Merry Christmas!

Good news at our house...Santa came last night. Gracie went to bed saying, "Mommy, I'm just a little nervous that Santa won't come." I asked her if she thought she hadn't been good, and she said, "Well, sometimes I'm not so good." I tried to explain that Santa looks at if you are mostly good, because no one is always good. That seemed to satisfy her, and she woke up happy to see that Santa left her an easel and a stocking full of goodies. Ella didn't wake up for a while after Gracie and somehow I missed getting a picture of her with her new Barbie tent Santa brought. The girls are sharing their Santa gifts because Santa didn't put name tags on them so that they would have to share.

Gracie's stocking had some pretty new earrings which made her happy. Santa also brought her some gum, Pez, undies, and some bath stuff. Ella got suckers, Pez, bath soaps, and candy canes.

After getting dressed and ready, we quickly drove to Moberly in the snow to open gifts at Grandpa and Nana's house. Gracie really wanted a guitar for Christmas.

Brent is known for getting tools from my Mom and Dad. This year he didn't need any power tools, but we can always use more basic screwdrivers, so it looks like we are set for a while!

Uncle Dana got some new dishes that he had been wanting.

I was hemmed in by gifts, but I was trying to get a picture of Ella vacuuming Uncle Dana's foot with her new vacuum. She vacuumed Papa and Nanie's living room for quite a while before she wanted to open any more presents.

For whatever reason, this robe was Gracie's favorite gift of the holiday season. She loves my robe and if I'm wearing it she asks me to snuggle with her on the couch. Well, I put a robe on her Christmas list and my Mom found one that feels just like mine. Gracie got so excited after she opened it that she jumped up and gave Grandpa and Nana a hug.

This picture shows Nana opening up the gift Gracie bought her. She took a dollar of her own money and bought each adult gifts. Nana got Post It Notes, Uncle Dana got a decorative basket and Grandpa got a pretend can of jelly beans that really has a fake snake that jumps out at you inside. She was very proud of her gift giving.

Uncle Dana managed to find some ZhuZhu pets in St. Louis, and Ella was very excited to find one with her name on it. She made the silliest face when she opened it, and has carried that thing around a lot since we got home.

Ella got a really cute baby station from Grandpa and Nana. She is still a baby doll enthusiast, and now she has a proper area to care for her babies and store baby accessories. I think Gracie will even enjoy playing with it sometimes.

Gracie is still fond of Barbie dolls, and this year she really wanted the Three Musketeer dolls, so this was an exciting gift to open. (Too bad her shiner is still visible in all of these pictures!)

Looks like Ella is still exploring her baby doll station!

She knows it's important to keep a baby warm, so blankies are piled pretty high on Ella's baby doll.

After we got done at Grandpa and Nana's we ran to Nana Kaser's house to open gifts with her. Ella got a Dora the Explorer coloring pad.

Gracie got cute fuzzy socks!

Nana with her Doolin grandkids.

Grandpa enjoyed watching the kids opening their gifts. They get so excited that it's hard to not enjoy!

Aww! Brent with my mom.

A three generation photo!

Me with Nana Kaser

Now that's a real smile, Dad!

Ella finally got into the groove of opening presents. This was our third stop of the day at Beaverson's house. We had lunch, played some games, opened gifts, and several people even took naps!

My twin cousins Amber and Taylor.

Gracie with her buddy Lily.

Ella was not one of the nappers, but I think she should have been. Those eyes started getting very heavy by mid-afternoon.

Too sleepy to smile, but Ella loved rocking in this gaming chair.

I think we found a napper!

Cousin Elsie

The only one missing was Katie! This looks like a serious game of Apples to Apples.

While the adults were playing games, the kids were making themselves cozy in the living room and watching a movie. They didn't stay this still for long and no one fell asleep.