Christmas through a Child's Eyes

Our family gatherings are over, we've found a spot for most of our new gifts, and we're down to the final boxes of Christmas cookies.  I had a great time with My Farmer and kids this Christmas, along with all of our extended families.  One of the greatest joys from this year's Christmas was seeing how each of our kids experienced Christmas in their own, unique way:

For our son LP who is 4 1/2 years old, this was the first year he really understood "Santa" and was excited for everything Santa.  He was excited to go see Santa at our local community center, excited to leave him cookies and milk, and excited to see what he'd leave in our stockings on Christmas Day morning.  The best part was that he asked the wise old question, "Why does Santa bring us gifts for Jesus's birthday?".  To make it simple this year, we just explained that Santa loves Jesus - just like we do, so he shares his love for Jesus with children all over the World.

For our 2 1/2 year old daughter MP, she found herself in the crossroads of wanting independence, but yet at times still needing help to do things this Christmas.  (Okay, maybe this wasn't just at Christmas but is the life of a 2 year old...)  She had a lot of fun and joy when she could do things on her own and at her own time, but when it came to doing things not on her time, like group pictures.... well, let's just say she wasn't a fan.  Her favorite part of Christmas though was probably driving around to check out people's light decorations.  On Christmas Night we went on a evening car ride to see all the lights.  She said "Wow" for every-single-house that had any bit of decorations.

And for our 11 month daughter JP's 1st Christmas, it was a busy one, as all she really cared about was having enough space to crawl around and places to pull herself up!  She did a great job spending time with many family members at each Christmas gathering, and was sure to clap for her gifts (that is if she was still near it and hadn't crawled 20 feet away by the time it was unwrapped...).  Her innocent smile that she shared every day and with everyone, brought simple joy for all of us this Christmas.

It was so special to see each of our kids experience the blessings of Christmas this year.  What was your favorite part of Christmas?  Remember to Comment for a Cause!

Wordless Wednesday - Santa Visits

My Farmer and I thought visiting Santa might not go the best this year - LP is at the stage that it takes him awhile to warm up to people.  So we decided to try to visit Santa when he came to the library, because one of LP's favorite places to go is the library:

LP visiting Santa at the Library

As you can see he wasn't the biggest fan when we wanted him to sit on his lap.  So we figured we'd try one more time when Santa was at our local fire station.  LP actually knows Santa, so we thought it might go a little better:

LP visiting Santa at the Fire Station

It did go a little better...  It must be the red suit!  We figure these pictures will be priceless someday!