Christmas photo overload

The Christmas tree before hand.  Looking a little dead.  We've decided the options with real trees are: one that dies like a week after you get it or one that gets sap all over everything.  

(By the way, there are presents for like 10 people under that tree.)

Growing up we always had one big gift left unwrapped next to our stocking.  We don't do stockings for the kids yet, but we do leave one gift unwrapped.  Here's Kalena with hers.

She was so excited about her gift (the cart and food are from my parents) that she would smile and say cheese but not look at the camera.

Here's Will's unwrapped gift (the Little People Zoo from Brian and I.)  I didn't get a shot of him with it, but it has been the most fought over gift of the bunch.  

Brian's parents got each of the kids a triceratops pillow pet and good thing there are two!  Because there would be some serious fighting otherwise.  There actually has been a little fighting anyway because the pillows have names on them and Kalena wants to make sure she always has hers.  

Will made several thrilled and excited faces throughout the morning.  I managed to capture zero of them on camera.

Kalena was happy to smile for me though.

Will testing out his gift from my parents, a Vtech alphabet train.  Again, I promise he was excited about it, despite the face here.

Here's my sister, proving to the world that you never have to stop wearing footed pajamas.  (Also featuring Will and Amelia in their own footed pajamas.)

I mentioned on Twitter the other day that even though my mom's mother died in September, she had already finished all her Christmas gifts, so we each got one last gift from her this year.  Her great-grandkids (my kids & nieces and nephews) each got a set of Little Golden books.  (Which, incidentally, my mom and I helped her pick out when we were visiting in August.)  And her grandkids and my parents got handmade blankets.  It was bittersweet to open them.  Here's ours.

(Not sure why I look half asleep.  I blame Brian, because he took the picture.)

And, last but not least, I managed to get one good picture of Amelia and Kalena dressed up before church Christmas morning.  I shouldn't really take credit though, they weren't coopering at ALL for me, then Jonathan walked over and asked them to smile and voila!  Smiles all around.  (Plus Amelia eating real food which is a rare sight.)

And if you made it all the way through this you deserve a cookie.  Or whatever yummy treat you have left at your house.