Merry Christmas, Baby!

As Otis Redding would say, "Merry Christmas, baby!"(That has even been Bridget's pretty-tacky ring-tone for the holiday season). We had a fantastic vacation that was very laid-back and very much enjoyed by everyone in the family. Rachel has been SO excited for Christmas this year, so it made it very highly anticipated for everyone else too. The big thing on her wish list? An umbrella. Here she is at our ward Christmas party asking the Santa for one. In this picture Ian had almost pulled off Santa's beard and there had to be a quick parent intervention before he was revealed as one of Santa's helpers and not the big guy himself.
Here's Rachel giving Santa her letter that she crafted the first day we put up decorations. She was very brave about going right up and asking for what she wanted. It's a far cry from last year's petrified visit to Mr. Claus.One happy girl!

Christmas Eve started with a bang with some major cookie cooking and later in the day, decorating. Rachel was in charge of the candy decorating and we were not lacking for red-hots on the gingerbread cookies.
We have very willingly adopted one of the Lee traditions of having a huge "feast" on Christmas Eve. It is tons of tantalizing finger foods and of course many treats. The best part is most of it is microwaveable and the end result is simply delicious!
Poor Ian had a major cold for Christmas Eve and so Justin and Bridget had to trade off with him through the night. And, Rachel was so excited about Christmas she had a hard time sleeping and was up from about 12:00-1:30. So, here's a picture of Christmas at about 5:00 a.m when one of us was wide awake with a child. But, the sleepless night was totally worth it because it was so cute to see how excited Rachel was when she came down in the morning. We were impressed by how much she savored opening the presents (it took about an hour and a half) and how much fun it was to be with our little family.

Yeah, Santa brought an umbrella and we hope he has insurance for a trip to the emergency room for a poked out eye! Other highlights were: rubber duckies, her first pair of kid scissors, books, and a princess dance video with wand. She was pretty much spoiled and it has been very fun since the big day!

Ian's big thing was an excersaucer. He has been loving it and it's nice to be able to contain him for a few 5 minutes intervals through the day.

Santa also brought our girl her first sled. In the week since Christmas, sledding has become a major hit and another way to enjoy the Minnesota winter.
Taking a break from opening gifts to read one of the few great books she received. As you may have noticed, the umbrella has been accompanying us pretty much everywhere for the last few days.
Ian's favorite part was hands down the wrapping paper. The poor kid finally got to play with the previously-forbidden part of the Christmas decor.
Opening Grandma and Grandpa's princess present!
Here are two of the fun toys for Ian from awesome grandparents and uncles. He was kind of dazed Christmas morning, but since then they have been major hits! Thanks everyone for the great presents - we felt pretty spoiled! After presents, Justin treated us to yummy crepes for breakfast and then we lazed around for the rest of the morning.

In the afternoon we headed over to the student housing (where most of our friends live that are going to the big state university) for a party with the families that don't have extended family in the area. Christmas fun continued for the kids with unlimited treats, shows, and lots of running around. Here they are captivated for a few minutes.
The adults played some fun games and contrary to what it looks like in this picture Justin (and Bridget) had a fun time.
The kids made this "train" out of the chairs.
Rachel on the train.
On the way home she took the liberty of showing us the snow depth. It was the snowiest Christmas in the Twin Cities since 1957 and we enjoyed every minute!

During the break we went to the Macy's holiday display of the Nutcracker. Just like last year, it was a huge hit (even though we had some major lines getting in) and it was fun to see their incredible animated scenes. Rachel was pretty excited because we have been talking about the Nutcracker for a while because it's in one of her favorite ballet books.
Who wants to look at the camera when you can check out the displays?
Afterward, we strolled around the skywalks and here's our girls being a "mermaid" by one of the fountains.
Justin and Rachel hanging out in a courtyard...
and walking over the streets of Minneapolis.