Twas the Night Before Christmas...

when all through the Children's Hospital, Santa was coming to visit all the kids who were stuck there.  (This worked out great because we never got a chance to visit Santa at the mall this year and although Kaili was okay with just writing him a letter, she was very excited to see him walk into Averi's hospital room and give her a present.)

not a creature was stirring, except all the nurses.  The stockings were hung above the tiny Christmas tree on the desk with care, in hopes that St.Nicholas soon would be there.

the children were nestled all snug in their bathtubs (This was a nice hiding place for Kaili since she isn't allowed to spend the night at the hospital.  She thought it was hilarious and kept fixing the blankets and showing everybody.)

while visions of hearing Santa danced in their heads and made them so excited that they couldn't sleep, well, one if them anyways, and mama in her pjs and dad in his pjs too, had just settled down on their full size air mattress, tightly fitted in a corner of the room...

I'm not gunna lie, Christmas was really fun this year.  We ordered pizza for our Christmas Eve dinner (no cooking or cleanup required) and amazingly no one said anything about all of us setting up shop in Averi's room for the night.  I was so, SO grateful!

We moved everything around in the room so that we even had a spot on the floor to sit on and open presents.    We made quite a big mess, but that should be expected when confined to such a small area. :)  The cleaning people even came and emptied our trash several times during the day so I felt pretty pampered.

Kaili, being the practical 4 yr old that she is, asked Santa for a lamp and a nightstand, and a vanity (not easy to all fit into a hospital room).  She also wanted a pet parakeet that doesn't talk and keep her awake at night, which came in the form of a Littlest Pet Shop bird.  She loved it and kept sticking the bird poo stickers on all of us.

Averi got a bus/walker and her feet almost touch the ground when she sits on it.  If she tries really hard she can push backwards a little bit but she loves sitting on it and playing with all the gadgets.  She also got a drum set that she loves and lots of new non-baby toys that make noises and interact.

The best part of Christmas was that we got to be together as a family, no matter where it happened, and spent the day hanging out in our pjs, eating leftovers, playing games (good job winning Pretty, Pretty Princess Dan), and counting our blessings!  Merry Christmas!!!