Santa and the Elf - Together at last on Christmas Eve

At last!  Santa and the Elf have been reunited for Christmas Eve dinner at Coco and Poppy's house.  I forgot my camera (gasp!) but fortunately was able to high-jack Holly's camera to capture the evening.  We had a great family gathering.  It felt like the old days when we used to have get together for holidays with my cousins.  Life is a different pace with kids running around so we opted for easy food (lasagna) and informal dining on the couches.  It was perfect.  After dinner, we had a little bit of gift opening.  Here are some shots.

Santa checking the Elf's handy work



And the Elf styling Santa's hair??

Smiley boys

Whispering some top secret Santa-Elf business

Elliott looks like such a big boy here!

You may recall the funny story of my dad as a child suggesting he and his siblings buy drums for their mother, as he really wanted his own.  Well, he finally has his drum.  And, since my mom and Ted monogram for a living, dad got a monogrammed drum.  

Uncle Steve is so thoughtful.  He brought gifts for all the kids on Christmas Eve.  Ned was so excited when he opened his gift - a tool box that folds out to become peg board with bolts and a power drill.  

And Elliott LOVED it too

We were quite impressed when Elliott brought the real screwdriver over too.  He is one smart kid!

Elliott getting coached by Poppy

And helped by Daddy

Elliott piled some of the bolts in his dump truck that he got from Uncle Ted and Aunt Jen

And pushed them around.  He makes "vroom vroom" noises now when he pushes vehicles around.

Holly and Mike - they look pretty good for parents of a newborn!

Aunt Jen with Penny in her fancy Christmas Eve outfit

Elliott with Uncle Ted

Penny looks like a little angel

Looks at those squishy cheeks!  She is still such a little peanut!

As the boys obsessed over the new drill set, Steve quietly told my dad that he was so excited the boys liked it but he hadn't bought that toy.  He bought the gifts from a small shop in town that provides gift wrapping.  Steve picked out his gifts, payed for them, and picked up the wrapped packages.  Knowing that Ned was a big fan of heavy equipment, he picked out a garbage truck for him.  The shop mixed up the wrapped gifts!  We sure hope the little person who was supposed to get the drill set liked the garbage truck as much as our boys liked the drill!!!  Here is Elliott, taking off with the drill set!