Christmas Day

Nedy woke up Christmas morning, tapped me, and said in her loud whisper, "Mama, you sink Santa Cwaus come yast night?" After protesting a brief stop at the bathroom, she was on her way to the family room..."HE CAME! Mama, HE CAME!" Seriously, just look at her face. (And try not to look at mine. Note for next year: make-up application first.)
I quickly figured out that, for Nedy, it wasn't about what Santa brought for her but whether or not he actually came. Once she saw that he had indeed deemed her a "good girl", she said she "didn't wiwwy feew yike opening pwesents" and would rather "just pway." My guess is this is the last year that she won't care much about the stuff. :)

But I managed to convince her to open a few things. I mostly directed her opening to the things I wanted to play with. I'd been waiting a month to get my hands on that vintage View Master...
And check out these Lego letter tiles! Building words! Love it. (I know. I'm pathetic.)
And who doesn't need a child-sized accordion?
Lego hospital anyone?"Hey, Mama and Baba? Maybe I take your pick-chur? Yike, wit da wiwwy big camwa? I be wiwwy caweful and not dwop it? Okaaaaaaay?" (I think she might be developing a nice eye for composition--you think?)
Then Nana and Papa came over for lunch and afternoon fun. Our long-standing Christmas Day tradition is lunch followed by the Domes. (It's pretty fun being among the twelve people who are lame enough to go to the Domes on Christmas Day.)
"Bye-bye, puppy from Santa. You not go to da Domes because dey don't yet dogs in da Domes, okay?" (Nedy wanted a puppy for Christmas. She never told him exactly what kind of puppy she wanted. Santa is a thoughtful guy.)
THE DOMES! No matter how many times we go, Ned never grows tired of the Domes.
We unexpectedly ran into our friends Barb and Paul and their son, ZhengZheng in the Show Dome. Who knew that they were also among the twelve? Small world. :)
Awwwwww. Seriously, what else can I say?
Our annual Domes waterfall self-portrait.
After the Domes we headed over to the downtown M & I Bank lobby for a visit to their Enchanted Forest. The security guard had actually just closed the lobby and turned out the lights, but I guess we looked pathetic enough (perhaps he sensed we were among the twelve?) that he let us in and turned it back on. It is a bizarre collection of Steiff animals, some animated, placed in a woodland scene. Lions, penguins, giraffes, rabbits and squirrels all side by side in seeming harmony. It's...odd. And oddly enjoyable. But don't take my word for it:
MERRY CHRISTMAS!