Anyway, something about Christmas got us up at about 7:45 this morning, and we knew we'd better get Madison up if we were going to spend some time beneath our tree. Madison was beyond excited. She rolled her Winnie the Pooh car down the hallway and jumped up!
"What's this? There's presents under the tree!" She squealed and did a little dance in place and nearly fell down the stairs if it weren't for Mommy and Daddy helping her along.
Running up to the tree, she had that same look as last year: she was asking us with her eyes, "Can I? Just one?"
We opened a few presents Christmas morning, and Madison got to play "Santa," stacking everyone's presents in an organized pile. But a little after 8:00, we got the call from next door: Madison's cousins were awake! It was time to open presents over at Ye-Ye's house!
We were just about to head out the door, when Mommy pointed something out:
Santa ate the cookies! Madison looked down at the near-empty plate and shook her finger, saying "Naughty, naughty!" Hilarious! She was getting on to Santa for sneaking in and taking some of her cookies! Never mind the fact that he had left so much under that tree!
Anyway, we gathered ourselves and headed next door, and Daddy made a few trips so he could carry all the presents over. Ye-Ye and Nana's living room is always a huge avalanche of presents on Christmas morning.
Jonathan and David Austen play "Santa" here, and distribute the presents in huge stacks all over the living room. Meanwhile, Nana and Ye-Ye make sure everyone has hot tea or egg nog - and make sure the festive Christmas music is playing.
When Ye-Ye makes the announcement, then it's time to tear into the wrapping paper. And then it starts flying! Madison got caught up in it all, unwrapping gift after gift - she got a ton of stuff this Christmas! She'd be really into one toy, when all of the sudden there'd be another thing to unwrap next. She got a copy of Candyland, a Grooming Salon (complete with thousands of little wires that parents have to unwind to get open), Ni-Hao Kai-Lan Mega Blocks, a ginormous doll house, and of course (wait for it....) a zhu zhu pet. These are little automated hamsters that scurry around, and all the kids had them. It was the big item this Christmas, and it was great to see all the kids got one (thanks to Aunt Shain!).
After opening presents, we all had breakfast together, which was really nice. Ye-Ye goes all out to make sure there is a metric ton of delicious breakfast cakes and fruit out on the table. Madison had a few orange slices and the stollen cake too, which got us all speaking German for a few moments. Achtung! It was a great morning, really!
We left Ye-Ye's for a bit to return to our house and open MORE presents there! As Mommy called her parents on the phone to wish them a Merry Christmas, Madison began giving out the rest of the presents to everyone. Daddy popped in some music and we began to open our gifts, just the three of us. Madison loved her presents from Mommy and Daddy (and Santa) - there was just too much to list here. Plus there was her stocking, filled with great old fashioned toys we purchased on our trip to Helen a few months back. One of her favorite items, however, was a musical instrument that she wouldn't stop blowing into.
It had musical keys, and she was trying out all of the different notes - who knows, maybe we have ourself a musician here?
After a quick nap, we ventured back to Ye-Ye's house to have dinner with Great Grandma, who had just arrived. What a huge meal! It was great being together with family, and it was good to see Great Grandma, who even brought Madison another present! Talk about being overloaded with gifts! Her present from Great Grandma was a special doll that Madison immediately started to rock in her arms.
After that, it was back to those zhu zhu pets. The verdict is in: Madison likes 'em. For the rest of the day, it was playtime - and for the adults, it was time to talk and share. And eat more. There was a lot of food over there.
We left late, and gave Madison a Christmas bath when we arrived home. She had a few of her new bathtub toys with her - these were in her stocking. They're the kind you wind up and watch swim across the tub. She was pretty ready for bed after that. It was such a full day that she fell asleep in Mommy's arms as she was drinking her milk.
This was Madison's second Christmas, and it was one we'll never forget. She had a great time, but so did everyone.
Merry Christmas!
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