Christmas 2011

As Christmas morning approached, there was evidence that Santa had been at the Hamilton house.

Oliver was all set and ready to roll.

Kellan was fixin' to get some good loot.

Even Mom, Dad and Miss Anne had stockings filled with joy.

One thing Santa forgot, was a battery for the one gift Oliver requested at his visit with Santa.  Batteries for the remote control car.  Thankfully Rite Aid is open around the clock.

The first thing Christmas morning we heard from the foot of our bed where an excited four-year-old was sleeping on his Buzz Light Year bed, "I think there are presents downstairs."  As hard as it as, we asked him to wait for us to get up.  Then, we took him to peer downstairs as we got his brother up.  Anne met us in the hallway and we tackled Christmas morning as a team of five.  Right away, Oliver spotted the silver remote control race car.

He was very excited to show us all of its bells and whistled, including wheels that lit up.

He also got a Smurf's movie, which he had been asking about since he got a Smurf's book at his school book exchange.

Kellan was a bit more cautious as this is the first Christmas he has really participated in.  His critical first step was a warm bottle.  Everything after that was just gravy, including his stuffed stocking.

Kellan was content watching from the stairs with his bottle in hand and his new sock monkey hat keeping his noggin warm.

Eventually, Kellan moved into the action where Oliver helped teach him how to tear into Christmas gifts.

Kellan got a collection of balls from his big brother, which were a hit.

"There must be more in there somewhere."

Kellan found himself with a new tool bench.  He enjoyed his cousin William's so much that Santa thought he could use one of his own.  Mommy and Oliver kept working their way through the Christmas loot.

A view from above near the end of the morning activities that occurred prior to the sun coming up.

As an art lover, Oliver got a new Cars art set.

Sometimes, you just have to take a moment to enjoy your morning coffee and the craziness that two kids bring to Christmas morning that make it so amazing.

Toward the end of the morning Kellan got the hang of unwrapping gifts.

Anne thought about snagging Oliver's new Spider-Man shirt since he wasn't thrilled about receiving clothes for Christmas.  (I didn't know clothes lost their excitement so early)  After Oliver heard that Anne was going to try Spider-Man on for size he changed his mind and thought it was OK to have a new shirt, especially with Spidey.

The octopus Leap Frog toy was a big hit.  We found it on the top gift list for 2011.  We would have never guessed, but it's a fan favorite.

Daddy found himself with snowboard boots and bindings to compliment the new snowboard he got for his birthday.  Mommy found Apple TV under the tree, which is beyond awesome to connect all of her fun electronic gadgets and boost music throughout the house.

Oliver took some time to read his new book, which he explained that he also has at school.

Kellan really enjoyed the new Old McDonald puppet glove from Nana and Papa.

(Notice his "thumbs up" toe.  We have pictures with Oliver giving the same toe sign.)

As always, Kellan is a fan of books and he was thrilled that Miss Anne was up for the task of reading him a story.  He was quite smitten with her and even found himself comfortable enough to rest an elbow on top of her head.

What's this?  New Wheels?

Oliver got a new bike with pedals.  Even though it was not on the top of his list, Santa thought that it was a good gift idea.  He must know that Oliver will love it more and more as the snow melts and springtime arrives.

He rode around and around as much as he could.  Sometimes, he needed a bit of a push to get started.

If there was a helping hand, Oliver was up for receiving it.

Our Oliver is getting to be such a big boy.  The new bike is a bit different than the Stryder that he rules the neighborhood on, but we are confident that he'll have the hang of the Stinger in no time.

Later that day, Oliver took a much needed rest with Smurf's on the DVD player.

Mommy took the Stinger for a spin while we waited for our Christmas dinner guests.

We were so pleased to host the Hess family for Christmas this year.

Mommy (Carrie), Kellan and Stephanie

The guys supervised the activity of warming up the meal that we had worked on all day.

Kellan just bounced around with a spring in his step.

Miss Evelyn was adorable as always, especially with her new Rudolph.

The kids found the Rams blow-up figure to be a big hit.  Thanks Uncle Jerry.

Jonny and Kellan are only two months apart and each time we get together they seem to stare at each other as if to have mind reading communication skills.

Jonny and Kellan catching up.

The criss-cross race track was a big hit for the kids as Oliver and Evelyn took a break to smile for the camera.

Even Freddie paused for a picture.

Anne was an absolute Saint as she cleaned up the entire kitchen.  We may be in debt to her for many visits to come.  Maybe five kids running around on a Christmas high was too much to handle.  For the rest of us, we just rolled with it.  No one was crying, whining or bleeding so everything must be great.

Ahhhh... Christmas Love

Carrie and Keith and our 9th Christmas together.

Who needs mistletoe when this guy is so kissable?

A snap shot of the hurricane that went through the living room.  Really, there is no sense in getting too excited to clean it up until the end of the festivities.

Everyone had such an amazing time.  It really was the best way to end Christmas Day.

After an amazing spread of appetizers and ham dinner, we capped it off with pumpkin pie, wine cake and Tuaca and cider.  Can you say YUM?!

When there is pie, the kids aren't far away.

Jonny and Kellan knew where to get the good stuff.

As the day was winding down, the kids were jointly coloring on kitchen floor.  These kids really do have a great time together.

Can it get much cuter?

Evelyn, Freddie and (tired eyes) Oliver.

What an amazing Christmas we had!

Thank you to Anne for traveling East from Nevada to spend the holiday with us.  Thank you to the Hess family for braving the cold winter evening to cap off Christmas in Hamess style.  You all really did make it the best Hamilton Christmas ever.