Merry Christmas

Well, it's actually the 26th by now, but I'm still up. Because I got a delicious 3 hour nap today. Bekah slept that whole time as well, and Leah just played and played and played. I'm sure she played some with Daddy, but by the time I work up (6pm), he had fallen asleep too. I tried to rouse him for dinner, but to no avail. He was up very early setting up my wonderful Christmas present (well, one of them).

I'm excited to fill the frames. Thanks baby.

I also got 12 gift certificates for various restaurants, ensuring that I have at least a date a month with my sweetheart. What a perfect gift! (And he got a great deal, which is always a fun gift as well!) Funny thing is, I got him restaurant gift certificates as well. Apparently we both want to spend more time with one another, which is a good sign.

Another favorite gift was from the Curtises. They got me a t-shirt that says "don't make me use my opera voice". LOVE IT!

The girls had a huge time. Their expressions all day long were just priceless. Love those monkeys.

Santa, as well as various friends and relatives, did right by them. Thanks everyone.

And Merry Christmas everyone. Since I'm not in bed yet, it still counts as Christmas.

Can you hold it?

So we're through the main part of potty training Bekah (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), meaning that she only wears diapers at night now. It's so awesome, and we're so proud. Anyway, last night on our way home from our stake Christmas musical fireside (which was awesome if I do say so), Bekah said from the back seat that she needed to go potty. We were about 5 minutes away from home still, and so we asked if she could hold it in until we got home. She said she could, and so we just punched the gas a bit. I looked back a minute later to check on her and make sure she was holding it okay, and sure enough, I saw her reaching her little hands down under her tiny bum, and holding her bum. She was going to literally hold it in.

And we made it home! That's my big girl!!!

I want Christmas

It's the 12th of December. Nowhere near close enough to the 25th. Or even the 24th. It isn't snowing. It's just not Christmas-y enough for me right now. Just life as usual. Blah.

I don't know how my kids feel about it. I am realizing that it's probably a grown-up thing that causes Christmas not to feel as much like Christmas as I've come to expect. I wonder if my kids are sugar plum dreaming every night. If they have a little twinkle in their eyes in anticipation of the magic that I can hopefully help to provide them. It's a lot of pressure to create this magic. I know that I'm in charge of creating the memories and nostalgia that they will take comfort in and share with their families in the many years to come. And that's pressure. You know?

Later that same day... (okay, 3 minutes later).

I just asked Leah if she's excited for Christmas. She said, "Yeah! SO excited." "What are you excited about?" "Getting presents!" Okay, so she's getting at least part of the spirit. :) I just remembered in that conversation with her that in years past, I've had the kids do little chores to earn money so they can buy dollar store presents for the family. Forgot to do that this year - I know what we get to do today! Hopefully that'll help it feel more Christmas-y. And I'll play Christmas music while we clean the house! Wow, it's going to be so great!

See how great blogging can be? I just figured out how to solve the problem I was writing about! Maybe I should do it more often.