Christmas in Texas

With a brand new baby in the house, this Christmas was bound to be a little different than usual. Some of the changes were a little harder than others, like not getting to see all of the family that we usually see in Utah each year. We missed them all! We were still able to keep plenty of other traditions though, like decorating the tree, making cookies and visiting Santa. Ben also got to participate in his preschool's Christmas program. He had been singing the songs at home that they had been learning all month. When the actual program came he mostly just jumped up and down in favor of singing. That's our boy!

The best change to our Christmas this year by far was our visit from Grandma and Grandpa Haas! Believe me, I had been counting down the days until their arrival all month! They came to meet baby Andrew, to play with the big kids and to help us keep our sanity! They were such a huge help and it was so much fun to share our Christmas with them. It had been 11 years since I was last with them for Christmas so it really was special. The kids LOVED Grandma and Grandpa's willingness to play blocks, read books, go to the park and take them on walks. I LOVED their willingness to cook, clean, hold the baby and keep the big kids busy for hours on end! We made sure to have a little fun with them outside of the house as well and took them to the zoo, the Alamo, the Riverwalk and to Rudy's for some authentic Texas bar-b-q.

Christmas Eve finally came and the kids couldn't have been more excited. Grandma Irwin had given Andrew a Santa suit and I couldn't resist taking a few pictures. Cutest Santa ever! Sam, Audrey and Ben got in their new Christmas jammies and we read about Jesus' birth. They quickly and happily went to bed and once they were really asleep, Santa got to work.

Christmas morning came bright and early. Since Christmas was on Sunday this year and our church was at 9am, the kids had a lesson in patience. We opened our stockings and had some of Grandpa's yummy sweedish twist for breakfast but presents had to wait until after church. It was the first time that Andrew and I went to church since he was born and a perfect way to spend Christmas morning. After church we all got back into our pj's and picked up where we left off. Santa didn't disappoint! The biggest surprise came from Mommy and Daddy though... a trampoline!! Keith couldn't put it up on Christmas eve because of bad weather but the very next day he put it up and the kids couldn't get enough! Between a new baby, Grandma and Grandpa and a new trampoline I'm not sure we'll be able to top this next year. Wish us luck!