Christmas Day Fun

Christmas Eve didn't end up being a silent night. Gracie for some reason got sick during the night which had her then sleeping with me until morning. Poor thing, though she was fine after her one episode. I did learn that we don't sleep well in the same bed, we both like being in the same bed together though. We are lucky she is such a trooper though because the next morning she was ready to go, and hungry.

Christmas morning we enjoyed a quiet start with some yummy french toast that Bopa made. Gracie played with her camera in the morning even showing the dogs the photo she took of them. Once Uncle Brad arrived Gracie made sure Bopa got close to the tree to open gifts.

Gracie had no problems opening presents, since she had practice the night before, though after a couple presents she decided that she just wanted to play with the ones she had already opened. The quiet Christmas morning was so much fun, Gigi even dressed up for the occasion...okay she got the necklace for Christmas.

The big hit gift on Christmas morning, besides the candy canes that Santa brought, was a car set that Gigi got at the Junior League event. I didn't think it would go over well with her, little did I know. Here she is enjoying the track that took Brad and I some time to put together with the bridge, tunnel, and alligator. Gracie is also showing her new pose of crossing her arms when she is looking at something. She is really starting to be aware of her arms, if I am holding her in the mornings or when she is hurt she will make sure to tuck her arms under her body. Guess the girl never really got out of her love for being swaddled/held tight.

Here is the aftermath of the present opening. She even got to enjoy Uncle Brad's gift of a pink camo jacket on a ride with Bopa. Some of our highlight gifts included a mini-muffin maker, a digital frame, a birthday cake that we sang happy birthday Jesus with, scrapbooking items, books, clothes, and of course my special day with mom. This year we had a special treat from Brad, a five course Christmas dinner. Appetizers, soup, bread with cheese, and of course the prime rib with amazing fixins (brussel sprouts are good if you cover them in bacon). The ending was pie of course. A friend of Brad's even joined us for dinner that we put to work grilling. Since all I had to do were dishes I got to enjoy some additional time with Gracie. Here she is trying to help in the kitchen.

Mommy tickling Gracie with Gigi's tongs from Santa. Oh the laughter!!! Then Gracie had to look super-fly with Bopa's hat. Angel was protecting her.
Boxing day was also quiet and allowed time for us to enjoy our new gifts without rushing to go anywhere. Here is some fun times with Gigi.

Gracie is showing us how big the tree is. So Big!

Gracie is such a good mommy to her babies with the toys from Bri & Michelle. Too bad she doesn't fit in the toy anymore.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was another wonderful celebration with the Peters. Papa J, Margie's dad, joined us for church and dinner.

Gracie got dressed to the nines with her Christmas dress that Nana bought. All night she loved playing with her dress. In addition to the Christmas tree, Nana specifically got out her different moving Christmas toys for the kids to play with. They were the hit of the night until we opened presents. Gracie is pointing to the train that was going up around the hill within the tree. The presents came after a great meal that the kids tolerated knowing that presents were coming next. Gracie of course enjoyed time with Uncle Bri.

The kids got in their pjs, Gracie got to wear her winter hunting hat ducks for the first time, just before present time. Everyone was so generous with the gifts. Some of Gracie's highlights include her camera, doll play set, ornaments, collectible Gracie doll, books galore, clothes, and so much more. I was lucky to get my label maker, you officially know you are an organizer when you ask for a label maker for Christmas, a chocolate fountain, a new ski jacket and so much more.

She finally got the hang of opening presents, after cousin Alex helped out a little.

We had such a wonderful time talking, laughing, eating, opening presents, and enjoying time as a family. The blessings were all around...that included good driving weather to head to the farm. Gracie didn't sleep until we were about 15 minutes from the farm. She was so excited for Santa to bring her candy canes.

All the pretty lights

The Polar Express really got us in the holiday spirit and we continued with a trip to the Wildlife Experience to see Wildlights. Gracie knew what she was suppose to do when she sees Santa, sit on his lap and tell him that she wanted candy canes. Sadly the line was way too long for her young attention span. Don't ask me why we didn't actual go when it was unseasonably warm, we decided to go when it was cold. Gracie did love to see all the lights, the reindeer, and especially the different holiday scenes. She even thought it was really fun that mommy put socks on her hands to keep them warm. The candy cane lights were the favorite though, we had to keep her from licking them

Polar Express, where to start?

