...Just like that, huh?

...well, Christmas is over...just like that!

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I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas day with your family and/or friends. Ours was very nice - very low key, but very nice & relaxing. I must admit though,Christmas, as an adult/parent, brings a very different experience than when I was a child. Not a bad different...just...different.

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It was also very different just having one child at home. The entire focus of the moment was all on Jayla. And why shouldn't it be? She's the youngest and the last one at home. So it was so much fun to watch her enjoy the moment.

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Speaking of "the moment", let's talk about that, shall we?

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On Monday, Christmas Eve, we all just sat around and anticipated the excitement that the next day would bring. Then at 9:00 that night, Jayla realized that she had forgotten to do something. She found her little ziploc bag of Reindeer food on the kitchen table (dried oatmeal and red glitter). She yells, "OH MOM!!! We forgot to put the reindeer food out! Oh my GOODNESS!!!" lol. So she throws on her coat (over her PJ's), slips on some shoes, grabs the "food" off the table then yells for me to HURRY UP and come out in the front yard with her. As I'm standing on the porch, she looks up in the sky, saying that she's making sure the reindeer aren't waiting for her to leave them something to eat :-). She sprinkles the food all over the yard then breathes a sigh of relief that she got it done - just in time. :-)

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Now if you'll remember, this is the same little girl who says she doesn't even believe in Santa and his reindeer :-). But she informs me that she doesn't believe in Santa...just the flying reindeer, LOL. Anyway, we finally get Miss Lady to calm down then into bed for the night, around 9:30pm.

We were a little worried that she'd wake up WAY earlier than normal. But she actually slept in for a bit. She didn't knock on our door until 7:35 on Christmas morning. I grabbed the camera and we all headed downstairs...you know, to see what the "Reindeer" delivered :-). Here are some of my favorite pix from the day:

Sorry this picture is so blurry...not sure why my hands might have been shaking so much. But I had to show it anyway because I just love the look on Jayla's face. I'll tell ya, this little girl is THE best person to give gifts too. She is SO excited about anything you give her - and I do mean ANYTHING. Example: last week while grocery shopping, I picked up a new toothbrush for Jayla. Nothing fancy, no fun characters or anything. It was just your basic CREST kids toothbrush with a white and pink handle. No big deal. Well, when Jayla got home from school that day, she was in her bathroom and saw the new toothbrush. All of a sudden, I hear this squealish scream. So, I run in there to see what might have happened to her. And as I reach the door, she says, "OH MOM...I just LOVE this toothbrush!! It's PERFECT!!!" Now I'm standing there looking perplexed thinking it's JUST a toothbrush. Then she jumps up off the toilet (pants still down around her ankles, mind you, and gives me a big ole hug). She was so excited about it and even said to me, "Mom, you're the BESTESS mom I could ever have! I love you for getting me a BRAND NEW toothbrush!" :-) Uh, you're welcome? lol. After such a heartfelt thank you from my loving daughter, I didn't have the heart to tell her that I only got her a new one so that it would fit in the toothbrush holder...the Princess one she had had too big of a handle.

Ok, back to our regularly scheduled programming...

YES, that's a mailbox in the background! We couldn't believe that this is one of gifts she HAD to have. Jayla loves getting mail and it would be icing on her cake to get it out of her very own mailbox. So, that's what she got.

This is what the mailbox looked like before it got all prettied up.

And this is an up close look at it all "Jayla'd" up :-).

And I'm sure ya'll remember me telling you how "Domesticated" my daughter is, right? :-) Well, here are the best of the best as far as her gifts went :-).

The Disney Princess Cash Register.

The "Laptop" :-).

The Coffee Maker.

And THE Vacuum Cleaner. :-)

She also got a beautiful pink bathrobe. My BIL got that for her and some Princess slippers to go with it. Look, she even wears it while doing her chores :-).
Anyway, it was a fun morning. And every since then, Jayla has been wandering around the house with that bathrobe on and offering to make everyone a cup of coffee...then vacuum up after them :-). She's driving Trae crazy, LOL.

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week. I've gotta run...I'm being summoned to play Connect Four :-). Toodles!!