Christmas Eve
In years past I have always been excited on Christmas Eve. This year was no exception; I was like a little kid myself. Perhaps Jakob's enthusiasm accentuated the excitement.
We met with a few families from our church and enjoyed a nice evening of eating, playing, and socializing. The kids loved running around the basement unsupervised and Jakob enjoyed eating rolls for dinner. (which, by the way, Danny made from scratch. He is becoming quite the bread/roll maker these days!)
Dinner was a nice mix of traditional family dishes from each of the 5 families: Ham, potatoes, rolls, cheese ball and crackers, drinks, fruit, and a green salad. We had cheese cake and cookies for dessert.
It's too bad Jakob has become an even MORE picky eater. He misses out on all the good food! Even if it looks remotely "yucky", then he refuses to try it. I've tried several tactics, even making him go to bed hungry, but he still refuses to eat something that looks "questionable". 
After our dinner party we drove around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights. Danny took us to a house that reminded me of the movie Christmas Vacation, with Chevy Chase. The house and yard were lit up with mini Santa's, penguins, bears, reindeer, Charley Brown n' gang, trees, a gingerbread house, and much, much more. It even had its own radio station playing Christmas music for viewers pleasure. It was pretty spectacular.
Just when I thought we had "seen it all" we followed a sign that directed us to yet another beautifully decorated house, but this house was different: the lights "played" to the music. In other words, as the music played over the radio the light display blinked and faded in sync with the music. SO COOL!
After a long night of parties and lights, we made it home just in time to skype with the Grandparents, and Aunts and Uncles, enjoying their own celebrations in Utah. Thank you technology!
We got out the cookies for Santa, complete with a glass of milk, and put the tired toddler to bed.
Christmas Morning
The Pictures say it all:
Jakob loved his train set from Santa. He also loved the Toy Story movie collection from Aunt Kelly and the Fire Truck puzzle from Grandma and Grandpa R. Molly loves her baby doll and playskool pop-toy from Grandma and Grandpa E. I am most grateful for the books and clothes/pajamas! The kids got a lot of really fun, and more importantly useful, toys this year. Thank you, thank you!
For Breakfast:
Sausage and egg casserole, hashbrowns, and O.J. for the adults; Capn' Crunch n' Berries for Jakob; and Molly was content with her rice cereal and a taste of the casserole.
Christmas Dinner
Christmas dinner at the Rodney's has become a tradition since we've lived here. Danny's boss and family has welcomed us into their beautiful home for two years now. We enjoyed a house full of family and friends and some great food: tender turkey, ridiculously amazing roast, sweet pecan stuffing, perfectly mashed potatoes, garlic and lemon seasoned green beans, homemade wheat rolls-courtesy of Danny:), and savory sauces. There were two professional caterer's in the house, so my measly description of each food item doesn't compare to the real, extraordinary taste.
Something to note:
Molly is standing and even walking on her own!! She took her first couple of steps Christmas Eve night and will occasionally attempt a few more without encouragement from others. I can't believe her growth and development these days!
Family Pictures
Since Jakob was born, I have made it a tradition to take a family photo by the Christmas tree each year. It's somewhat tricky, but so far we've been successful:
Another successful year. Here's to 2011!
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