After hearing for years from Bri & Michelle how wonderful the Polar Express train in Durango was, we had to try it this year. What a fun girls trip we had with Shawna & Abigail. The 7 hour car ride both directions was uneventful, thankfully to the many activities, snacks, and Shawna playing cruise director/referee keeping the girls happy. We were lucky to have good weather both directions except Wolf Creek Pass, which was better than other routes.

Sunday night was quiet after our brief stop at Carl's Jr to let the girls play.

They of course didn't sleep in on Monday, though we had some good activities planned for them during the day. Gracie and I took a quick stroll to get coffee and breakfast. Gracie started to yell for a cookie at 8am in the morning, vacation won out and she got one. The breakfast turned into a picnic on the hotel bed that the girls thought was so much fun.

We swam in the morning going between the pool and hot tub. Then we took a quick trip around Durango to see the main street, Burger King play area, and then Mc Donald's play area. The girls still had energy to burn. While Shawna enjoyed an early birthday gift I napped with the little ladies. Gracie learned how to crawl from her pack and play onto to bed to nap with me. Guess I am doing something right because she started to rub my belly to try and get me to go to sleep. She is such a good mommy already to me and her babies.

We were then off to burn some more energy in the snow, since they actually had snow though it was raining outside. There was some great sledding for both the girls. The snow was perfect for making a snowman that the girls were proud of.

To get ready for the train ride I brought a ginger bread train to decorate. Abigail did a great job decorating while Gracie did a great job eating all the candy...I don't know where she gets her sweet tooth ;)

We then got the girls dressed in their pjs, Gracie received special pjs from Gigi & Bapa that had Elmo drinking hot chocolate on them. Waiting for the train was a bit chaotic though once we were on the track waiting, the reenactment of the story started and the train finally came down the tracks. Even as an adult I got chills when I heard the music and saw the steam engine coming down the tracks, all I can say is magical. The girls were super excited to get on the train and our seats were even facing each other. Each car had a chef and waiter that passed out hot cocoa, rice crispy treats, read the Polar Express book, received stamped tickets, and got the kids to answer trivia. The train trip wasn't that long to the North Pole and Santa was there waiting for us as well as the toy shop covered with Christmas lights. On the way back to Durango we sang some Christmas carols, Abigail sang a wonderful Jingle Bells, and then Santa made it to our train to hand the first gift of Christmas to the girls. Both girls got the bells that they rang often to make sure they could hear the ringing. Santa even commented on Gracie's cute bows.
There was so much joy on that train, I can't wait to go again when she is a bit older to really understand how much fun the train really was.

We were able to also celebrate Abigail's 5th birthday together after the train at Applebee's. The girls sure loved sharing the dessert with each other.

Gracie was sad to see Abigail and Shawna leave when we got to Denver, she talked about them often when we got back. A girls trip was so special for us all! It did get us in the Christmas mood more so since as we were driving back into Denver we didn't really need coats to move the luggage. My week of vacation started out with a bang!

Abigail Turns 5

Gracie sure got the love of bowling from the Wii that she got to only increase at Abigail's 5th birthday bowling party. Now her attention span is a little shorter when it comes to parties and having to wait her turn. We spent a whole lot of time playing the in arcade instead of bowling. It was a great distraction because the whole time Gracie asked about cake every thirty minutes. We were lucky to spend the rest of the evening with the Sandersons and even be there for the naming of the fish Rosie. Gracie sure did love trying to play with Abigail's birthday gifts...I have a lot to look forward too.

As we were leaving the bowling alley Abigail showed her smarts and love to tell you what she knows. A man was smoking outside and she told us "Mommy smoking is bad and can make you sick." The guy smoking said, yes it is bad and I need to quit. Abigail then said "The smoking could hurt us too" The girl gets it for sure. Hope Gracie can learn about smoking that young as well. She would also not be afraid to tell you about it.