We hung out at my parents on Christmas Eve. We ate dinner, we ate snacks, we played games, we watched TV. Then at midnight, we opened all the presents under their tree, which are all trades between my parents, my siblings and their small families, and the gift exchange between my mom's extended side of the family. We were spoiled! We always are. And yes, Leila stayed up until midnight and opened (well, watched us open) her presents. She actually didn't even fall asleep until 1 am when we got in the car to go home.
Once we got home, Leila was knocked out cold, so we put her to bed so Santa could come. When Leila woke up Christmas morning, these are a few of the things that she found
This dog. She loves it. She walked out, saw it, crouched down and made grabbing motions with her hands, then walked over to it, bent down and kissed it, then hugged it. SO DANG CUTE!
This dog. She loves it. She walked out, saw it, crouched down and made grabbing motions with her hands, then walked over to it, bent down and kissed it, then hugged it. SO DANG CUTE!Next she saw the baby doll. She immediately grabbed the bottle and fed her baby.
Then she fed herself.
Then she saw the toys that she had opened the night before from Shawn, Michelle, and Kiley. A WONDERFUL guitar and keyboard that are SO quiet you can't even tell they are in the room. (Insert sarcasm here.) One might think that the noisy toys are "payback" for some dress up shoes Kiley got for her birthday that click-clack-click-clack in rapid running pattern across their hardwood floors. However, that was not my intention. Kiley loves shoes. Shawn made it very clear that these toys were bought because Leila loves music so much. (?). Either way, she actually does like them a lot. And unless she hits the "demo" button that keeps the stupid thing running, it's been a fun toy. She LOVES the microphone. She "agh agh agh agh" and blows into it to make loud sounds. But then she laughs and since I LOVE her laugh, it makes the musical instruments tolerable. For now. 
The dog got good use. She plays on it.
Then she fed herself.
Then she saw the toys that she had opened the night before from Shawn, Michelle, and Kiley. A WONDERFUL guitar and keyboard that are SO quiet you can't even tell they are in the room. (Insert sarcasm here.) One might think that the noisy toys are "payback" for some dress up shoes Kiley got for her birthday that click-clack-click-clack in rapid running pattern across their hardwood floors. However, that was not my intention. Kiley loves shoes. Shawn made it very clear that these toys were bought because Leila loves music so much. (?). Either way, she actually does like them a lot. And unless she hits the "demo" button that keeps the stupid thing running, it's been a fun toy. She LOVES the microphone. She "agh agh agh agh" and blows into it to make loud sounds. But then she laughs and since I LOVE her laugh, it makes the musical instruments tolerable. For now. 
The dog got good use. She plays on it.And sleeps on it. 
Christmas is always fun. By far one of the best Holiday's of the year. It's fun to see Kuso get into buying and wrapping and hiding presents from me. Growing up they didn't really have presents for Christmas, so this part of how we celebrate is fun and exciting for him. As long as I give him a list of ideas. He's not so keen on coming up with ideas. But he likes the excitement of surprises, so he really enjoys presents.
It's also fun to hear him talk about his traditions back home. As we drove home late Christmas Eve, he commented about how BORING Christmas is over here. In Samoa, people are up all night, eating and playing volleyball and singing songs and just spending time together. That is what Christmas is to him. He gets to have a little taste of that by playing volleyball on Christmas Eve for a few hours and basketball Christmas morning for a few hours. When our kids are older and can take care of themselves, we might be able to incorporate more of that all day all night party that the Samoan people embrace.
This year as I put up decorations, I decided to leave my two small Christ statues out rather than replacing them with snowmen. It was a good reminder to me each time I walked down the hallway to remember what Christmas is truly about. Although we have fun with presents and dinners and traditions, ultimately, Christmas is about Our Savior and the Love our Savior has for each one of us.
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