Santa Clause has come to town...

After an exciting Christmas from grandma and grandpa, Santa Clause came with more. Santa and I had been working really hard to make our first Christmas in our home special. On Christmas Eve, we went to Eric's sister's house for dinner and games (sorry, no pictures) and then came home to some gifts left by the Christmas Elves. (I know, I know, Graham is only one and doesn't understand any of this but I just had to start the traditions. I can't wait until he older!) The gifts were some matching PJ's that I...um, I mean the Elves...have been working on for weeks. We each had a pair of pants with ABC's on them and some Sesamee Street shirts. Graham is obsessed with Elmo and Cookie Monster so we went with that theme. Graham and Eric have Cookie Monster shirts and I have Elmo. Graham also got his first Elmo doll and Eric and I got some slipper socks.

Once we all went to bed, Santa Clause came!!! We woke up to many presents under the tree and stockings stuffed with goodies. Eric got a book and a movie, an electric razor, a jacket, an electric toothbrush and much much more. I got a lot of kitchen gadgets (garlic press, candy thermometer, and meat mallet), some body products (lotions, etc...) and a gift card to finally get some much needed shoes. Let's just say, Eric (Santa...shhhh) spoiled me. I feel very loved. And Graham, well he is so used to being spoiled that we couldn't stop now. He got a lot of toys!!

Our Christmas tree with all of the presents from Santa
Graham opening his stocking goodies...
He got a lot of books and cars in his stocking but his favorite part was the candy cane of M&M's. He LOVES chocolate!!
After stockings, we began opening the big presents. He got a tool workbench, a little people farm set, cars, books, clothes, a Thomas train set, and a big tunnel to crawl through (which he ended up being scared to go through).


His train was in the tunnel and he just looked at us and cried. He refused to go in and get it. Hopefully he gets how to do it soon and likes it. I think he'll have so much fun if he does!
For breakfast, I made our favorite special occasion Caramel Apple French Toast. I say special occasion because it takes forever to make and it's REALLY bad for you but SO SO SO good!!
After breakfast, we had a nice family nap and then got ready to go to Eric's brother's house for dinner. We got even more gifts (sorry we didn't get anyone else something) and had an amazing dinner prepared by our very own gourmet chef, Taffy. Grandma Jill gave Graham a little people dump truck and us a gift certificate to JoAnn's to buy some fabric for our much needed curtains. Eric's brother and sister in law gave us a gift certificate to theater (yay! We love movies) and Eric's sister sent a very special gift for Graham and Eric. When Eric was a baby, he dragged his blanket every where with him. He called it red blanky and still has it folded very neatly in his closet (the only thing he has folded) to this day. One day, Eric's sister, Tris, was shopping at DI and found a panel of the exact same fabric Eric's blanky was made of. She bought it and made Graham a matching blanket. When he opened it, Eric was shocked. He laughed and was very excited to have that connection with Graham. Thank you Tris! You truly made Eric's day. We love it!

The difference in the color is so funny. Eric's has been loved for over 26 years. Aren't they cute in their matching blankies and Beatles shirts. I love my boys!
Graham watching his cartoons on his very own red blanky.
We also received a MUCH APPRECIATED gift card from my dad, Shaun, and his wife Lisa to home depot so that we could do some home improvements. We were able to paint our guest bathroom and guest room. These were the two rooms we couldn't stand the color of but had no money to change. We got them painted and were able to fix a couple of things that weren't going to make it much longer. Graham got a gift card to Walmart and was able to get a rug with roads on it so he could drive his cars and some much needed shoes. I will post pictures of them soon. Thank you dad! We really appreciated it!!

Christmas 2010 was amazing. I don't think Eric and I will ever forget it. It was the first year Graham really got into it and understood how to open the gifts and play with the toys. Last year was special because it was our first year with our sweet angel baby but this year was amazing. Thank you to everyone that made our Christmas so special. We love you all and hope you had a very Merry Christmas yourselves!!