Christmas Eve

What a long, busy, delightful day!  Dad coaxed me out of bed earrrly this morning ... we ran off to Taste of Scandinavia for breakfast - two eggs over-easy for him, scrambled for me, sausage, toast and hashbrowns! Yumm.  Thomas made new friends with a group of guys sipping coffee and visiting nearby, which was sweet to see.  Dad and I had a great time laughing and talking together ... sharing Christmas memories from his childhood, joking about someone running off with our Yule Log cake ... hahah - tackle 'em dad!!

Our next adventure built a running joke between us .. as we went to Williams of Sonoma in search of the perfect gift for mom - something she's wanted for a long time!  As Dad explained what it was to the salesperson, who looked equally as mystified as I ... Marti came to the rescue - Ohh you're looking for an Ebelskiver!  While she bustled about the store helping dad shop, T and I wandered around drooling over beautiful tablecloths and linens, le creuset pieces, and little boy's cupcake decorations - including robots and .. for football fans .. cheerleaders of all things? C'mon ... Where are the guys in pads?

On our way home we took the scenic route .. driving along winding roads, through giant neighborhoods of hand-stamped houses - you know, where they all look the same? Crowding the same 1/2 acre lots? And talking about how beautiful Minnesota really is.  We truly had a great time together - many memories were made.  What was that pan called again? A edelkaken?! It's Scandinavian, right? All those words end in -kaken! ;-)

The house soon filled with family - Margaret, Ryan J., Gisela and her amazing children.  There was excitement and energy throughout the house as the children oo-ed and ahh-ed over the mountain of gifts under the tree .. Thomas and Silas enjoying each other's baby-company, and adults mulling from room-to-room.  Thomas mastered his sippy cup in the laying-down position ... he enjoyed chewing the nip of it snacking all-the-while.  It was so sweet seeing the babies together - Thomas loved seeing his older cousins, and they were absolutely delighted to play with their baby cousin!  They were incredibly sweet, offering him toys, cooing over him, and backing off as needed.

We enjoyed an evening around the table - who knew we could fit so many in Mom's kitchen?!  As well as in front of the tree ... After everyone left we joked it was the year of Cotton, since all of the children received 1-2 toys and more clothes, hats and mittens then they'll know what to do with!! Just what everyone needed!

The highlight of my Christmas Eve gift receiving - a Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker ..! It's 4-in-1 ... steaming, pureeing, thawing and heating baby's food! I'm eager to dig into it - it's going to be hard to wait until we get home to test it out. =)

Mom is preparing an amazing breakfast casserole ... Ryan is gaming on the PC with his new headset courtesy of yours truly ... Thomas is nestled cozy-ly in his crib, with his gifts from Santa under the tree ... Dad's sawing logs in his favorite seat ... and I am off to bed! G'night, Merry Christmas ... has Santa visited your town yet?