strawberry pie life: christmas.... the short version!

is it for real? is christmas over already???
call me a grinch, but hallelujah! as kim just said to me today.... christmas takes a whole long month of planning, work and running around to be ready for and is over in one quick day!
however, seeing my little boys face on christmas morning this year beat any christmas i have ever had before! for a month now levi has been talking about santa and his "monster cowboy truck" (a big wheel). how it ever got the name of monster cowboy truck is beyond me but that is what he has called it from the first moment he laid those big blue eyes of his on it. he was so incredibly cute on christmas eve night over at brian's parents house. during dinner prayer after grandpa said "amen" levi kept his eyes closed and kept the prayer going...."and jesus, please tell santa to bring me my monster cowboy truck". come on now... who wouldn't just melt at that?!

christmas eve gave me a good idea at just how exciting the morning was going to be. levi and livi were elated all night. going from present to present in awe these were now their toys!
after a couple years of debate brian and i came to the conclusion this year that we were infact going to do the whole santa thing. however, we added our own twist. last year i had planned on just getting the kids three gifts a piece but who was i kidding?
i am still the same shannon i have always been, and three little gifts would just never cut it for me. so, we came up with the idea that SANTA would bring the kids three gifts each. that way mommy and daddy could get some credit too with gifts from

us.... the three gifts will represent the three gifts the wise men brought the baby jesus. remarkably, the idea worked really good. all month long levi kept telling me about the wise men and jesus and how santa would bring him three gifts too. i guess that means we have made and will continue that tradition.
the big wheel was so big that i had to move furniture around to make everything else fit. one of the couches i had to move is the one right in front of levi's door. i was afraid that if he woke up in the middle of the night and came into our room like he sometimes does, he would see his new truck and i would miss his face. he did in fact come crawling into our bed at 4:30am but the good news is he was so out of it he didn't see that "santa" had already come.

i have never seen him so excited! the smile on his face was so big! and truthfully, we should have just stopped shopping after that one gift cause it was hard to distract him from it to open his other presents.
miss alivia had been asking santa for a baby. which was one of the gifts he brought her. but she was so excited about her new dolly house that when asked the rest of the day if santa brought her the baby she would said "noooo...anta bought me ouse".
nataley, just took it all in smiling and laughing all day long. i think by the end of the day she was pretty tired but i have learned that she has a hard time sleeping if she's isn't in her crib. she kept a good mood till about 7pm, then got a little on the cranky side.

every year there is a "pinecraft parade" all the local businesses in the area decorate platforms and go riding around the streets of pinecraft throwing candy. it has always been somewhat bothersome to me. not because it's not fun, but rather it interferes with going to my mom and dads house. but, brian is also somewhat expected to do it because as most people know.... he is the king of pinecraft. i guess it just wouldn't be the same for people without that small town celebrity husband of mine. i will say this, after doing it this year i won't complain to brian again that i really don't want to be doing it. the kids had so much fun! alivia was so cute. before we left she had found a sucker that she reallly wanted. i told her she couldn't have it yet but later so she held onto it in one had the entire ride, while she filled her other hand and dropped the hand full of candy off the side of the float. and levi made me laugh when he told me it was just like feeding fish.
my parents got the kids a boston terrier puppy for christmas. the only thing is she is still to young to leave her mother. so my parents got the kids a cage and a bed and stuff for her in hope of building their anticipation of the new pup. neither one of them really understand it yet..... that they are getting a dog. so, i guess that will be the next great exciting thing to happen in the emrich future.