The Tree, The Gifts!

This was our tree Christmas morning! As you can tell it's a little bare on the bottom, thanks to the toddlers in the house keeping the ornaments on the lower half of the tree was a battle that they continually won;).

This Christmas was a bit different for our family. We stayed home for the 1st time (and last in Omaha:). My parents came to visit, adding a bit of excitement for the kids- who LOVE visitors. It was a much smaller Christmas. We did Christmas with my sisters at Thanksgiving and with a move coming shortly I didn't feel like adding too much stuff to our house. Each child received their Santa gift (Gavin and Avalyn picked 1- for some reason they pick just one thing every year), a surprise gift from Mommy and Daddy, and the rest were from our families. It was the perfect amount, plenty for the kids and I wasn't over whelmed by the amount:) Stockings were filled with socks and other usefull items- sippy cup, pj's, head bands, books, and of course a few duckies for Cambria. They were thrilled and had no clue that it was a smaller Christmas, it isn't about the amount- that's good for us, because we will probably have to continue with just a couple gifts from us while Kyle is in med. school.

Avalyn received her Lalaloopsy doll, Jewel Sparkle, she went straight for her and was so excited (she had never seen her in person).

Gavin was beyond excited about his Nintendo DSi XL Super Mario Bro. special edition- he wanted a DS, but was shocked to get such a special one:)

The babies received their own Lalaloopsy dolls- they are already sharing with big sister. I was actually surprised at how much they enjoy playing with them. The large blow up, bouncy animals were from the grandparents. I read about these in an article and went searching for a good deal (they cost $50-$60 each). I was thrilled they were large (involve no small parts= less mess), hold up to 400 pounds (fun for all the kids). We have purged most of the toys around here and almost all of the baby toys, Ainsley isn't really into playing with toys. The only large baby toy we still have is the bouncing zebra and the girls still love it, but they will out grow it. These animals were the perfect solution, the kids can carry them from room to room and they all LOVE them. I was originally going to buy one (since Cambria refuses to share), but I found a good deal on each and it was nice to give Ainsley something (even if Cambria doesn't like that idea). The Rody horse I bought at the children's museum with a 25% off coupon, I was thrilled to find it in bright pink. Gyffy the giraffe I got on Amazon for $34 (with free shipping) it is larger than the horse and super cute. The girls love them and they will be played with for many years to come!

The surprise gift from Mommy and Daddy was the doll house and shelves. Kyle built the shelves/ night stand. It was perfect and looks great with baskets I found at Target. The doll house was my sisters and mine when we were little. Our daddy built it and painted it pink, it has had many years of play from us and our niece, but was never finished. I spent several late nights before Christmas staining the roof and painting the interior.

It turned out pretty cute. I had a difficult time stopping, but I was tired and figured with furniture in it it would fill the space quickly (the furniture is in the baskets on the shelves).