As the holiday approached, we were able to relax and enjoy the season without the stress of travel (although of course we missed you all). There was still some shopping, wrapping and baking to do, all of which Haley wanted to help with.
Peek-a-Box: Our generous friend Bill sent us a very large box of goodies - Haley and Jake thoroughly enjoyed the box itself.We love to bake Christmas cookies together - and sample the dough. It gets a little messy sometimes, but the smiles are worth it.
CHRISTMAS EVE
Someday the kids will figure out that their "special Christmas Eve present" is always pajamas, but for now it's still exciting. Haley even said hers were"just what I wanted!" Once fuzzy and warm we set out cookies and milk for Santa - Haley and Jake thought they should sample the sweets to make sure they were good enough for the man in red. Then it was off to bed to dream of dancing sugarplums...and the stomach flu...
CHRISTMAS MORNING
We thought it was strange that Haley slept in on Christmas morning - she usually wakes up as soon as Jake makes any peep after 6 am. So we waited as long as we could and then woke her up to open stockings on our bed. Jake thought his pull-toy was delicious, and Haley was excited about every little thing in hers - right down to the handful of coins and the orange in the toe. Then we went out to see what Santa had brought...
Haley and Jake were both excited to see their presents - Jake went right for the rocking elephant, and Haley went straight to the "Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses" dress-up dress. She seemed a little subdued, though, and when she crawled into my lap and closed her eyes a while later I knew something was wrong. The stomach flu made itself apparent a short time later and Haley spent most of the day sleeping and snuggling. Fortunately she felt better by late afternoon and we were able to enjoy opening the rest of the presents. It was a memorable day, that's for sure.
