Left: Haley sets out cookies and milk for Santa; opens her Christmas Eve gift of...new pajamas!
Rob and I discovered once and for all this Christmas that it really is better to give than to receive - particularly when the recipient is a 2 1/2-year-old.
Haley was very excited about Santa coming, especially once we reassured her that she would sleep through his entire visit and therefore not have to see him in person. We stayed up until 1:30 in stereotypical parental Christmas Eve fashion - putting toys together and making sure only crumbs were left of the cookies Haley had arranged for Santa. Once the scene was set and I took pictures (against Rob's wishes - proof for Haley in future years that we're more than Santa's elves) we hurried to bed.
Knowing that we had to get to church, we woke up at 7 and kissed our Sleeping Beauty into consciousness. She was groggily excited while opening her stocking on our bed and then we led her out to see what Santa had brought. At first she just stood in the middle of the room and turned around and around, trying to take it all in. Then she made a beeline for the doll stroller and swing, stepping over the train set to get to them. She could have played all day, but we had to go to church (Rob was speaking) so we let baby doll come with us in the new baby doll seat, much to the amusement of everyone at church. When we got home at 11:00, we still hadn't opened a single present from under the tree - a task that would wind up taking the rest of the day. At some point Haley burned out opening gifts (who knew that could happen?) and wound up finishing the task the next day. What a lucky girl to be so loved by her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends! 
