The excitement is building!

You know it's going to be a good day when you have already managed to get a good two hour nap in before 8 am :-)

After a very poor sleep, I got up at 5 am with the baby to sit in the recliner with her in hopes that she would sleep better there for a bit (she's teething... And I had some Christmas baking with milk in it on thurs night which is more likely the cause). Unfortunately, the kids are so excited about Christmas that they aren't sleeping either and got up at 6, shortly after the baby and me fell back asleep, so I dragged myself back upstairs and had a nap.

When Sean and I both emerged at 8am we came down to the funniest sight: two kids who have been left alone for two hours, jumping around the living room amidst piles of empty wrappers and half eaten life savers. They apparently found the candy that they got from my parents the night before (which I tried to hide and take out again on Christmas day... To no avail). They are now twirling and spinning like tops that won't stop!!! Good thing I got that good nap in this morning :-)

Last night we celebrated an early Christmas with my half of the family because my sister is flying out to her in-laws today for the week. So we spent the afternoon at her house helping her cook a ham and then our parents and grandma sonny came over in the evening for a fun celebration.

She did a great job of cooking! I was there to teach her the finer points of how to cook a big dinner for your whole family. First lesson was while we were resting comfortably on the couch:

me: "the first thing we have to do is get the vegetables peeled and into some water so we don't have to worry about them later. Here's the easiest way to do it: you ask the men if they would please go peel the vegetables"

She caught on right away and yelled "Sean, Jack! Could you please peel the potatoes and carrots?" and of course the men, being well trained into the finer arts of dealing with the women of our family, trotted into the kitchen and bonded while peeling piles of potatoes and carrots.

This is how my mother and my grandmother taught me how to cook and who am I to break family tradition? I still can hear the echo in my mind of Grandma yelling "Pete!" all through the dinner making process. (sure do miss that guy!)

We had a lovely evening together, and the kids were allowed to open their present from Auntie Melissa and Uncle Jack (which was more like FIVE presents... But I digress), and spent the rest of the night running around in their new PJs (Z is now Superman with a real cape!). My favorite part was the roaring fire she bought for a bargain $2 from the Cable company.

Oh! and the baby learned how to clap!!! and she is so delightful to watch. She claps when she gets excited about getting some food to eat.