It Came Just the Same

The longer you've known me, the more likely it is that you're aware of my penchant for funny T-shirts. Not everyone remembers, but in the 80's it was cool to wear T-shirts which had some manner of funny saying or design on them, and I just never outgrew those shirts, so to speak. This Christmas I got one from my Dad and one from my boss.

My father was foolish enough to let me pick the shirt he was going to pay for. I chose this one from my absolute favorite T-shirt site.


This one is from my boss. I'll let you do the jokes.


Okay, on to the good stuff. Christmas Day was a classic good time at our house. The fun starts with the traditional cinnamon rolls for breakfast.


Dad took them out of the oven too early this year, so they weren't baked in the middle. Still, the reviews were good.



Toby reminded us what was next.


The quote of the day came when I asked him what he thought of all the presents under the tree. "I can't believe some are for you!"



A harmonica for Toby! