2016 Erwin Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with the entire Erwin family early Sunday morning, the 18th. It was so cold...in the teens..when we loaded up to drive to Melbo's. It was a fun day and with 15 people there, there were lots of presents to open! Everly did her own thing of not wanting anyone to hold her. But, she was also fabulous at taking her naps and being easy going. That sweet baby just feels better NOT being the center of attention so far and likes being held and loved by me and Vic. She will come around one day though I'm sure! Atticus and Grace were so good and I was so proud of them. In the past, as they were younger, crazy events like this make them a little crazy behaved as well. But, we were so pleased with how good they were and how much they are starting to realize how important family is and how important it is to think about others. They were good to say thank you and to help out all day. We love those two big kids so much! Before we began, I asked Atticus and Grace to each sing their songs they had learned at school. Atticus sang the Chipmunk Christmas Song and Grace sang her preschool program song. Atticus did a great job and was so cute. Grace decided at the last second to sing her song because she gets so shy. But, she had been singing it for weeks. Because her speech is still 3 year old style, she would mispronounce words to this little verse, but I can't help but love it so much. Part of it is supposed to go:

"All I have is a voice to sing for you.
All I have is a heart to love you too.
It's a small, small thing, I'm offering;
but I give it all I have."

Well, she sings it in her sweet little voice and she does the line like this: "It's a pall, pall, kang, I'm offewing...". She cups her little hands during the word "small" and it's so cute. It's one of my favorite memories of this year.

Anyways, after songs, we opened our stockings slowly so everyone could see (I've decided it's easy to miss out on things everyone gets and so we tried slowing it down this year). Then, we put stockings away and started opening presents. At Erwin Christmas, we exchange lists, so it is fun to get items on your wish lists! And, of course, it's fun to see what you get and give that is not on someone's list! I love a surprise or an excited face when people open gifts you've bought! I'm going to list what we got, because as always, I like to remember what we got. Gifts are NOT the most important things at Christmas, but in our family, I know how much thought and work goes into shopping for one another. So, the gifts are really special to me to remember.

Vic got a giant coffee thermos, a hand saw, a toolbelt, some shirts, a set of copper mugs (for some delicious Moscow Mules!), lots of crazy dress socks since he loves them right now (he even got some with a goat on them!). He even got a virtual reality viewer you use with your phone. We still haven't gotten to try it yet, but it looks really fun! He also got an orange igloo water cooler...as a joke! So, he asked for this giant coffee thermos because 1) he drinks a lot of coffee and 2) they do not allow coffee pots in his new TVMDL building he moves into in February so he will have to bring his own coffee to work each day. Daddy bought him the thermos, but Ana & Charley gave him the igloo. However, this is actually a great thing for us to own!

I got so many fun things: a laminator, lots of great scrapbooking paper and supplies and a new bag, icing tips and a rolling pin, some books and the season of Love Comes Softly (one of my very favorite series ever), some great Stella and Dot jewelry that I love so much, some cute house signs, and lots of cute other things.

Atticus got lots of legos, being gifted Rowdy's old legos! He also got a giant R2D2 and it has slept with him in his bed ever since. He got ONE HUNDRED gel pens! (along with this cute book about a little kid having permanent markers which he really wanted but I've decided he is not old enough for his own permanent markers yet). He got these great Star Wars readers and an idea book for playing Star Wars from Charley & Ana. He got some art stuff and some games too.

Grace is really fun to shop for right now. She got the cutest baby doll (which had a twin given to Everly) from Grandma and Pop. With it, she got her own little diaper bag full of handmade outfits and hats for her baby. Since then, these outfits have gone on various babies at our house. It was even special to me, because the outfits were made by the mother of Mrs. Venable, who taught with Daddy for a few years. Yall. These baby doll clothes are so detailed and so cute. Then, after that, Grace got...her own magic carpet for her Shimmer and Shine. She also got Shimmer. GG MADE the cutest little magic carpet. Grace had been asking for one she saw in the store, but this one is so much better. It is one of my favorite gifts she's ever been given! THEN, Grace got Elena of Avalor's family figurines. Have I mentioned her love of Elena of Avalor? She is a Disney Junior princess and we listen to her songs on Itunes all the time. Among those things, Grace got cute books and princesses and dress up shoes and gloves and a little barbie doll with clothes and a brand new ballet outfit!

Our little Everly didn't open most of her gifts until lunchtime, after her nap was over. But, she got a backyard swing from Ana & Charley! Ours that Atticus got when he was a year recently cracked and our kids love to be in swings when they are little. She also got these cute taggies, some clothes, some books, her own baby doll that is the twin to Grace's, a musical stuffed bear, and some other fun baby toys. It was a really fun day of gifts!

Also, I'm going to do a different post, but the kids made their gifts for the guys and ladies this year and it was really fun to watch them open those! After opening, we spent time eating breakfast and then lunch and even squeezing in one game, since we couldn't have our traditional game day this year. We played something called Last Word and it was really fun! Somehow, Vic squeezed everything into our traverse and we headed home. It was a really great day and weekend but it went way too fast. Here's some pictures!

  It was freezing cold - 14 degrees this morning! Vic said his coastal body was going into shock!

Look at our beautiful baby girl bundled up in her little hat and coat!

 It doesn't matter who it is right now, but she just cries and cries.

 And below you will see the fast, crazy excitement of Grace opening her Shimmer and Shine magic carpet. And later she also got a Shimmer costume which she put on right away and wore the rest of the day.

 

 

 Grace must have been closest to me because she is in all of my pictures!

 

 

So, Pop just finished his night shift and Grandma stayed up too late, so both needed a quick snooze after presents! Poor tired things!

 Lots of play happened all afternoon.

 When Everly woke up, she finally opened her presents! She got her first stuffed goat of course!

And she ate some snacks too. 

 Sorry Pop! I didn't know you weren't looking!

And finally a photo of us!

Can't wait until Erwin Christmas next year!
When we got home, it was funny because we were playing with the new babies and then getting tucked in for the night. I don't know if I could handle 5 kids! And even if I could, we don't need any more stuffed animals! There won't be room for those kids!