Christmas at Grandma's

Christmas at Mama's.

This was Daniel's third Christmas in our family.  And apparently that made him somewhat of a 'Christmas expert'...at least in his eyes.  It was fun though to listen to him explain to his little sister that, "On Christmas Eve we go to Gran-ma's house..."

"Nat-a-wee, first we go church at Gran-ma's house and then we go to bed and in the morning...(dramatic pause here)...PRESENTS!"

And that's pretty much the way it goes.  

We attend the Christmas Eve service, hold our breath the entire time our kids hold a candle during Silent Night, and then are among the last to leave the sanctuary as we stop to hug nearly everyone we see. 

Christmas Eve 2013...at Mama's church

Then we head back to Mama's to get ready for bed.

(Though he did miss the part about our annual fondue meal which includes my mom, my mother-in-law, my sister, my aunt, two cousins, spouses and kids.  12 adults and 10 kids can put away a whole lot of cheese, meat and chocolate!  Not sure how that slipped under his radar...)

And then, Christmas morning, the excitement builds!

Seven kids ready to charge upstairs and see what Santa brought them.

(this year Disney Dance party for the Wii was the biggest hit...round these parts Santa brings games, books and maybe a movie or two)

I think one of my favorite parts of Christmas this year was how excited Daniel was for Natalie to experience it with us.

Last year when we took the tree down and put the decorations away Daniel cried.  When questioned why he was so upset, he answered that he wanted Natalie to have Christmas too.  We explained to him that after she came home there would be another Christmas and the weekend we returned from China he began to ask if it was time to get a Christmas tree.

When the time finally arrived he appointed himself the one to explain Christmas to his new little sister.  It was a special holiday time indeed...

Another thing I'll long remember about this Christmas was the volume.

Imagine all those squeals of joy...

...and all the excited cries of, "Wow, look at this!"  And multiply them.

By seven.  It's pretty awesome...and loud.

And I wouldn't have it any other way!

As loud as it can be, it gets equally as quiet when they try out their new toys/games/gadgets.

It was a great first Christmas home for our little one and I already find myself looking forward to seeing her reaction to it all again next year when she realizes that it wasn't just a one time thing.