opening day arrives

Mimi and the girls with their new stuffed animals (a lion for Luci in honor of her love of the Lion King and a panda bear for Ruby)

It was really difficult to shop for Ruby - she really does not need anything since she will inherit so much from her Big Sister. But I figured you can never have too many books!

It's 1986 all over again with My Little Ponies.

Luci loves cheering for North Carolina, 'her team', this sweatshirt is really nice and will probably fit her until she is 7.

Kai and Luci both got Lego sets. Kai's is a public transport set that now is on display in his office.

My new pasta maker - this thing is a beast! the fettuccine we made the other night was melt in your mouth fantastic.

Gifts from Aunt Liz and Uncle Bob included this new van that goes along with her new doll house.

And adorable matching 'Just Beeing Me' outfits. Also, Ruby got her own Baby Beans (not pictured)

Growing up Kai always rooted for the St. Louis Cardinals, so my mom got him a World Series t-shirt and hat.

Ruby enjoyed meeting her new glow worm.

And playing with all the soft toys that came as a part of this baby's 1st christmas set.

Ruby's new play mat - we have one that we used for Luci, but we wanted another one to keep at Taty's house since she'll be watching Ruby through June.

More books - this one is from my parents neighbors up in NY. They also gave Luci the Princess Numbers set below.

Luci's new coat - who wouldn't love a pink leopard print?

A snow globe with Ariel in it that plays Part of Your World. I'm amazed at the fact that the Ariel obsession has not waned, in fact, it continues to grow.

We had a lovely Christmas morning with my parents and my brother (who somehow did not make the cut into any of those photographs! - but he was there - he was the one who had the fun job of taking each toy out of the box and cleaning up all the wrapping paper) - we videotaped Luci coming down the stairs and taking in her new dollhouse and all the gifts under the tree. Then we had a nice breakfast followed by a short walk for the dogs (and some restless adults) and then it was time for opening gifts. Luci truly oohed and aahed over every single present - even underwear - granted it was Tinkerbell underwear, but still it was so fun to see her get so excited about even the littlest of things. One of the best gifts she received were My Little Ponies that were mine when I was a girl - (Mimi and Poppi had held onto them and brought them down to NC) - seeing those toys instantly took me back. We play ponies almost everyday. Thank you to all those that sent gifts for the girls - Ryann/Lance, the Dunns (Vincent, Dorothy & Mary Beth), the Haugs, Aunt Liz & Uncle Bob, Aunt Janet & Uncle Joe - we continue to be extremely grateful for all your love and generosity.