Christmas 2012!

It is not yet 7PM on Christmas night and I am blogging.  I have time to do this because Shyla went to sleep at 6:15 and Harper is being rocked as I type.  It was a blessed, successful, tiresome, wonderful day!

After a great Christmas Eve lunch at my folks with Uncle Miguel (hereafter referred to as Monkey Pow), Sofia, and Aunt Sherry, we headed home for night-night time.  

After a nice bath and dinner Shyla got a plate of cookies and brussel sprouts ready for Santa and his reindeer.

She didn't have any trouble falling asleep but she woke up around 1AM, in tears, asking if Santa came yet.  He, in fact, had already been here but I just tucked her back into bed and she drifted back into dreamland quite easily.
We must have all been on the good list, because this is what we woke up to:

Shyla's stocking was packed full, but she was most interested in the candycane.  That was, after all, the only thing she had "ordered" from Santa.

And, as you know, she had "ordered" a plunger for Harper.

If Shyla becomes a big softball star, this picture may be famous.

The girls got cabbage patch dolls - sisters!

We sang happy birthday to Jesus and let Shyla blow out the candle.

Then we headed over to my parents!  Amongst other things we gave Mom the gift of a paver in the garden at St. Pius dedicated to her parents.  We can tell she loves it because she has a real smile!

This was probably a common scene in cars everywhere today.

We later went to Grandma Barbara's house and celebrated Christmas with the rest of the family over there.  I don't have a lot of pictures but it was a lovely time.  Great food, fun peeps, and good entertainment in watching Harper wrestle with Shyla.

When we got home we realized that we had missed two presents!  Santa must be really good at hiding things!  Shyla got a new guitar and Harper some marachas!

I know I sound a bit like a broken record but we are so very lucky.  We don't take anything we have for granted, though, and we try to do our parts to help others.  These 2 girls, Harpey and Shy-Shy, are the greatest gifts we could ever ask for.  Each and every day with them is amazing and they fill our hearts with joy.  They are so different and yet so similar.  It was so fun to watch Shyla this year, as it was the first in which she really "got" Christmas and what was going on around her. 

Now that Christmas is over, I am really looking forward to the rest of Winter Break and spending as much quality time with my girls and Stevie as I can.  Speaking of that, one of my Christmas presents, Scrabble, is awaiting.....

Merry Christmas!