McKinstry Moments: Christmas day continued

We were having so much fun opening presents and enjoying the morning at our own house that we got off to a late start on the rest of the day. We arrived at Granny's for breakfast around 11 a.m., which was about the time I had expected to be heading to our next stop of the day. (Of course, we ended up having a mini-breakfast before we arrived - none of us could hold out that long!) There was still lots of good food left and people to visit with.

Pop was excited to see us when we got there,

especially this smiley faced girl and her brother.

Hadley showing off the pretty Christmas coat NaNa found for

her well before she was even born. :)

Anabella was happy to see Hadley too!

After breakfast, Caleb needed no persuading when Granny said it was time to open his presents.

Hadley and Daddy, on the other hand, needed a nap before more present opening. Since Granny noticed Hadley loves to pull things out of baskets, boxes, etc., she got her a cute piggy bank that you can take the coins in and out of.

The next stop was NaNa and Pop's where my dad had a special surprise waiting in the family room. A few days prior, he found a hoppy horse at the house of one of his friend's who collects/sells antiques. The horse wasn't really an antique but it was definitely something a toddler would like. My mom had saved the small horse they'd gotten me for my first Christmas, and Dad had both horses lined up ready for my kids Christmas morning. What a hit! Caleb was ecstatic to have big horse to ride, especially one that made horse-like sounds when you bounced. Hadley loved bouncing too once she figured out how everything worked. I loved watching my dad's face when he saw how excited they were. I even snapped a shot of him smiling away as he soaked in their reaction.

Since the new horse was for Caleb, Pop bought Hadley a toy too - a grocery scooter. She loves this thing and plays with it all the time now! He did good!

My sister had a really cute idea for the kids this year too. She found some animal shaped suitcases that they could ride on. She gave our whole family a gift card to the Great Wolf Lodge too, so hopefully we can try out the kids' gifts soon!

My mom's side of the family was supposed be coming over that afternoon so we only opened a few presents before we put Caleb down for a nap so he would be in a good mood later. This gave the ladies a chance to get the food together and allowed for some down time for everyone else.

The Hockman side of the family arrived soon after the kids got rested up. This is the first time that we haven't gathered at my grandparents' for Christmas day. The stress of getting everything together for the holidays was getting to be too much for my grandma, so to take the pressure off and make sure she enjoyed Christmas, my mom volunteered to host this year. There is a little sadness that our tradition has changed and that Hadley didn't get to experience Christmas at my grandparents', but it was a much needed switch and all in all a very good day together.

Hadley, who is a blankie girl, got a new fancy blanket from my Grandma. I was most excited though about the Cabbage Patch she got. I really wanted her to have one of her own because I loved them as a kid and had quite a collection. My grandma, knowing I'd like for Hadley to get one for Christmas, told me to order her and Celia (my cousin Diane's baby) one. Diane and I both had bald-headed dolls that were our favorites! Mine was named Brenda and hers Kristin. While there were so many choices, the dolls I ordered for the girls from my grandparents were bald and looked very similar to the ones we loved so much all those years ago. Plus since they are still chewing on everything, I think getting ones without a lot of hair was the best option.

Caleb, who'd been excitedly wanting more gifts earlier in the day, was a bit burnt out at this point. He didn't even want to check out his gifts, fascinated instead with the light up village in my mom's window. Finally with some prompting he opened up his presents and was pleased as Punch when he found dinosaurs and a Thomas book with miniature trains to act out the story.

Like usual we took some group shots of the family, but sadly Courtney and her boyfriend had to leave early to go to his parents so she missed the pic. Maybe we can photoshop them in later. :)

After everyone left we had a rushed but enjoyable session of opening presents with my parents, finishing up since we'd been cut short earlier by Caleb's nap.

Of course there was more play time on the horses too.

(Notice Hadley's outfit change as a result of getting food on

her first Christmas dress. I'm thankful to my cousin Stacey who told

me to be prepared with two after having an outfit

mishap Anabella's first Christmas.)

My mom may have been more excited about these Carhartt

overalls and coat like Pop's than Caleb was. I thought they were cute!

No real make-up until you are 18 Hadley Jayne!

My parents got Caleb a red wagon for his first Christmas,

but this rocker their special gift for Hadley.

She learned to rock it pretty quickly.

Caleb got a train table. And of course, he wanted to open it immediately!

Look who else got a train.

My mom, who loves to buy sentimental gifts, did a great job again this year. Baby bracelets and Raggedy Anne and Andy dolls for Hadley and keepsake ornaments for both kids will all be treasured items for years to come.