Christmas morning

Ho ho ho! Santa came to see us!

My two favorite gifts under the tree...

"Look, Mommy! Santa left some cookie on his plate! Don't worry, I'll get it!" haha!

First up, stockings!

Enjoying some candy...
Cade wondering if maybe he has some candy in his...

Yes! A candy cane!

Ella couldn't wait to give Chris the gift she picked out for him- Oreos! haha! Everytime I had asked her what she wanted to give Daddy on Christmas morning, she always said, "I think he would love cookies!" And he did!
Ella's turn- a new pink camera!!! Yea!!
Cool! Mrs. Potato Head!

New bottles for her babies (notice Cade's little head in the corner of this pic)...

The second Sis turned away, he grabbed that thing!

Ella couldn't wait to give Cade the gift from her- new Nerf balls!

Legos and a Dora game for her bike! How in the world did Santa know she wanted those?!
Didn't take Cade very long to get the hang of it!
Loving on his new singing puppy...

"Here, Daddy, I'll help!"
Yea! Daddy (and Ella) got a new Wii!

A fun new fish game...

Don't look now- Cade's got the baby bottle again!

Aww! Ella ran to give Cade a thank-you hug for her new movie!Chris and I were totally spoiled, too. Daddy and the kids gave me lots of awesome stuff, including new Nikes and a gift certificate for a massage! I am so excited! Chris got the Wii, work-out gear, and a few other surprises. Our matching Under Armour jackets...

Cade received just a few gifts from Santa, and that was pretty much the perfect amount. Ella got plenty of fun things, and has already played with every single one of her gifts so many times! We're pretty excited about the things Santa picked out for her. What a fun and special morning with our new baby and family of four!! God has blessed us over and over in so, so many ways.
I have a ton of pics to post, mostly from our time home, celebrating the holiday with our family. Hope to get to that soon! Have a wonderful day, Everyone!

Happy birthday, Jesus!

Thank you for the gift of Christmas and for loving us so much!

It came!!

Ella got a letter from Santa Claus!! In it, he told her he knew she had been a good girl this year. He also told her he knew she had learned to ride a bike and he was so proud of her. She couldn't figure out how in the world he knew! He told her to keep helping Mommy and Daddy and to go to bed early on Christmas Eve. I loved the look of amazement on her face as we read the letter- she just couldn't believe it!
We actually sent a special request to Santa and asked him to come to our house tonight, since I am working all of Christmas. That means we will celebrate Jesus' birthday tonight and wake up to presents in the morning! I can't wait! I have a full day of baking and wrapping ahead of me, but I love it. Merry Christmas to you all! I hope your day is blessed with family and love!!

Lights everywhere!

The same farm where we have so much fun during the fall puts on a beautiful light display at Christmas- and it's free! Can't beat that. We took the kiddos Monday night and it was so special. They have lights set up all around this huge field, and you just walk the path, looking at everything and listening to Christmas carols. It's wonderful!
You can tell Ella is yelling excitedly in this picture. She had so much fun!
I tried to take some pictures, but they just don't do it justice. You can only get a small part of the lights in each picture...

Trying to stay warm...

At the end of the walk, the barn is set up with lights and train displays- and hot chocolate and cookies! Yum!!

Even Cade got a few little nibbles of cookie. :)

I love my sweet family and fun times like this!

Early present

Growing up, it was a tradition to open an early present on the Sunday before Christmas. Coming home from church, my brothers and I were always super excited knowing we got to open a gift that day. We decided to carry on the tradition and let Ella open an early present after church Sunday. Boy, was she excited!! First, she had to pose in front of the tree (trust me, she was agreeable to anything if that meant a present!! haha!)...
Getting one of both kids was a little trickier...

Cade was more interested in tearing the bows off the gifts. FYI- if you get a gift from us this year, chances are there will be a piece of tape in place of the bow- can't keep those things on there for anything! :)
Time for a present!! Trying to figure out what it could be...

Binoculars!!

Daddy getting a turn to see...

Then Cade...

So fun! She didn't put those things down much that day. I love that the smallest gifts can bring so much joy!

Dear Santa...

...For Christmas, I would like a puzzle, a new kitty-cat, purple binoculars, and a pink camera...
I've been a really good girl this year. Please come soon. I'll leave a chocolate chip cookie by the tree for you.
Love, Ella

She was worried because she forgot to tell Santa Mouse that we would leave him some cheese. I told him that he can hear her, so she called out, "Dont' worry, Santa Mouse! There'll be cheese for you, too!" :)

Now we're waiting anxiously to see if Santa writes back to us!

Gifts from the boss...

Chris' boss, Danny, brought over Christmas presents for the kids today. He and his family have always been so good to our kids- they offer to babysit all the time and even kept Ella for us when I went into labor with Cade! Ella loves all over him, always running to hug him and sit on his lap. The presents were perfect timing, too- Ella had been begging me all morning to open one of the gifts under the tree, so these satisfied that little itch (for the time being anyways!).
Five Hello Kitty dolls!!
Another new puzzle!

Busy gears for Cade! I'm excited about this gift- he plays with these at physical therapy and loves them.

He knew exactly what it was and started bouncing and grinning...

Thanks, Danny and Shari! They're perfect!

First cracker

'Really, Mommy? This is all for me?!'
"Boo, boo, baa"... maybe means, "This is so yummy!! I love being a big boy!"

And here's someone else enjoying her first cracker just three short years ago... :)

Fun packages!

We had two special packages delivered to our door yesterday. So fun! Chad and April sent us some special little gifts and Cade loved playing in the paper!! I can't wait to see him on Christmas morning!

Thanks, you guys! You are so sweet for thinking of us! As soon as we had opened that package, the doorbell rang with a special delivery for Ella and Cade... a surprise from Mamaw and Papaw!!

Yea! Fun Christmas things for the kiddos!

And Chris and I didn't get left out- peanut butter balls! THANK YOU!!

Look at this face! What is it, Ella?
A new jigsaw puzzle book!!! I know what we'll be doing all day tomorrow!

Thanks so much, Mamaw and Papaw! We love you!!