Christmas Day - 359/365

Christmas Morning = SO EXCITING! 

 We actually had to go and wake Reagan up this year. She was so petered out form all her Christmas Eve fun, she was trying to sleep in! We got her up, set and we went down to open presents! 

Santa leaves a few presents for her next to the tree in her playroom. (That's also where she leaves the cookies for him.) Then, mommy and daddy put presents by the big tree from us. She had asked Santa for Dora toys, so all the Dora toys ended up in there. She was PUMPED! 

After she tore those apart, we moved into the living room to open the rest of the presents. She was so excited! She was so generous, too. At one point, she was having more fun watching Jim and I open presents, then opening stuff herself. She would say, "Here mama, dada, you open another one!" It was so sweet! By the end, she had made out pretty good, from mom, dad, and Santa! We had such a great morning! 

The gift of the year, was probably the train table. We had put it together and set it up prior, so it was ready to go. She stood by that thing the rest of the morning! It was great! 

 Pretty soon, it was time to head over to Nana's for the day. We do the "Downard gift exchange" first. This one is fun, because each couple buys one girl and one boy gift that is $20.00. It's SO fun to see what people get! This year, Jim got a bunch of fun BBQ sauces and I got a cool scarf and makeup case! Reagan gets some presents, too! She was thrilled! 

 Next, it was time to chow down. My mom and dad always do an awesome filet and everyone else brings a side. It works out so well and we are all STUFFED by the end. After we got everything cleaned up, it was time to start the marathon, Zabel gift exchange. It usually takes us about three hours to complete! We like to take our time and open things one at a time so see the treasures. We do goofy stuff, nice stuff and just fun stuff, so it's quite an adventure to see what shows up. We also have a sparkly golden box that makes an appearance every year. Who ever gets it, has to put a present in it for someone next year. This year, Pam received it! Woo hoo! 

 Zach was able to come up for Christmas this year for the first time in many years, so it was AWESOME to have him home! We had such a fun night!

The photo of the day is our annual Christmas morning family photo....

 Next, Reagan and her goods...

Next, a Zabel family photo...

Merry Christmas!