Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;
He is the Messiah, the Lord.
- Luke 2:11
Merry Christmas!!
And happy birthday to, Gigi (as Nora would say). This year, I was suspecting Nora would get into opening presents, handing some out, and the general spirit of Christmas so I was really anxious for our Christmas celebrations to begin.
We were on "Santa's Test Run" list. If you haven't heard of the Test Run list before, let me clue you in. On the night of December 23, Santa takes his reindeer and sleigh and goes for a test run to make sure the reindeer are in tip-top shape and everything is working right for the "big night". What a disaster to find out on Christmas Eve that something needs to be fixed. So Santa comes to some houses on Christmas Eve Eve. We were one of the lucky ones to be on that list.
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| Santa is so smart. He knew Nora couldn't read yet so he made gift tags with pictures to show her who each gift was for. |
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| The first gift Nora went towards. I'll give you two guesses as to what it might be (even though I think you might only need one) |
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| If you guessed a shovel, you're right! |
While Nora was excited to open gifts there wasn't as much vigor as I had expected. She'd open one gift and want to play with it for a while - not too interested in opening the next one or tearing through the rest. Which I suppose simply means that her gifts were just that good. Right?
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| After the shovel, a stroller for Baby. She and Baby made many laps around the house before she was ready to open another present. |
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| Nora and Daddy opening a gift together. |
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| Myles' first Christmas present! |
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| He got help from everyone! |
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| Opening a gift with Mommy. |
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| Lala! She loves her Elmo! |
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| This girl loves to put on glasses - she got a pair of plastic lenses to wear around. Don't ask about the cheesy grin plastered on her face. |
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| Let me get out this smudge. |
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| One of the best gifts of the season -- a "mini mug". She thought she was the coolest drinking "coffee" (water) from a mug just like Mommy's and Daddy's. She'd take sips between each and every gift. |
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| Have I mentioned Nora likes Elmo? |
After opening gifts at home, the Guenther clan got ready, loaded into the car, and drove to Wisconsin for Christmas with the extended families - starting with a Christmas Eve celebration at Grandma and Grandpa's.
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| Myles with his most favorite Grandpa! |
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| He got a car! I think he likes it :) |
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| This opening presents thing is tiring. I think I'll take a load off..... here looks good. |
Christmas Eve night was spent at Gram's house. In the morning, Nora woke up to find a special treat.
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| Nora inching closer and closer to Eddie. |
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| Time to start opening gifts! |
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| Nora and Myles checking out his new little zoomers cars. |
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| All dressed up and ready for more family celebrations. |
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| Myles exploring Grandpa Grandpa's glasses. |
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| Love. |
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| This is as close to him she has gone by herself. I consider this progress. Walking by, making eye contact, and even talking a bit.... with no tears! |
After spending time with my side of the family, we headed back to Guenther's for a Christmas night gathering with more family. It was here where she got the gift of the season!
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| Thank you Uncle Bob and Aunt Mary for the Princess Castle/Cottage! It's the coolest - with just a flip of a tab it goes from castle to cottage! |
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| That grin shows just how much she loves it. She tried to play it cool but couldn't hide it too long! Sequels of delight came out as she went in and out. And in. And out. And in again. |
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| Then she invited in guests. What a willing godfather she has. |
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| Look at my new house!!! |
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| Family photo. I think it's going to be difficult to get a picture with both kids looking in the same direction. At least neither of them are crying. |
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| hmmm.... what's this? |
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| Let me check it out a little closer. |
And finally -- the 26th.
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| a relaxing bath in the morning. |
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| Nora got red jimmies (the same color as... Elmo!) She had her fair share of them. Not on ice cream. Just in a bowl. A few didn't make it in her mouth. |
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| Feeding baby from her new "baba". |
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| A relaxed pup. Greatest dog alive! |
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