Christmas No. 2

Jillian's second Christmas was quite a day. She made trips to 4 different locations throughout the day, and held up really well. For sure, she has a better handle on opening presents, but her favorite part of the whole day was seeing all the family and friends again.

The day started off at 7:30 am, when Mommy and Daddy woke her up. She was still pretty tired after an exciting Christmas Eve, but she got right up when we said that she could open presents. The first thing she saw was the Strider balance bike (from Santa Daddy). Then, she opened up a big present to find a Radio Flyer tricycle (from Santa Mommy). Mommy and Daddy had wanted to buy separate Santa gifts for Jillian as a surprise, but we might have to change how we do that. After a few more presents and stockings, we got dressed and ready to go.

Our next stop was at Scott & Cindy's, where we also saw Dany & Jason, Mckenna & Lindsey, Helen and Brandon. There were lots of gifts going around, and Jillian was getting warmed up on the opening side of things. One of the gifts she received was a stepping stool from Scott & Cindy. Now she'll be able to see what's happening on top of the counters. Through the flurry, Jillian did slow down for about 30 seconds to read a page or two from "Twas the Night Before Christmas" with Scott.

We then took off for Castle Rock to see Grannie & Papa and all of the aunts, uncles and cousins in the Woodruff family. The present opening started right off with some Dora stuff, so that got Jillian all worked up. Then, she opened the big present from Grannie & Papa ... an electric Jeep. The fact that it had a carrying capacity of up to 130 lbs meant that Ty and Brock were also very excited. They both took Jillian outside to play in the Jeep, and Jillian was perfectly content to go along for a "fast" ride.

We went back to Longview in the afternoon, going to Uncle Clark & Auntie Greta's house, where we saw all of the aunts, uncles and cousins in the Peterson family. It was a whirlwind of present opening, and we worked hard to keep the room clear of all the wrapping paper so we wouldn't get swamped. Jillian got tons of new clothes, and was very excited about it all. She also liked to check out all the toys that Adam and Andy got. By the end of this round, both Jillian and Adam were very tired, and they laid down on the floor together to catch their breath.

The final stop was Uncle Dave & Auntie Charolette's house for a Christmas dinner, where we also saw Jim & Michelle. There was lots of good food, and we enjoyed a relaxing end to the evening. The kids kept on going, though, right to the very end. Believe it or not, we had a hard time getting Jillian down to sleep that night, maybe because she was still on an adrenaline rush. But, she ended up sleeping in the next day until 10:00 am!