It was a fun morning because Tabitha really got the whole concept of unwrapping and finding treasures this year. She was so fun to watch, as always.
Here's the haul... (Basically all I see in this picture is that I really need to put up some drapes- what a boring room.) Oh, and since Brandon insists on putting up the big tree that only fits in our foy-yay, we don't open presents under the tree. There's not enough space, and the floor is hard and cold. Oh yeah, here's the haul...
Brandon and I jumped out of bed at 6:35am. We had an appointment to call my mom on Skype at 6:30 so she could watch the kids open. Most of what they had to open was from her, so of course she should be there to see it. We woke up the kids and here's the big reveal...
Tabitha ran to her new bunny slippers first. "Shoes", she said. She totally passed right by her new Barbie Trike. Big surprise, she has the Griesemer shoe gene.
After the slippers she claimed the "Green Machine" for her very own, still not noticing her Barbie Trike. She'll let Daxton drive her around though. Driving Miss Tabitha...
Daxton asked Santa for a Spy Remote Control. We had our fingers crossed when he was opening this, but it appears Santa did alright.
Grady asked Santa for Lego Indiana Jones for the Wii and he got it, but I failed to get a picture of him opening it, so you get to enjoy this picture instead. This is Grady's excitement over his present from Aunt Jessie, a Camelback.
And this is Miss Tabitha resting comfortably on her gift from Aunt Jessie, a stool with a puzzle of her name. I LOVE THESE STOOLS! Hyatt got one too and now all the kids have them. : ) Yes, those are new shoes she's holding too. She wanted to put them on right after she opened them.
Here's the girl with her gift from Santa. He must have read her mind because it looks like she got exactly what she wanted- PINK LEGOS!
The kids got a special letter from Santa. It was left by Santa's cookie plate, and this is what it looked like...
This is Daxton reading it. It was actually a very touching moment.
When the presents were all opened, we said goodbye to Grandma "in the box", which is what we call her to Tabitha because she only ever has seen my mom "in the box". We headed back over to Nana and Grandpa's house for breakfast and more present opening. I loved seeing Nana with several of her big sons around her and couldn't resist taking this picture. Of course, they are hovering while they wait for her to finish the whipped cream for the waffles.
And this picture is just to prove that Hyatt is still part of our family. We love him, so we let him sleep through the initial present opening. Aunt Britney loved on him at Nana's, and if you look closely for the brown and white stripes, you can find him.
Tabitha enjoys her Aquadoodle later in the afternoon. Now she thinks she has markers : ).
I wanted to include a copy of our Christmas letter for the year, because it gives a good summary of the year (ya know, for posterity), so here is the text:
Merry Christmas!
We’ve had another very blessed year in our family. I’ll start with the biggest event… the birth of Hyatt, our last child, caboose, grand finale, or however you want to put it. Hyatt is an amazingly well-behaved, patient, and happy little guy. He is loved very much around here. Hyatt was born
Tabitha is one month away from her 2nd birthday. She’s a petite little thing with an enormous personality. We can’t seem to get her over
Grady is 5 and in Kindergarten. He has the same teacher Daxton had and he absolutely adores her. He is an excellent student and is in the Accelerated Reader program. He loves to do his homework and I don’t even have to ask most of the time. Grady’s going through a bit of a rebellious streak, which conflicts with his normally amicable personality. If I ask him to do something I either get an “of course”, or an all out fit of crying. He loves to tease Tabitha, play Legos, watch TV, go to the park, play soccer, participate in running club, and make crafty projects. Our goal for the coming year is to get him to ride his bike without training wheels.
Daxton is 7 and in 2nd Grade. School is not his favorite thing. He would pretty much rather do anything than homework. That being said, he is still an excellent student. He gets 100’s on his spelling tests almost every week. He reads really well, and he is memorizing his math facts. Once the work is done though, you can find him drawing on the back of his paper. He loves to draw and is very good at it. 90% of the books he checks out from the school library are books that teach him how to draw better. We are thinking of putting him in the Young Rembrandts program next semester. Other things Daxton loves include wrestling with anyone who is willing, playing Wii, playing with our new neighbor girls, playing soccer, participating in running club, and “babysitting” Tabitha. He will be baptized in May!
My new hobby of the year is cake decorating. I am learning so much and am able to practice on cakes that my friends ask me to make. I will be making my first wedding cake this week! I stay very busy with Tabitha and Hyatt home during the day and homework and soccer for the boys after school I am now the Visiting Teaching Coordinator at church and it’s a welcome break from Primary. My quilting business is somewhat on the backburner these days. It is really difficult to work with two babies in the house. My goal for the year is to spend less time on my computer and more time with my kids : ).
Brandon and I feel overwhelmingly blessed to have such wonderful children. We have our challenges with them, but most of that comes from our own impatience and inexperience. We are all healthy and happy and I feel that we can’t ask for much more than that. I hope that this letter finds you and your family healthy and happy as well. We love you all and wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Love, Brandon & Mandy Rohner
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