Christmas: Take One

Between the two of us, Jeff and I have quite the extended family. Both of my parents are remarried, and a lot of Jeff's family comes in for Thanksgiving, so holidays used to be pretty hectic. A few years ago, though, pre-Cadie and Maddie, we started a schedule that has worked out really well for us. Instead of racing from house to house to house every holiday, we spend certain days with certain family members. On Thanksgiving, we spend pretty much the Wednesday before through Saturday evening with Jeff's family because so many relatives come in from out of town and they're only here once a year. For Christmas, we spend Christmas Eve with my dad and step-mom and Christmas day with my mom. A couple years back, Jeff's family started the tradition of celebrating Christmas the weekend before, which is fine with me because it means the celebration starts that much sooner! After we had the girls, we also started spending Christmas morning at home, just the four of us.

So, last night, we kicked off our Christmas celebrations (1 of 4) with a Patton Family Christmas. We had a yummy Italian spread of lasagna and spaghetti with meatballs, knowing full well we'd be getting our fill of turkey and dressing soon. Then, on to the really good stuff: presents. Opening presents used to be about the excitement of not knowing what I'd be getting; now, though, it's all about the look on the girls' faces when they open up their gifts. And, they got some great stuff including play food by Melissa & Doug from Grandma and Grandpa. They were the first things they opened, and I was worried they would have eyes for nothing else the rest of the evening. I grew up with Fisher Price Fun with Food, so I'm a bit of a play food snob, but I have to say, Melissa & Doug have gotten it right. They are the first ones to come out with a product that even comes close to comparing. Cadie got an ice cream set and Maddie got a cookie set. The ice cream set is so neat because there are magnets in the ice cream scoopers and the scoops of ice cream, so they can actually scoop the ice cream and it sticks until they drop it onto the cone. The cookie baking set is neat, too, because the cookies are fixed with Velcro so they stick to the cookie sheet, and they also stick together so they can "cut" the individual pieces to bake. Another hit was their jewelry box from Grandma and Grandpa, complete with costume jewelry to go inside. When it comes to jewelry, my girls definitely do not think "less is more"! They got a bunch of other great stuff including a giant set of coloring stuff from Uncle Julius and Aunt Kimberly.

Maddie & Daddy

Cadie & Uncle Julius

Aunt Kimberly shooting video

Grandma & Cadie

Maddie & her cookie set

Cadie scooping some ice cream

Cadie holding up the art set from Julius & Kimberly

Grandpa opening up his brand new tackle box!

Cadie admiring herself in the mirror of her new jewelry box.

Maddie & Julius, testing the new jewelry

Maddie & Daddy

Julius & Cadie

Maddie, all dolled up

Cadie

I have to say, though, that I got the best present of all; a very unexpected present. Even though we'd agreed that we wouldn't be buying gifts for one another (due to a recent purchase that is now hanging on the wall in our living room), my thoughtful husband presented me with a VERY generous gift: a brand new Canon 5D Mark II. This is the grand-daddy of cameras. Full frame, 21.1 megapixels, unbelievable ISO, and a bunch of other stuff most of you won't understand! There has been only one other time Jeff has managed to completely surprise me in our relationship (when he proposed), so now he's up to two. I'd say he's on a pretty good roll!

Finally, we wound down the night with a viewing of "Wild Hogs" while the girls (at least Cadie), drifted off to sleep in their Christmas jammies.

This morning, we woke to the heavenly aroma of homemade cinnamon rolls and fresh fried bacon. The girls scurried in while Jeff and I caught a few more winks. After a mug of hot chocolate, we loaded up our booty and headed home, one of four celebrations under our belt. If you ask me, we're off to a great start!

Cadie with her hot cocoa

Maddie with her hot cocoa