Christmas
We had a wonderful Christmas! I love Christmas and I LOVED having Todd and the kids home from work and school for almost two weeks. We really enjoyed our time together.
Decorating the tree is something the children especially look forward to. They do a pretty good job, but we tend to have a lot of ornaments up high. It is just more fun to put on an ornament if you get to use the ladder!
It is always fun to sit on Santa's lap!
This year we didn't have to use a doll for baby Jesus!
We have a tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve--new pajamas! Notice Jared's footie pajamas. Jared really likes them, but we all (including Jared) think they are hysterical.
We also have a tradition of reading "The Night Before Christmas" before going to bed on Christmas Eve. We save this book as our last book to open as part of our Christmas countdown. Each year we wrap 24 Christmas books and open one each night until Christmas.
Christmas morning was very exciting. We negotiated with the kids what time they could come upstairs and wake us up for present opening. It was agreed that 7:08am was the magic time!
Santa brought Joshua his very own Leapster!
Ethan received a Ripstik from Santa. More bruises and ripped jeans as soon as the snow melts!
Megan and Amanda both got American Girl dolls from Santa. They have really wanted American Girl dolls for about three years now and had pretty much given up hope of ever getting one. Santa has got to be real because Mom and Dad think these dolls are ridiculously overpriced!
Jared's gift from Santa was a kit to put together electrical circuits to create things like lights, door bells and radios. It is actually a pretty impressive toy.
Rebecca had some help opening her present from Santa. (Doesn't she look thrilled?!) She got a CD player so now Mom can play music in her room during naps. Hopefully this will help her sleep through the noises of five older siblings.
Larry also enjoys the Christmas season and loves to sleep under the tree.
Todd and the kids put together a 1000 piece puzzle. 
Many games were played during the Christmas break.
One of the kids' favorite things to do is have Nerf gun wars with Dad. We have plenty of artillery for everyone and they also set up barricades to shoot behind. Our Nerf gun rules have evolved over time. The rule used to be don't shoot people. Then it became don't shoot people in the head, followed by don't shoot people in the face. We have now just equipped everyone with safety glasses!
We really enjoyed the slower pace having a newborn brought to this Christmas season. Isn't she a sweetie? (I know--I'm biased!)