That mom

Yesterday, I was that mom who signed her kid out of school early to go to the fancy movie theater at the mall and see the decorations. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Christmas clothing!

For the first time ever, we Webbs went with a somewhat coordinated look for Christmas. Red and black all over. (It helped that Auntie JuJu was there to help corral children and keep them in their outfits long enough to snap a few pictures!)

Holiday happiness

Best part of Christmas? It's hard to decide ...

Trying out my new iPhone

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

Christmas morning

Miss Lu was finally wrestled into bed around 8:30 on Christmas Eve. We weren't sure Santa was going to make it since he had to assemble a few things still, but he came through:

We told Lucy to come and get us when her alarm clock said 8:00; she showed up around 7:30, which really wasn't too bad all things considered. There was great rejoicing at the sight of her beloved pillow pet.

Calvin started grinning the minute we put him down onto his new play gym. The sock monkey was an unexpected hit too :)

Mr. Nick made french toast for breakfast and then the morning really got underway.

At the end of the day, Miss Lu was thoroughly spoiled (and happy to be so!)

The Nativity

This year we were invited over to the Sintays on Christmas Eve, along with the Hansens. Our kids all play well together, and we all enjoy each other's company. Before we let the kids loose, we had them act out the Nativity story.

Miss Lu was thrilled to be a shepherd—she brought her own sheep

The star decided she wanted to be a sheep too, so Shepherd Lu took her in

Mr. Calvin was almost too big for the manger ...

The shepherd took particularly good care of baby Jesus

Several "wise guys" made an appearance as well (they're pretending to hold their gifts)

It was a little unorthodox in places, but we made it through the whole story!

Merry Christmas to all ...

... and to all a Good Night!

(yeah, all those cheeks are pretty pinchable :)

Christmastime was here again

Realized today that I never put up the rest of the Christmas pics (here's the first). It was a good year. We stayed in Los Alamos and had our own holiday—Lucy let us know that it was "fun, but not as much fun as cousins." I really liked not having to pack and travel over the holidays, but we did miss our Seattle traditions. Next year ;)

The candy store was set up the week before Christmas. It held out pretty well against Lucy's fairly regular visits.

Gingerbread house decorating is definitely being added to the traditions list.

And, of course, Santa's big reveal. There was lots of running. Early running. And we loved every minute.

(Yes, this Christmas will go down as the year of the games. No, we didn't coordinate or plan in any way. Yes, the puppy game Lucy made me is the most awesome thing ever. Ever!)

The Night Before

Christmas, for a four-year-old, is pretty much it. After parties, trips to the candy store, and much singing, Lucy finally wound up in bed at 9 pm Christmas Eve. I went to give her a kiss after Nick tucked her in. She appeared silent, possibly asleep, her back turned toward the door.

She was, instead, concentrating.

"Mom, this is perfect. I can look out my window and see when it lights up because of Rudolph's nose! I'm going to see Rudolph's light tonight when Santa comes here!"