Christmas Eve

After our delicious breakfast, we took the doggies for a walk, and (as per usual) stopped at McDonald's for an ice cream cone (Peeper) and peppermint mocha (Mama).

After getting cold ice cream everywhere, including her hands, I think Peeper told Shrike "You talked me into hot chocolate next time."

When we got home, I tossed Peeper's clothes in the wash finished up some wrapping, while Shrike tossed Peeper in the tub. Then we called BabyBro and His Lovely Family to wish them Happy Birthday (the rest of the family will be getting their calls tomorrow), got dressed, and let Peeper open her gifts from us.

Actually, the first gift was from one of Shrike's coworkers.  A truck, with a guy in it. Loves. It.

Now, we're getting to the stuff from us.

Fisher-Price Little People Nativity. 

Lacing beads, which she was just using as blocks. She was making snowmen and buildings and faces and diamonds-out-of-triangles, and I don't know what else.

Paints.

I just got a new computer (Thanks, Anonydaddy!) and Shrike just got a new computer desk (Thanks, Craig's List), neither of which is actually set up yet. When they are, we will put my old computer on Shrike's old desk, clean it up and replace the keyboard and mouse with these Peeper-size ones, and it will be Peeper's Very Own Computer.

Leotards and tights. The forecast calls for an 80% chance of dance lessons within the next two weeks.

She also got a box full of miscellaneous dress-up things. Not pictured: Sparkly bracelets, pirate vest, panda mask, and replacement firefighter hat (she stepped on hers a couple of days ago, and broke it).

Oh wait, there's the panda mask.

Oh! And ruby slippers.

When we finished with that, we went to Shrike's sister's house for dinner with the family and gifts for the kids.

After dinner, we stopped by for a quick visit with her grandma, who wasn't up to attending dinner, and then to the Christmas Eve service at the Unitarian church that her sister's family attends.

No, I did not intend for her to be bare-legged. In fact, I was so super-efficient, that I went ahead and put her black tights on, under the pants that she wore for the dinner portion of the program. And then she peed in them. Her red tights were sitting at home, where I'd taken them out of the bag when I decided that the black ones would look better with the ruby slippers.

Luckily, I had two pairs of red socks in the bag, waiting to be returned to Target, because they weren't the kind that I meant to buy. I will only be returning one pair.

We also try to get a photo of the three of us, all dressed up for Christmas. Meh.

That's better!

This pile is most, but not quite all, of the gifts that she opened this evening, plus the gifts that Shrike and I will be opening tomorrow, to and from each other.

Back home for Peeper to play with her new toys for a while and put out some cookies for Santa, then teeth and jammies, and stories, and she didn't even make it through all of the books in her bedtime lineup before she conked out.

Whew!