Ah, the Joys of Santa

Luckily Santa is smart enough to know when people are out of town. Santa brought an orange scooter (perfect for a boy and a girl), pillows for school, a princess ballerina outfit, trucks, a See-and-Say and a Longhorn jersey to my parent's house in Illinois. Jack was hesitant when he first came downstairs but Avery knew EXACTLY what was going on and she was thrilled! She had trouble sleeping on Christmas Eve, which was so cute. She kept yelling downstairs to find out if Santa had come. It was pretty fun for me to watch, especially since Mom was the one sleeping with Avery so my sleep wasn't really bothered by it. :-)

Santa did an excellent job laying everything out for the kids. Meanwhile, Matt slept on the couch because he was a little under the weather on Christmas Eve. Good thing he didn't get into Santa's way.
Here's Jack as he came downstairs to see what Santa had brought for him. Notice the cookie that he has in his hand, which was left for Santa. (ahem, see above caption where I mention that Matt wasn't feeling well. Santa should have still taken a bite of the cookies, is all I'm saying.) (I mean, what kind of Santa doesn't eat the cookies?)
Avery checks out her new magic wand, the very first thing she asked Santa for every time she saw him.
Jack just loved his toys. He spent lots of time playing with each thing. He was so fun to watch.
Ah, more things that make loud noises. That's wonderful. And the mallets are just a bonus! I mean, not only can they be used to make *beautiful* music on the xylophone, they can also be used to hit unsuspecting parents on the head. That's especially fun when they get you from behind and you have no idea that it is coming. Fun for the whole family!
Here's Avery going through her stocking. Santa brought her some "lipstick" which was definitely her favorite. You know what my favorite is? It's cleaning up the "lipstick" that has been smeared all over the back passenger window of my car. That's just the gift that keeps on giving.
Jack got a lot of Yo Gabba Gabba toys and a basketball. He is such a big fan of "Gabba" so he was very excited to see what else was in his stocking. He got a Brobie, Foofa, Plex and Muno. Apparently Tootie isn't as popular because they don't make a plush Tootie. No love for the random dinosaur-ish characters.
It was a good thing that Santa left a ball because he turns anything slightly resembling a sphere into a ball. It could be a paperweight or a polka dot ornament (sorry Aunt Tina) and that boy will throw it. Hard. Which usually ends in some kind of breaking or crying. Luckily this nice, soft UT basketball was perfect for him. And the rest of us appreciated that he had something soft to throw at us. (**SPEAKING OF UT BASKETBALL, DID YOU KNOW WE ARE RANKED #1 IN THE COUNTRY?! Hook 'Em!!)
Avery playing with a whistle that was in her stocking. Santa really shouldn't have.
She couldn't wait to put on her new princess ballerina outfit. She wore it for most of the rest of the day. It was 20 degrees outside but this was all she would wear. Nothing says Christmas Cheer like trying to get your pre-schooler to put on some pants.
Here's Jack opening presents later on Christmas morning. He was a little confused about it at first but once we took it out and put the basketball goal together, he loved it. He kept saying "again! again!" when Matt would make a basket.

After Avery was done opening her own presents, she went around the room "helping" everyone else open theirs. She pretty much opened every present in the room. Which, you know, is fine for some people. I prefer to open my own presents, but whatever. I mean, Christmas is for the children, right? At least that is what Matt kept telling me when I was playing tug-o-war with Avery over my gifts so that I could open them MYSELF thankyouverymuch.
Jack got a peg toy with a hammer. We've lost those pegs approximately 17 times since Christmas. If you ever want to have a really good time, come on over to our house and help us find these things. We have to do it all the time so we can definitely work around your schedule.

After we checked out what Santa left and opened some presents, we went back over to my brother's house so that mom and I could start making our Christmas dinner. It was definitely hectic there, with all the kids playing with their toys from Santa. That is a story all on its own; and that is what I will write about next time. :-)