Silent Night

For the first time in almost a week, all is quiet in the Stockwell house. The kids are in bed, the company has all left, Ben is off playing poker, and I am finally getting around to looking through the many pictures we (ok, Ben) took over Christmas weekend. The pictures don't fully capture the joy, excitement, and love that abounded throughout the holiday, but there are some great ones nonetheless. I looked forward to Christmas with SO much anticipation this year, and it did not disappoint. First off, the boys are at perfect ages for the whole Santa show. The light in their little eyes as they walked down the stairs Christmas morning, realizing that Santa had in fact come and devoured their cookies, leaving presents in return, is a sight I will never forget. Experiencing Christmas again through my kids is more magical than I could have ever imagined. The other thing that made this Christmas so special was sharing Christmas dinner with BOTH sets of parents, and BOTH our siblings. Noni, Papi, and Uncle Pauly came up Christmas Eve, and then Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Gwen, Uncle Mike, and Brian all came over on Christmas Day. It was a wonderful celebration that filled our house with love and laughter (and noise! No one ever called the Stockwell/Magyars a quiet bunch!). Having our whole family together for dinner at our house was the best gift of all, and what we hope is the beginning of a new Christmas tradition.

So that's the Christmas 2009 recap. Now for the pictures...

Baking cookies with Mommy Christmas Eve morning - This went a whole lot better than it did last year. Ethan could actually decorate the cookies himself, with a little supervision. We realized the need for supervision after I looked over to find a poor gingerbread man whose sugar topping measured three inches high.

Opening a Christmas story on Christmas Eve night.

Putting out cookies for Santa.

Ethan and Uncle Pauly sprinkling reindeer food on our back porch - This was a new one for me. Someone in Ethan's class sent each kid home with a bag of reindeer food, to be left outside so the reindeer know where to land the sleigh. The whole pre-bed Christmas Eve ritual is getting longer and longer and longer...

Papi reading Ethan How the Grinch Stole Christmas before bed on Christmas Eve. From the look on his face, Ethan doesn't seem to know what to make of this Grinch character...

The boys playing with Adam's new wooden train set on Christmas morning.

Settling in for a long winter's nap.

Snuggling with Grandma.

The Magyar four after Christmas dinner.

And the Stockwell four.

Papi pulling the boys around in their brand new wagon - This wagon was a BIG hit and there were many choruses of "Papi, pull us in the wagon!" all weekend long. The boys learned that showing their appreciation for the ride by applauding throughout got them a few more laps around our first floor.

Ethan working on his new puzzle with Uncle Pauly - Did I mention that having kiddie-entertainers, sous-chefs, baby-snugglers, and extra sets of hands all weekend long was also a really nice Christmas gift?

Adam and Brian playing this morning - Gwen and family stayed with us last night for a little quiet (difficult to achieve with three kids under three, but we tried) visiting time after our company left and before we head over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for New Years. Watching the cousins play and interact was a blast - giggles and "brrrmmm brrrmmm brrrmmmm"s filled our house as these boys pulled out and played with every single toy we own.

From our family to yours, a belated Merry Christmas and an early Happy 2010!