Today was a fantastic Christmas. Eva was up at 6:20am and ready to go. She came into our bedroom and wanted to know if Santa had come and left the presents. She was so excited. We went to the dining room and there Eva found a half eaten cookie and some broken carrots plus a handwritten note to Eva from Santa. She was so excited that Santa mentioned Fitzy (her Elf on the Shelf), plus the spicy cookies. She was so very excited.

As she opened each gift she wanted to really open it up and use it. We had a nice leisurely morning Christmas. Allison made some frosted cinnamon rolls but Eva was not that interested on them. I’m surprised too, but I think she was too interested in her gifts. She got some watercolor paints, a “suitcase” of princess related art stuff, a HESS truck and jet plus a couple of puzzles and a Loving Family Doghouse to go with her Loving Family Grand Doll house. She was absolutely adorable.

At the end of the gift opening Allison brought Eva a special Santa Cookie that we got from Jack’s Cookie Jar. I had fun taking photos of her eating the cookie and yes, I did goad her a bit to bite off the head first. I then printed out that photo and we gave to Uncle “Santa” Howard. He got a huge kick out of it.

Allison and Eva got me a new set of Sleep pants and a great shirt. It is Mickey Mouse and Mickey Pants. I love them! I gave Allison a great book on knitting and she has already picked out about 7 sweaters that she wants to make.

We went down to my parent’s house and we opened some more presents. We opened a few gifts with the whole family, Grandfather, Memere, Aunt Tara, Uncle Erik, Aunt Shelby and Uncle Tim. Eva was the center of attention and the main attraction. She kept everyone in stitches. A little while later Uncle Howard and Nana Bonnie arrived. They had the big gift for Eva with them. You see, we went to Bass Pro shops a while ago and Eva saw a Disney Princess backpack with a fishing rod, sunglasses and “the other stuff (her word)” She asked ever single Santa that she met before Christmas for this gift. She told Uncle Howard this at Thanksgiving and so he and Nana Bonnie went out and picked up that for her, they also found another fishing pole and a fishing net.

This was the gift that Eva had been waiting for all through Christmas. She asked about it last night, she asked about it this morning and she asked about it many times. When she finally opened it she was beyond excited. She had Uncle Howard pretending to be a fish and she kept reeling him in. We all got a huge laugh from that.

My sister Tara took care of our dinner and made some really nice things like spring rolls with peanut sauce and broccoli. We also had a ham and some meat pie. She also made a gluten free blueberry pie. All very delicious.

dad and I gave Tara a joint gift. While we were at Camden Yards he picked up a Cal Ripken Jr. shirt for Tara. You see, Cal Ripken Jr. is someone that Tara looks up to so much. she is a huge fan of who he is and what he stands for and she had a bunch of facts about him as she opened the gift. Then we blew her mind with the signed Cal Ripken Jr. ball that I won at Modern Media Man. I am so happy that Chevy sponsored Cal to come and speak to us there. My one regret is not getting a picture of me with Cal. She was so happy opening this gift.

Later my grandfather, uncle and aunt plus cousins came to visit. Grandpa gave us an afgahan that my Grandma Theresa made in the sixties. I remember it growing up. It was a very thoughtful gift to give us and we will treasure it and her memory. Whenever I think of Christmas, I think of Grandma Theresa. She loved Christmas and she loved seeing her grandkids happy and opening tons of presents.

We had a very nice day, I hope that your family did too.