The Clanahan Family: Dallas Christmas, Part 3

12.29.2011

Dallas Christmas, Part 3

Whew, if you have stayed with us on our Dallas Christmas, then thank you! If I put it all in one long post, I was afraid I was going to forget something. And I want to make sure some special memories are recorded for Ryan and Quinn later on.

Christmas Day morning could not have been more perfect. The kids gave us the best Christmas present ever and slept in about an hour later than usual! Whoo hoo!

After feeding them breakfast, Christina & Blaine arrived (they were staying at a hotel since the babies had virtually taken over the house --- thanks for being troopers, guys!) and we started with the gift opening.

Gift giving at the Anderson house is not a quick process. Never has been. I, of course, am the impatient one, my brother is perfectly patient, and my mom would like for it to just last all day. She actually likes to SAVE gifts to open later on. This just makes no sense to me.

At any rate, Matt and I asked for nothing for Christmas. We were utterly content to let the kids get some gifts, but our Christmas present was just simply having both of our kids happy and healthy. That's all I've wanted since we started Quinn's saga a few months back. Yet, most went against our wishes and still got us gifts (which we LOVE by the way). And of course, the babies made out like bandits. They received a leapfrog learning laptop from Mom, which Ryan immediately somehow smashed into his mouth and received a fat, bloody lip for Christmas morning. We're still trying to figure out how that happened. They also got a cash register, alphabet soft blocks, and some LSU gear for the big game. Score!

And then of course there was Rocking Elmo from Blaine and Christina. And not just Elmo, but THE.ENTIRE.SET. Including guitar, keyboard, drums, tambourine, the works. Payback for them (hopefully soon) will be a you-know-what. But the kids were obsessed. Quinn immediately fell in love with Elmo and tried to carry him everywhere. And Ryan would not let go of the guitar to save his life. I think he would sleep with it if we let him. By the end of the day, we all had the Elmo songs ringing in our ears. In fact, it hasn't stopped since.

We stopped present opening a few times for naptime, food, more naps, and more food. Christmas, quite literally, lasted all day. We finally made it to the shower late afternoon and began making the traditional Prime Rib, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole. And I use the term "we" loosely. Blaine & Mom were in charge of the prime rib and mashed potatoes, and I was in charge of the green beans as usual and pouring the champagne. I do a really good job at this.

While we were eating, our neighbors came by to say hello and see the kids. They brought their dog "Bogey", who my kids were immediately obsessed with. Poor Bogey. That dog just wanted to be rescued and instead he was just chased around by two crazy, slightly sleep deprived children. Quinn kept trying to get Bogey to sit and even showed him how to do it. I almost died laughing and so glad I caught this little gem on video:

Anyway, this is why I love Christmas - no real plans, just spontaneous people stopping by. Our neighbors stayed through dinner and it was so fun to just catch up with them.

Then after several back and forth text messages throughout the week, I finally got an opportunity to go visit my dear friend Amy and her family. Actually, we totally busted up their family Christmas and showed up on their doorstep at 10pm. Sorry, Shackelfords and Curry families! Thanks for letting us stop by --- I just had to see Amy and her sweet family and felt badly that the kids were already asleep so they couldn't play with each other. Love ya!

The night ended wayyyyyy too late and the morning came fast and furious with the mad rush of packing up everything, getting the babies settled and trying to prolong their nap so they would sleep a good bit on the way home. Once again they did pretty well and I even managed to catch a little nap. Ahhhh, the good ole days. Back to Houston where we defrosted some food, threw it to the babies, and got them all snuggled in bed. And then the unpacking and the organizing. Oh, my. And we get to do it all again fairly soon. Such is the life with 2 toddlers but I wouldn't have it any other way. Everyone promises it will get easier --- when???!!! : ) And as customary, everytime we take a trip like this, with the car packed to the gills, thanks to master engineering feats by my husband, Matt immediately jumped on the computer to start researching larger vehicles. We'll see how that plays out.

Here are a few more pictures from Christmas Day. Thank you, Mom, Steve, Blaine, and Christina for making it such a special holiday for us! We so enjoyed it and love you all.