Busy (but Great) Christmas Weekend

Christmas weekend started on a very good note. Since Jeremy had to work on Christmas Day, we had asked Santa Claus to come early and deliver the presents so we could open them Christmas Eve morning. When Brooke woke up that morning, Jeremy and I darted out of bed. He was in charge of putting on the Christmas music and setting up the video camera. I went into Brooke's room and told her that Santa Claus came that night while she was sleeping. She immediately smiled from ear to ear. We went into the bathroom, brushed teeth and went potty, and then waiting at the top of the stairs for Daddy to call us to come down. As we were sitting at the top of the stairs, she looked through the mirror above the fireplace and spotted the presents under the tree. She exclaimed "There's presents under the tree" and started to do a little happy dance. Daddy called us downstairs, and she immediately ran to the Christmas tree to start opening presents. She was a pro! There were a few presents that she needed Mommy to start, but she ripped the wrapping paper off in no time at all. Everytime she unwrapped a present, she would ask us to open the box so she could play with whatever was inside. After the presents were all opened, we played for a while before we had to go to Church.

Later that day, we went to St. Albert for Church with G.G. and Poppop. We sat in the cry room (not because of Brooke, but because no other seats were available). It ended up working out well, because Brooke got a little louder than "church level" at times. After Church, we went to Grandma's and Grandpa's for some appetizers. Because of impending bad weather, Jeremy ended up leaving Christmas Eve night for work the next day. He arrived to work safely, only to wake up to a measely inch had accumulated during the night. Oh well...better safe than sorry!

On Christmas morning, Brooke woke up and we went over to Grandma's and Grandpa's house so she could open her presents there. Again, she had a great time opening all her gifts, and I have to say that Grandma hit the jackpot this year. Her favorite gift is a carrier of stuff for Baby Lexi. She plays with it nonstop. We ate breakfast over there and hung out for a bit, and then went home.

While Brooke napped, I got things ready to go to Aunt Sharon's for the Rembold Christmas party. We arrived there around 3:30 and stayed until 10:00. Brooke had a ball following her cousin, Jake around. She couldn't quite keep up, but she tried! It's nice to have another little one around the on Rembold side. Again, she made out like a bandit on Christmas presents. A ton of cute clothes and lots of good toys to play with. Her favorite from that day was probably the princess books that Aunt Sharon got her or the pull along dog that G.G. and Poppop got her.

On Sunday, we had the Eadens side of the family over to our house. We did a brunch (which is my favorite meal), and it seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves. We don't spend enough time with some members of the Eadens family, so it was nice to spend several hours together. She got a penguin pillow pet, a portable DVD player, a learning laptop and a princess palace little people set. The princess palace has been a lot of fun for her to play with!

After the Eadens family left on Sunday, I mandated family nap time. We all layed down on the floor in the den with pillows and blankets and watched Cinderella. It took Brooke all of 15 minutes to fall asleep.

We had a fantastic weekend spending time with family. Brooke is very lucky to be born into such a wonderful and loving family. We are truly blessed to have wonderful people in our lives. I thank God everyday for that.