Christmas Eve

For the first time in our married life, we were home for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We normally see Shawn's side of the family on Christmas Eve, but decided to wait on our celebration until Shawn's grandma returned from Washington.
I thought it would be fun to take advantage of the free day on Christmas Eve at the Children's Museum. Um, bad idea. When the traffic is backed up two streets just to get into the parking garage, it probably won't be a very fun time for anyone. Poor Xavier started crying when we told him it was just way too crowded to go, whcih just absolutely broke my heart. Since we had gotten the kids ready and were already downtown, we tried to find something else to do. The zoo and other museums were closed. We couldn't think of any good stores, movies, or anything. Then, while at a stop light, I noticed people going into the Pan Am plaza building with skates. Yes! Ice skating! Xavier was thrilled when I asked if he wanted to ice skate. After a quick stop at TJ Maxx for gloves, (It was in the 50s and we thought we'd be inside!!) Xavier and I laced up our skates and headed out to the ice. With Shawn and Aubrey cheering us on, Xavier took his first steps on the ice. It was pretty funny at first. He kept saying "Stop doing that, ice!!" (referring to the slipperiness) We had warned him ahead of time that he would fall, and if you know Xavier, you know that won't deter him. He really loved stopping to sit in the penalty boxes, and really did well for his first time!

We also made cookies to leave for Santa. Mmm...Santa sure loved the cookies while he put gifts under the tree!!