Christmas!

Wow, we must have been good this year because the Jul Tompte and Santa were both very good to us all. The kids all have more toys than they possibly need, which is fantastic. Meg got an assortment of babies and their accoutrements and spent much of the morning taking them from the stroller to the baby pack and play to the baby swing and back again. Sometimes you could even tell what she was saying. She also got a lot of clothes, which is great for me, including some adorable winter type outfits and shoes. Exactly what she needed. Andy also got clothes and is to an age where he even knows to mutter, "Aw, more clothes," just like every other kid under the age of 18 in America. Those of us over 18 got a lot of clothes, but those were considered very good things. The only casualty thus far is the Razor scooter Bjorn got Andy from Toys 'R Us. It's got some problem with the spring so Bjorn couldn't open it and ended up jabbing himself in the cuticle with a screwdriver. Indeed, suboptimal. Both kids also got a lot of books that I look forward to reading with them. Bjorn also got a lot of books that I intend to read. Perhaps in return I'll even let him eat some of the bread I will make with my bread maker that my mom got me that I'm totally jazzed to try out. I had one right after college that I used for years until it finally broke. My biggest present is an attic ladder that Bjorn's having installed tomorrow. Yes, kids, that's what happens when you get old. You want home improvements instead of toys, but I am personally thrilled about it.

It was great this year having all four kids in the same house over Christmas -- no waiting for someone to drive over, no competition for another Christmas. Just us at our house. I really love it. Course, I'm not sure how it would be with all six of us living here permanently, but for a few weeks it's pretty great.

Edited to add: Sorry the pictures are all out order. This new Blogger photo editor is a lot more flexible, but it's so flexible it was moving pictures around in a way I wasn't sure how to get them back without deleting them all.