Stewart Family Christmas

On December 29^th we had our Stewart Family Christmas to celebrate with my inlaws.  It is an all day affair from breakfast at 10:30am until bedtime.  Forget naps and eat all day and hope the kids don’t come down from their sugar-adrenaline-gift high until it is time to go to bed.  It is actually fun just a little crazy from time to time but that just may be because I have 3 small children to wrangle, keep out of trouble and one to keep from playing on the stairs, and 2 to keep from climbing everything.  Joel was on the counter once and Cecilia was on top of a chair.  On the bright side Joel didn't make the tree fall over this year.  

Cecilia trying to steal a present

Joel was happy playing with his current favorite toy at Grandma and Grandpa's

Cecilia checking out Grandpa

Brad, Vincent, Uncle Bob and Tally

Uncle Bob and his hat that lights up

Unfortunately my niece was diagnosed with strep throat the morning of our Christmas celebration so a lot my energy was focused on keeping my kids away from their cousin.  Not something I enjoyed doing, but the prospect of having 3 sick kids and missing work to take care of them didn't sound like fun either.   Vincent sort of understood but was not happy that he couldn’t play with Ellie.  Joel didn’t understand at all and Ellie tried her best to cover herself with a blanket when Joel insisted on hugging her.

Ellie, sick in a chair.  Brad tickling Joel.

Keith and Maggie

Cecilia sitting on Daddy's present

Karoline and Millie

Kristine and her new friend...

After a delicious breakfast we opened gifts.  There were a lot of gifts and at one point I couldn’t even see my children behind the piles of gifts.  We are very blessed to be apart of such a generous family.  Joel was given several Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toys.  I had no idea so many existed.  There was a barn, Donald’s Dairy, a camper, some tractors, and more accessories than I can count.  He was and is in love with all of it.  I was excited too because Mickey Mouse gets Joel to talk and there are so many different things to talk about with all the different sets we now have.   

If you look closely you can see Joel.

Cecilia helping open one of Vincent's presents

Vincent helping Joel open a present

Joel and all his Mickey Mouse toys!

Piles of presents

Maggie, Grandma and John

Cecilia standing in her Christmas outfit

Joel and a cinnamon roll.  Surprise, Surprise!

Vincent received some pretty cool gifts as well but his current favorite is a wooden building set that you use to build a path for marbles.  He love it and has built some pretty amazing ramps on his own!  He told me the ones I build are boring.  Diane made Brad a t-shirt quilt out of t-shirts mostly from high school and college.  It is very pretty and really warm!  Among other things I got a mattress pad for our bed.  We have one but I wanted another one so when Vincent wets our bed I can make the bed without having to wait to wash my mattress pad first.  I think I was the only one who thought that gift was cool!  Brad got the loudest present of the night which were sleigh bells for Ray.  They are gorgeous and make a beautiful sound (they are really loud).

Cecilia on top of Daddy's present and really excited about it!

Brad opening his sleigh bells

Keith modeling the bells

For Christmas Brad had the idea to take all of Craig's old film movies he had and make them digital. Bob, Sarah, Brad and I all went together on getting Craig this gift for Christmas.  Brad had it set up so that you could watch the movies from your iPhone or iPad.  As evening went you could see people sitting around staring at phones or iPads.  They were all watching different old home movies.  Several times we suggested that everyone go downstairs where the big TV is and we could watch them all together, but everyone just kept watching on their small screens.

A lamp Justin made

Craig excited about his gifts

Lamp that Justin made.

For our forced family fun activity for the night I wanted everyone to use their hands to make pictures for Diane and Craig to keep.  Each family unit got a canvas to work with.  The only rule was that everyone in each family had to have their hand print somewhere on the canvas, other than that people could be as creative as they wanted.  Friends of the family who were visiting from Nebraska, Justin and Ashley, even participated in the FFF.  Although we let them take their creation home with them!  In a family where many of us graduated from the University of Illinois we didn't need a Nebraska sign around.  This was the first year that not one person complained about FFF!  They either are getting used to FFF or they just like crafting more than the normal competition.

Bob, Sarah, Kristine, Karoline and Keith's artwork

John, Michelle, Millie, Maggie and Ellie's creative work

We included Bristol and Maisy in our art project

Craig and Diane's artwork.  Diane did most of it.  The mane is the grandkids' finger prints.

Justin and Ashely with their masterpiece

  The part of the night that amused me the most was sitting within ear shot of my niece, Kristine.  She is a freshman in high school and has some good one liners.  I am guessing she was a little more mouthy than normal and was able to get away with it because we were at Grandma and Grandpas and it was Christmas.  She went shopping with Grandma one day and helped pick out some presents for all of us and if the person liked the gift she was quick to announce that she picked it out.  I can't think of any one thing she said that was hilarious but I was laughing "with" her most of the night.  It was probably just encouraging her.  Maybe I should be apologizing to my sister in law...sorry Sarah!

Kristine and I

It was a fun day and a nice way to end our Christmas celebration for 2012!

Ashley, Justin, and Joel

Cecilia climbing in a chair.