Christmas Eve Part I - 2012

Christmas Eve has been different with a little around these past three years.  We spend the whole day at home as a family (usually we go to our Christmas Eve church service, sadly, this year we didn't make it) opening gifts and doing a little something with little man.  Then later that day we head over to Jer's mom and stepdads house and spend the evening with that whole side of the family.  

So while we were at home that day our day went like this: we opened gifts, played with said gifts and made some cookies which was a first for baby boy.  He's such a great helper I'm not sure why I waited so long.  I see lots of cookies and weight gaining in the future.  Sorry love-handles and thighs.  

We set him up on the bar stool next to the counter and went to work.  He loved pushing the cookie cutters into the dough, pulling them off and pushing them back onto the same cookie he just cut out.  :)

Eventually he got the hang of it.

After about 10 minutes or so, he was over the cookie-cutter-outing so we moved on to the decorating.  This was more of his forte.  

He went crazy with the sprinkles.  The cookies, the counter, his lap and the floor got a little sprinkled.  

See Jer?  Yeah, he's doing the dishes.  And nope.  He doesn't even mind.  He loves helping out in the domestic department.  :)

We put a few bigger sprinkles (cinnamon balls) on them and he made sure they were pushed down (buried) real hard.  

Baked, beautiful and ready for taste testing.  

I think he likes his creation.  

All that cookie making was such hard work. 

After they were baked we added some decorative icing.  

Along with a little icing testing.  Have to make sure it's up to par for these cookies, of course.

Then it was Christmas present opening time.  We set up our laptop and recorded the whole-entire-gift-opening process.  Almost an hour long.  I'll make it into a video for our viewing pleasure years down the road.  

Christmas was fun this year because he really got into actually opening up his gifts.  And he loved everything he got, little or big.

This was a HUGE hit.  He couldn't stop playing with it even when he had more gifts to open. 

Parking his trucks so he can finish opening gifts.

See that Santa bag next to him?  Yeah, we kept trying to get him to open it.  He wasn't paying any attention to us.  He was all about his ramp toy.

Toddler legs crossed.....nothing cuter!

My presents that Jer set out for me to open.  In this order.  Ha.

After our gifts were open we got dressed and headed over to Nana's house and ended the day there eating some awesome food and visiting with awesome family.