Christmas

This is my absoulte favorite holiday! Christmas brings out the kid in me! I love the lights, decorations, innonance of children and the Christmas story. This Christmas was so much fun for me! Samantha is at such a fun age. she loved putting up the lights with me, putting ornaments on the Christmas tree and just asking about Jesus. Last year, Mimi ( jim's mom) bought her Little People Manager scene. I decided to only bring it out at Christmas time. It gives us the chance to talk about the Jesus and His amazing enterance into this world.
This year we also did Elf on the Shelf. Samantha was so confused in the beginning. Our Elf, which Samantha named Buddy, came to our house while Samantha was in the bath one night. I told her that Santa was here and dropped Buddy off to watch her during the day and that he would fly back to the North Pole to report to Santa to see if she was a good girl. In the beginning, she was very scared of Buddy, but as the days went on she got used to him and was excited every morning to see where Buddy was hiding. He had some good hiding spots, from the Christmas tree, to the clock to being locked in the latern. Buddy even rode in the front seat buckled in, of course, to Palos for Christmas.
The Christmas Samantha also LOVED watching the Christmas movies. We watched Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown Christmas, The Grinch (which she was very afraid of The Grinch), Elf on the Shelf. We watched these every morning...I'm glad Christmas is over because they have been magicially erased from the DVR.
So this Christmas Samantha got a lot of wonderful toys. My parents got her clothes for her bitty baby, matching pj's with her bitty baby, some cute summer clothes, style kit which included a blow dryer, curling iron, straightener, brush, fake hair spray and perfume, and a ballet skirt and leotard and slippers. She also got a baby carrier for her babies from Auntie JuJu and Uncle Matt. Uncle Awesome (Jeff) and Auntie Allie got her a clock so she can learn how to tell time and a dog and carrier for her bitty baby. I'm probably forgetting something, but all the gifts were very much appreciated and she LOVES all of them. Nicholas got a rocking horse, Garbage truck just like Papa's, little tool box, clothes, race car steering wheeland Go GO baby crawl toy. I can't wait for him to play with these. Jim's parents got them some great gifts too. Samantha got a space station, LaLaLoopsy dolls and sets, coloring books, crayons, Lion King DVD and a chair & ottomen (so cute). Nicholas got some boy toys, he got Racing Zoomers, cars, clothes and books. Overall it was a great Christmas and we had a lot of fun with all our family in Chicago. Now back in Michigan putting away decorations and getting toys set up and organized. Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!