Our Christmas week was busy this year! The week began with a nighttime trip to see Santa at the library, an extra-special trip for Megan and Bridget who really miss the library visits when they're at school. Nighttime at the library means you get to wear your pajamas!
Every year, on the 23rd, we meet all of the Stechers for lunch downtown. It's always a fun adventure with the girls. We're in and out of the city every day, but don't really have a reason to go downtown very often. We decided to take BART again this year, and the girls loved it! Our little commuters were not quiet, and we did not fit in with the crowd, but I know they were the cutest passengers that afternoon :)
After lunch, we walked around Union Square and looked at the displays in Macy's windows,
and even managed a family shot, with only one kid falling (Annie) right as the picture was snapped. Those aren't bad odds. And I'm pretty sure this was the worst place to attempt a family picture.
We spent Christmas Eve with the entire Raley clan, meeting up for a late afternoon mass where cousins were just a little excited to see each other!
We headed back to our house after mass and celebrated with a Mexican feast that was a little too spicy for these kids, so we were lucky to get a shot of them actually sitting at their kids' table.
They spent more time watching some quality Christmas classics while the adults finished eating.
Once it was time to open presents, Mary got an introduction to mad unwrapping craziness!
After all of the presents were opened, and we'd said our goodbyes to the rest of the Raleys, and before they went off to bed, Megan and Bridget made sure to leave a treat for Santa and his reindeer.
Fast forward to Christmas morning, when we only got a few pictures. Annie shows just how much two-year-olds understand of Christmas morning. She was so fixated on the Reese's cups in her stocking that she didn't notice (or care) about actual presents. Note to Santa: scale it way back for the under 3 set!
Even for our older and oh-so-much-wiser crowd, they were easy to please. Santa came through with the "big" toy that each girl so desperately wanted: a Pillow Pet!
Meanwhile, Mary slept in and missed the morning action. But, we made sure she saw her stocking when she woke up. And, she turned five months old on Christmas!
The best part of Christmas this year was just relaxing on Christmas morning. We had a mess from the night before, but we had all morning to leisurely get to it before we left for the Stecher Christmas in Burlingame. The girls all wanted to wear their new outfits from the Cecchins, and so of course I needed pictures :)
The kids table situation looks a little different at the Stechers'. Our girls made up just one of the kids tables at this party with 20+ kids.
There are enough kids in the Stecher family to put on a pretty entertaining Christmas pageant every year. Each kid gets a costume, even the tiniest in the family...whether or not they stay awake for their part.
Megan and Bridget were each angels, and they had been looking forward to this play for weeks.
Tessa donned a Santa costume, too. Annie wasn't as game, and not because she was shy. When offered a costume, she scoffed, "No way! Yuck!" and settled into the audience next to me. I think Annie will come around next year. Who wouldn't want to be part of this crew??
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