At 6 AM Christmas Morning, Kellan came into our room to ask for a snuggle. He didn't make mention of the living room that he had to walk through to get to us. A few moments later, he was snoring between us. At 7:30 AM, Oliver came into our room to exclaim that "SANTA WAS HERE and there is a Pop-A-Shot in the living room for the WHOLE FAMILY!!!" He went on to explain that the Pop-A-Shot didn't have a tag on it, so it must be for the whole family. I didn't expect this response, but as he continued to express this, it made my heart swell with pride that his first thought was that it was for the whole family, not just himself. In fact, I think Santa left if for both boys, but we will gladly enjoy it as a whole family.
They may have slept in, but that didn't mean they were any less excited. They were anxious in anticipation of what Santa had left, as well as what all of the other gifts were under the tree.
Does this look like a burst of excitement for some new Jake and the Neverland Pirates guys, or what?
When I was a kid, I would take each item out of my stocking, one by one.
I found it interesting that our boys just tipped it upside down for one big dump.
Santa delivered coordinating hats to Oliver and Keith.
Naturally, Oliver's was Broncos colors.
Keith's was red, black and gray to match his jacket.
That Santa is a smart one.
Oliver was super excited to get the Infinity Loom to make rubber band bracelets. To top it off, Santa delivered rubber bands in Broncos colors and his favorite color, silver.
The boys had two joint gifts; the pop-a-shot and whatever was in this big long box.
Could it be? A Fathead?
Look at that!
A Broncos Fathead for the Playroom!!
The happy activity continued for quite some time.
This isn't the most in-focus photo, but it was a quick and instant shot of Oliver's initial reaction to his new Broncos blanket from Grandma. The package had said that you could hear the cheers of fans when you opened the package. I think you could definitely hear the cheers of excitement from Oliver.
"WHOA!! Jake and the Neverland Pirates!"
Kellan has such a big imagination and watching him in imaginative play is quite entertaining. Actually, he's almost always in imaginative play. He is quite creative and we find it to be a great way to understand how he interprets what is going on around him.
Has anyone seen Kellan?
Whoop, there it is!
Santa officially delivered.
Oliver asked for a bow and arrow from Santa last year and the one that Santa's elves made broke very easily.
This year, Oliver was very specific that he wanted a Nerf Bow and Arrow and this year, Santa delivered.
Oh hey... there's Kellan!
Chess anyone?
Go Broncos!!
It didn't take long for the living room to turn into a war zone.
Mommy and Daddy may or may not have been seen in a heated archery battle later in the morning.
He aimed and fired in about .6 seconds. The kid is quick and accurate.
Meanwhile, if the package had a "K" on it, it was being opened by Kellan. This meant that if it was From: Kellan, he thought it was his and he should open it. It also meant that if it said To: Keith, he was opening it. He was very insistent that "K" was for him. We are very proud of him for learning his letters and so instead of ruining Christmas morning with tiny details, Kellan just helped the other "K" in the family.
Keith was very surprised by this gift.
Finally, he had a gnome.
When Keith and I first met, he wanted a gnome for his new yard. On our second date, he asked me to to to Estes Park (1.5 hours away) with him because they were having a craft festival and he thought that he could find a gnome there. He also thought that he could find ideas for porch swings so that he could make one. I was smitten.
We never did find a gnome or a porch swing, but we did find that we enjoyed each others company. So now, nearly twelve years later, he finally has his gnome. It also happens to be a Broncos gnome.
Kellan also has a tree house, a Jake and the Neverland Pirates tree house.
The morning was magical and we loved every second of it.
Finally... after most of the activity was done, Mommy and Daddy opened their gifts. Oliver was So Excited for Daddy to open the gift from him.
It was exactly what Daddy had said that he wanted, a slot machine.
Our friends won a real slot machine at a silent auction and Oliver heard Daddy say that he would like one. Low and behold, Oliver remembered when he saw this at the store. He couldn't have been more thrilled.
The rest of the morning was full of fun and games.
Grandma must have known that on Christmas Eve, Kellan would be a blue hippo (Head Bandz) since she sent him a Hungry Hippos game.
Finally, Oliver had a chess set and someone to teach him how to use it. He's getting ready to head back to school to challenge the big kids.
What a fantastic Christmas morning we had. It was full of fun, love and many, many hours in our PJ's. We couldn't have asked to have been more blessed.
But alas... we were. We were headed to Christmas dinner with friends on this glorious Christmas day.
