Despite the economy, our being deathly ill for a few days and having one-less week between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, our celebrations and traditions continued on and we had a very enjoyable time.

Earlier on, we decorated our home and hung ornaments on the tree. With a little help from Sean, the girls were able to hang the high ones, too. And, with Grandma Barbara, we were able to take the girls to see Santa at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club which was great fun - decorating cookies, face painting, balloon making, storytelling by Mrs. Claus and a pre-gift from Santa. Dillen was quick to hop on Santa's lap to tell him what she wanted. Roxy was all set and ready until the LAST moment when she changed her mind and clung to me. From a good distance she yelled to Santa "I WANT A RUTHIE DOLL!!!" Piper had no clue what was going on and cooperated just fine for the picture. I need to scan the one the Club took since it was straight on... and pretty funny, really.

Traditional Christmas Eve was spent at my dad and stepmom's home with my brother, his wife and my niece and nephew. A great time was had by all. Dinner was delicious, the gifts were amazing (Sean and I received a grill for paninis and other wonderful things while the girls received Biscuit, the Furreal puppy friend). We enjoyed each other's company and were able to get the girls home at a decent hour for them to set out their personally decorated gingerbread cookies and milk for Santa. (Dillen insisted we warm the milk in the microwave because Santa was going to be cold.)

They BELIEVE. And because they do, waking up Christmas morning was another "best" year. Watching their faces light up when they saw their American Dolls that Santa had brought them (Ruthie and Kit) was priceless. Dillen, unlike last year, was pretty confident she was going to get what she wanted. She just knew she had been a good girl all year. However, she also liked to rub it in with Roxy telling her that since Roxy had been making many bad choices, she may just end up with coal. Roxy didn't care for that very much and arguments ensued. But I think deep down Roxy was probably a little nervous and so she was very relieved to see Santa came through for her, too.

The girls tore into their stockings and played with their dolls while we waited for my mom and stepdad to arrive. Once they did, we had a yummy breakfast and then opened gifts. There is something so special about having my mom and Jim here to watch the girls open their presents. It's been a tradition since Dillen was born and I hope it continues. It is no short distance for them to drive on Christmas morning... but I think they enjoy watching the girls as much as we do.

The girls received so many fun gifts to play with, they were pretty much set and in their new "toy zone" until we needed to leave for celebrations with Sean's mom. Her home is always perfectly dressed for the season with a warm cozy fire and decorations galore. We had a very nice time and we were able to get the annual family picture done before the rain started pouring again.

The decorations came down today... tomorrow is New Year's Eve. We will pop a bottle of apple cider bubbly just before the girls' bedtime (7PM) and yell a raucous HAPPY NEW YEAR before they hit the hay.

Pictures below are from our Christmas festivities. :)