Busy Day

Today was the children's Christmas party at Jim's work. When we all woke up we immediately began the hectic business of readying ourselves and the three boys for the day. We were in the midst of this chaos, the tension already palpable, when Aidan asked quietly from the table, "Daddy, what do you want for Christmas?" My heart automatically softened at his sweetness, and the tone of the day was set. Somehow, everything after that was cake - hectic or not.

Liam was enthralled with the crowd of people, especially the kids. Santa made an appearance and handed out gifts to the kids:


Observe the rapt anticipation on Jim and Liam's faces as they await Liam's name to be called for his gift:

After the party, walked around the mall because we are insane. Actually, it wasn't as bad as I'd feared, and we were able to get baby food and other necessities without incident. AND Caleb insisted on standing in line to see Santa. Guess what? There were only two other people in line. After Santa took a shockingly long time with the three teenage girls on his knee, the wait was very short, and Liam, that sweet baby, woke up to be in the picture! I'll post it once we get it; hopefully tomorrow.
While we were waiting, Aidan spotted the teenagers' bookbags on the floor, and immediately commenced with an odd shuffling motion that involved much shoulder shrugging. He saw my confused look and said, with a roll of his eyes, "I have to take of my Pokemon bookbag, Mom!" Ah, he is so responsible. It matters not that he wasn't wearing a bookbag. It was still practical to remove it before he sat on Santa's lap. When the pictures were taken and Santa was satisfyingly assaulted by our children who fired their Christmas lists at him at warp speed, we were off. Aidan tugged on my coat and said, "Mom! Santa didn't give me any pokemon!" Then, as an afterthought, "OH NO! I FORGOT MY POKEMON BOOKBAG!" I glanced toward the Santa line, which was amazingly long now. "Um, can't you use your imagination and say you've got it?" I asked. He looked at me like I was on crack. Jim saved the day with, "Aidan, I see it on those boxes up ahead!" The child rocketed off and retrieved the imaginary bag, relieved.

Incidentally, here's what I brought to the party:

Thanks to Krista for the Chocolate shortbread pinwheels recipe.
Oh! And we picked up the pictures of Liam we got taken at Sears (sorry for the quality; they're pictures of pictures, ya dig?):

Couldn't you just consume him? Any of our parents, in-laws or grandparents reading this can rest assured that they will receive some pictures post-haste.

All in all, it was quite a day. I am going to drink tea now. And perhaps consume several cookies.
Merry Christmas Eve Eve!