He Came!

Yep.  We are one of those families who allows the jolly old Santa to come visit our family on Christmas morning.  My sister, brother, and I still believe!  Russ and I stay at my parents' house on Christmas Eve, and Santa knows just where to find us every time!

PLEASE excuse the mess of hair on my head for the rest of this post!  I don't think I've ever woken up with a worse hair day!  And I even brushed it.

Waking up Christmas morning with a little one has always been a dream I've held on to.  This year, we woke Millie Janalee up early to let her see what Santa brought on her very first Christmas!  Russ and I didn't get her much this year.  For a couple of reasons.  1. Her family got her plenty!  2. She won't remember this Christmas, and we are saving our money for next year when she can interact a little more.  We were so blessed that Santa came to Susu and Paw Paw's house, and Millie Janalee was pretty into it.

Russ and I took her right to the middle of the living room, where Santa left her goodies!  Oh, WOW!  Russ and I were just as surprised as Millie Janalee.  She must have been very good...and I can attest that she has been VERY good this year! 

Santa left her some new outfits...you know, in case she didn't have enough clothes to wear.  Ha!

Santa left her new, fun toys!

And, Santa left some essentials like rice cereal, diapers, wipes, and a Baby Bullet system for making her baby food.  Santa must've had elves watching how much we travel, because he brought Millie Janalee a portable DVD player too!  Now, she can watch her baby videos when we travel in the dark!  Yes, this was an essential...a luxury essential!

Santa didn't forget about the rest of us either!  Russ and I finally began to sift through our goodies and look through our stockings!  There were lots of surprises, and some fulfilled wish lists!  For those of you who have been worried about Farley, Santa remembered him too!

Megan's Santa stash

Russ's Santa stash

Farley's Santa stash

Daddy videoed Millie Janalee's first Christmas morning...until the battery died.  Note to self: Check batteries PRIOR to Christmas morning!  Oops!  Ha!  Nevertheless, I'm sure we got the main event and the Christmas morning effect before it died.

Uncie Bucket, Brodie, Uncie Lee, Auntie Kristin, Susu, and Paw Paw must've been good too!  Santa came to see us all!  We spent the next hour or so checking out each other's gifts, trying on shoes, and watching Millie Janalee play with her new toys.

Uncie Bucket with his remote control helicopter.  All the boys got one of these, and yes...they all went outside to play!

Lee checking out his new boots.

Russ was shocked to find these boots Christmas morning!  He was SOOO happy!

It must've been "the year of the shoes," because everyone but me got shoes.

Susu took a break from cooking to check her stocking.

Auntie Kristin took a break to talk with Millie Janalee about her new Bumbo.  Don't you like her footies Millie Janalee gave her for Christmas!?  Now they can match at bedtime!  Ha!

Somewhere along the line, Russ and I realized that we forgot to look in Millie Janalee's stocking.  This stocking is so funny, because Susu ordered it for Millie Janalee a while back.  However, when it came in she realized it was bigger than Millie Janalee!  Ha!  That meant...more to fill!  Santa had no problem filling it apparently...

Millie Janalee with her stocking

She found movies and bibs inside her stocking!

She found bling pacifiers and paci clips inside her stocking!

Christmas morning, my mom always cooks a yummy breakfast.  It is usually ready right as we finish opening and checking out what Santa brought us.  Our breakfast consisted of breakfast casserole, cheese grits, fruit, fruit dip, and orange juice.  It was delicious, as always!

We decided we needed a more interactive centerpiece for our Christmas breakfast, so we moved the fancy Christmas centerpiece and replaced it with our favorite thing!  Millie Janalee!  She enjoyed watching us all eat and spinning to face whoever wanted a turn.  Haha!  Bless her!

While she was sitting in the center of the table, Russ and I thought it was the perfect time to bring out our stocking we filled for her.  She got some feeding bowls, wipes, fun crawling knee pads, a little toy, and a VeggieTales video.  We just couldn't let this first Christmas go by without filling her first stocking.

Christmas Day is always a fun, lazy day for our family.  We spent the rest of the day in our pajamas playing, talking, and watching movies.  We all got a closer look at each other's gifts and talked about how much we loved everything.

Cuddle time with Susu and Auntie Kristin!

The son-in-laws admiring their boots again!

Millie Janalee had a fun-filled, playful day!  She stayed in her pajamas most of the day too with her little Santa boots.  Susu gave her this precious Christmas gown, and Auntie Kristin gave her the boots.  I think she loved them both, and she looked super cute on her very first Christmas!

The anticipation of this Christmas was more than any other!  At least since I was a child.  The wonder of Christmas from the real Christmas story to the magic of St. Nicholas.  It was such a JOY to experience this Christmas with Millie Janalee and our little family of three (plus Farley)!

And after all the wonder of the days leading up to Christmas, HE CAME!  Santa came to see us, and we were thrilled to experience his generosity with our little one!  Millie Janalee was pretty excited too!

When all was said and done...the gifts put away...the paper put in trash bags...we were still here.  Happy as ever!  Tired, relaxed, and giggling with glee as we enjoyed our very first Christmas with Millie Janalee!

Santa came to see her! 

And Jesus was born to save her!  We are filled with gratitude because He came!