I had hopes of making it till the spring without a haircut, but as the saying goes "Happy wife, happy life!"
A new book quickly caught her attention and she was off crawling to check it out!
My dad found a new high chair toy in his stocking. My parents are daycare for Morgan 4 days a week, so this toy will be just as useful for my dad as for Morgan.
Christa helps Morgan unwrap a present.
Some onesees and some new books, Morgan seems thrilled.
Morgan also got an orange, now she seems excited...
...better taste it to make sure it's good.
Heather and I with our presents.
My mom opened her gift from Morgan. She was impressed with Christa and Morgan's "handy" work.
My dad is notorious for giving gnomes as Christmas presents. He says "Every home needs a gnome," and those gnomes show up in the strangest places. Heather is always excited when she gets a gnome!
Christa opens up her gifts while Morgan plays with her new blocks.
My dad somehow finds the most interesting gifts. This year was no exception. We each got a new cd from Gentleman Jim. Jim used to run the fishing resort in Minnesota that we fish at, but recently he sold the place to pursue his musical dreams. 
Morgan showing off for the camera!
Another gnome, this time a Christmas gnome!
We all got Santa figurines from a different country, Wade is very excited about his Scottish Santa.
Christa received a Victorian Santa, because she spent a semester in England while at Central College and as we all know Queen Victoria ruled over England.
Morgan received a NU2U gift, which means that it may not be new, but it is new to you! She got a cabbage patch doll, but not any cabbage patch doll, this was Christa's from when she was a kid.
Whoopee....
...a zeppelin!
Morgan got introduced to Falco...
...and she loved him, she just laughed and laughed.
Then Morgan looked up at us almost as if to say "What a nice puppy, can I have one?"
We had a great time in Indianola celebrating Christmas. It is always nice to spend time with family. We headed to Pella to bring Falco to his new home. I think he was happy to finally make it home.
Riley was quick to sniff out this new fluff ball.
...they were off playing like old friends.
Falco got tired pretty quick and needed to stop and pose for a picture.
After playing for a while with Riley, Falco snuggled up with Heather and they both fell asleep on the couch.
Christmas morning and Riley got a new collar in her stocking!
Back to playing...
...and more playing
All this playing worked out great. When we headed to Indianola, Falco was so tired he slept the whole time and didn't make a peep. After the Christmas celebration in Indianola, we went over to Pella to bring Nathan his puppy, he was very excited to see Falco and Riley is excited to have a new friend!
Nathan shows me his first present, a shark puzzle.
Heather helps Gracie unwrap her gifts.
Nathan shows Grandma Doreen his new tractor book.
Gracie tears into her next present, throwing the paper over her head.
I don't know who is more excited about Nathan's new vest, Chad or Nathan.
Karys stops to say "Cheese" between presents.
Karys is super excited about her Barbie purse and sunglasses!
Heather smiles while Gracie puts on her new lip gloss.
Shay and Rob smile from the safety of the couch, they were on camera duty.
Nathan opens up his next gift, a dog book and dog collar.
and the next gift is a dog bed, "Why do I need a dog bed?" Nathan asks.
The big surprise, Rob, Erin, Doreen, Brent, Heather and I all chipped in and got Nathan a new puppy for Christmas!
Nathan was so excited when we explained that this was his puppy and he could take him home!
And his puppy fit perfectly in his new puppy bed.
Only 10 minutes and already best friends.
Gracie offered a few pointers on how to hold a puppy without dropping him.
Nathan joined Falco in his pet bed to make sure it was soft.
Karys managed to get her Barbie kit open and tried on her new sunglasses.
After all the commotion of a new puppy, Nathan and Chad disappeared for a bit. When they came back Nathan had a new shirt on, announcing that he was going to be a big brother!
After the presents were opened, we headed upstairs for supper, but Grandma Doreen had more surprises in store for the kids. Gracie and Karys found a giant doll house...
...and Nathan got a kitchen set.
Nathan showing us his new slippers, Lighting McQueen!
The girls in their jammies playing with Auntie Heather.
Ready for bed, Gracie and Karys thought it would be fun to sleep on the steps.
We had a great time celebrating with all the family in Ankeny. Unfortunately, Nathan came down with a terrible cough, that nurse Doreen suspected was Croup. Chad, Shay and Nathan ended up leaving early to head back to Pella to get into urgent care to have him looked at. Sure enough, he has Croup. Croup is a common childhood viral illness that is easily recognized because of the distinctive characteristics that children have when they become infected. Like most viral illnesses, there is no cure for croup, but there are many symptomatic treatments that can help your child to feel better faster. Children will usually be well when they went to bed, and will then wake up in the middle of the night with a croupy cough and trouble breathing. The cough that children with croup have is also distinctive. Unlike other viral respiratory illnesses, which can cause a dry, wet, or deep cough, croup causes a cough that sounds like a barking seal. They got the cough under control with some treatments and he is doing a ton better now. They ended up leaving Falco in our care for the evening, but we were able to deliver the dog the next day after they got settled back home. Nathan was a trooper through all of it. 
