Christmas Day

We celebrated Christmas day at our house with my dad. Ariel, Robert and Alex didn't come over until the evening, so we opened a couple of our gifts with Aiden first thing in the morning. Travis slept in a couple minutes while I got the Orange Cinnamon rolls baking in the oven (a Hargus Christmas tradition). My dad drank coffee while Aiden showed him some of the Elmo books he got from Gramma Brenda (Thanks Brenda! We missed you!).

Aiden picked up on the concept of opening gifts pretty quickly this year, which was exciting for us. The only 'problem' we had was that he would open one gift and want to play with it instead of opening up the next one. We only got two open in the morning before he got side-tracked by his new Finding Nemo DVD.

He stood like that for 20 minutes before taking a break. For the first five minutes of the video he just kept pointing at the screen screaming "Ish! Ish!" I figured that movie would be a hit, considering Aiden's love of all things fish.


Ariel, Robert and Alex showed up soon after Aiden woke from his nap. The first thing he did was go plop down on his new mini-me couch. Ariel showed immense patience as he brought out all the new Elmo gear.


Aiden loved the dinner we ate that night. He didn't get to eat with us the night before because the meal wasn't ready until after his bed time. We purposely ate earlier in afternoon on Christmas Day so we would have time for presents and dessert afterward. I think Aiden's favorite was the ham, but we also had mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts and rolls with cinnamon butter.


I have yet to weigh myself after this holiday season, but I'm sure the scales will back up my fears. There is no way I did not gain at least five pounds with all the eating I did. It was most certainly worth it though.

After dinner the gift opening began. We made plans to draw names out of a hat for presents this year. It was a huge relief to not have to buy a hundred gifts. Of course my dad didn't follow the rules. I can't complain though. He bought me a new dish set and Christmas place mats and napkins. I have wanted white dishes for years now. We got the colorful plates from Pier 1 for our wedding that we registered for. I love the colors, but I've found it is very difficult to do holiday table decorations with such vibrant hues. (You can see the serving platter in the photo above.)

College has really pulled Alex out of his shell. He has always been so quiet, unless you got him on a topic he could relate to (video gaming or music). I noticed that I was able to catch a bunch more shots of him smiling naturally this Christmas when compared to past years.


More gift opening on his couch...

My dad and I found a reindeer outfit for Toby. Sadly, Toby stayed home this year, so he wasn't around to model the new costume. Instead...

My dad tries to buy silly kid gifts for us each year. This time, Travis and Robert got hula hoops while Ariel, Alex and I got SINGAMAJIGS!!

First... Check out the boys showing off their mad hooping skills. I was rather impressed...

Second, Singamajigs are awesome.

While we were eating apple pie and custard (yummo), Travis' boss (Guy) and his girlfriend (Aiden's favorite sitter, Sue) dropped by with some gifts for the newly spoiled Aiden. They each brought a present for him, along with one from Guy's aunt. I like to think of Guy's family as our family-away-from-home. They have always invited us to holiday parties and random family get-togethers. They have been more than gracious with us in many ways.

Of course Aiden had to bring out the Elmo books to show Guy and Sue.

Soon after Guy and Sue left Ariel and Robert made their way home as well. Ariel wasn't feeling very well so they called it an early night. We played a game of Apples to Apples, that Ariel had left behind. I really need to invest in a game of my own!

Here comes the weird part of our Christmas day...

My friend and co-worker Rachel was out of town for the holidays, so I was recruited to check on her dogs a couple times. She just happens to live across the street from Travis' friend Aaron. While Alex, Travis and I were checking on the dogs, Travis noticed Aaron's garage door was open, so he gave him a call to see what he was up to. Aaron, his sister and a few of their friends were hanging out. He invited us over for a drink. It was only 10 o'clock and my dad was home with Aiden, so we decided why not?

After a few minutes of planning, we got pulled along to go to the bars with them. ON CHRISTMAS DAY! Ha! I always wondered who goes to the bars on the holidays and now I have my answer. We closed down the bar, which wasn't that hard to do considering we didn't get there until 11.

The next morning I was reminded why I don't stay out late anymore. Even if you get a babysitter for the night, there is still that toddler that will wake up at his normal time of 7:30 am!

I say it every year and I'm going to say it again: I need a vacation from my vacation!!