Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Eby Family!

Over the past several years, really since we started having kids, we've had to do several (sometimes as many as 5) Christmas celebrations in order to cover all of the family. This year, with the uncertainty of  Miles and being too uncomfortable to travel, we only had to do two - one with my dad and one with just us. Don't get me wrong, its really nice to be able to have so much family that we need extra days, but I have to admit it was pretty nice this year actually being done on Christmas, especially since Miles will arrive any day now and the boys will have their birthdays in the next month. And we did have my brother visit a couple of weeks ago, Pete and Ginger will visit on their way down south for the winter, and my mom will be here in January to help with Miles and be here for the boys' birthdays.

Christmas with my Dad:

My dad came down on the 22nd to do Christmas with us. It was a nice day, nothing too exciting to report. He dropped off presents around 12:30p before checking into the hotel and then came back to the house around 3p so we could do presents once Rylan woke up from her nap. After presents we ordered pizza from Mio's (our favorite Cincinnati Pizza spot) and the kids played with their new loot until bedtime. The next morning my dad would be off again, but stopped by for about an hour for some more play time with the kids and to say good bye. It was a short visit, but I know the kids enjoyed it, especially the presents :)

Pictures from Christmas with Papa (my dad):

The boys

Rylan helping dad video tape and the boys being, well, the boys :)

 Presents!!!

 The kids "biggie" - a new Basketball hoop! They were VERY excited

 Little People Princess Castle for Ry and LEGOS for the boys - Life is good!

Christmas Eve and Christmas at Home:
We had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas home. Christmas Eve we spent the day at home just relaxing. We made chocolate chip and M&M chocolate chip cookies for Santa. The kids each got one present to open (traditional present of Christmas PJs). And after dinner and presents, we all sat cuddled up on the sofa with cookies and watched Stars Wars Episode 2 - the boys are really getting into the movies now. The day/night was very nice, but we did have one little snafu - Rylan found her "big" present hiding under the stairs in the basement. And she was HYSTERICAL she couldn't have it right then. SO bedtime was a bit of a challenge. The boys were overly excited and Rylan was having fits, after a bit we were able to finally get everyone settled down and in bed so Santa could come.

Christmas morning we were all up and ready for stockings by 7:30am - well, the boys were up MUCH earlier, but played nicely in their room until the rest of us were up and ready. We did our stockings first and they were a hit as usual. After stockings we took a break to make a good breakfast - Eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls, and orange juice, YUM. Everyone enjoyed the food and we were ready to tackle the tree!

I think we got through every present under the tree in about 30 minutes. Ok, it took longer than that, but not by much! Chris played Santa and handed out the gifts and I played the officer in charge of making sure the kids were paying attention to others opening presents and making sure they knew who each present was from. The boys would just assume rip everything open as fast as possible than actually read who the present is from, I imagine this is common for most parents :) Anyway, the kids were all very pleased with their gifts and overall very well behaved. The big hits were LEGO Star Wars for Brenden, LEGO Harry Potter for Jake, and a new Baby with stroller, cradle, and carseat for Rylan. 

We spent most of the day playing with our new toys and just relaxing. Chris put a lot of the LEGO stuff for Brenden together, Jake put his own stuff together, I played with my new iPad, and Rylan never let her baby out of sight :) We also had calls from family throughout the day and we were able to Skype briefly with my mom and brother. We all got ourselves cleaned up by 5pm for Christmas dinner, Prime Rib with potatoes and carrots - YUMMMMMMMM. And after dinner it was back to playing for a bit until dessert was ready. 

It was a very nice and quiet Christmas. I had been hoping Miles would make an appearance for one last gift, but it looks like he might be waiting for the new year....

Pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas:

Christmas Eve

New PJs for the kids

 Milk and Cookies for Santa and a carrot for the Reindeer

 Stockings - There was one for Miles even

 The calm before the storm....

 Christmas Morning!

Rylan and her new baby - My Grandfather (Pops) made the cradle for my dolls when I was little :)

 The boys looking ready to get down to business and Jake in his new Browns Jersey

 The stacks of boxes? LEGOS, what else? :) And Rylan trying on her new Michigan Cheerleader outfit

 Daddy and Rylan (in her new dress)

I hope everyone had a wonderful day! We were sad to not be able to share the day, but we are VERY much looking forward to the arrival of Miles and the visitors it will bring! MERRY CHRISTMAS!