headed to my parents’ house, where we met up with several more relatives for dinner. My brother took our annual family picture in front of the Christmas tree (minus Rigby, oops!).
I also had Mike take pictures of me with my babies, because there aren’t enough snaps of me with their always-changing faces.
The first Christmas dinner in my parents’ new house was filled with delicious food and laughter, just like all the holidays we’d celebrated in their old house. It was a wonderful day…as Annie said on December 26th, “Christmas was just so perfect, I wish it was Christmas today!”
always
I hope everyone who celebrated a holiday last week had a wonderful time!
samatwitch says:
As I said on FB, I missed seeing those bright little faces but I’m so glad they had a good time.
Wendy says:
Great photos.
I am a take ages to open a present type of person.
Krissy @ Mommy Misc says:
I also wish that it was still Christmas. It’s such a great feeling to see your kids open the gifts and be so excited about them. I love the magical feeling of the entire day.
Kelley Govan says:
You look fantastic! Love the pictures and Happy Holidays to you and your family!
DefendUSA says:
Heather….how do you get your tree photos to sparkle like that? I tried your lens thing last year and it worked out, but your tree looks magical! I have a Sony Alpha 33 or a 5N to use.
Heather says:
You know, the glowing tree photos are a happy accident – they are taken with my iPhone! I just tap different places on the screen until I like the exposure.
Michell DuBose says:
Lovey pictures and recap of the day. I also missed you last week, but I am happy you spent all that time focusing on your family. They are precious.
Tami says:
Merry Christmas Heather and family!! I miss my babies when they were little. I so enjoy seeing your little kids smiles they are so adorable!!!
Annalisa says:
I asked for only one present this year for a similar reason: nothing beats little kids faces opening presents (especially the ones directly from Santa), and I really can’t think of anything that could make ME as happy.
amourningmom says:
Great pictures – & very smart to get some with you in them! Happy holidays to the Spohrs!! xo
Terri says:
Wonderful pictures! I totally failed on the “seeing the presents for the first time” picture. My girls were too fast for me (and they evidently snuck down the stairs before we were up any way). On another note, I saw James on a box of diapers in Target last night and I was all “oh my God, I know him!”. Of course I don’t really know him and my hubby thought I was insane but it still made me excited.
Anna says:
These pictures and your children are all gorgeous, but the one of you and James is breathtaking! I love the little bow tie! Annie and James are so photogenic.
Jana says:
Ha, you should come to Germany. Here Christmas starts on Christmas Eve (not Santa Baby Jesus brings our gifts). And then there are 2 whole days of Christmas to enjoy. And this year a weekend right behind christmas… it felt like 5 days of celebration family and fun.
rachel says:
Merry Christmas Spohr family.
PS: Exquisite photos and beautiful family!