Merry Christmas!

 

We had a busy week of Christmas celebrations this year.  Our first Christmas was with the Humenansky family the week before.  It has become a tradition on this side of the family for the adults to play “The Dice Game” rather than exchange gifts.  But as the kids have become older, they want more and more to play with us.  So this year Brian’s aunt Debbie planned a dice game for the kids to play too… and it was so cute!  They started playing by picking wrapped presents until they each had one and then they opened them.  At that point all the boys traded to get the cars and all the girls traded to get the animals or games. 

Addie, Maddie, Brayden, Riley, Avery, and Noah with their dice game loot!

Our second celebration was on Christmas Eve with the Corbett’s.  We had our traditional meal of prime rib with twice baked potatoes, and opened presents, and watched the cousins play. 

Grandma Dayna and Papa with all of their grandkids: Max, Mikko, Addie and Riley

It was then time to go home and leave out cookies, milk, and carrots for Santa and his reindeer.

All ready for Santa!

Christmas morning was the best yet, watching Addie’s excitement and Max’s uncertainty to this whole Christmas “thing”.  We opened presents, ate breakfast, drank coffee, and just enjoyed watching the two of them play and make a complete mess of our living room.

Max's First Christmas

As you can see, Max had fun ripping the paper and then trying to chew on it while ignoring whatever gift was inside.  Addie carefully checked all the presents under the tree to see who they were for and who they were from.  I think the funniest part was how thrown Addie was that Santa didn't just bring her pajamas that match her and her baby and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas book.  She was confused by the extra presents in her stocking and at first was a little disappointed that the things she asked for weren't in there!

After our little family Christmas we were then off!  Off to church, my mom’s for our Engstrom Christmas, then to the KC Hall for the Rodgers’ Christmas.  Max received so many cuddles and kisses through the day and Addie enjoyed running around with Carson and Cooper.

Engstrom Family: Brian, Nancy, Eric, John, Max, Angie, Brian, and Addie

This year was by far our best Christmas to date, and I expect that as the kids get older, each year will keep getting better and better!

Max and Addie's first Christmas as brother and sister!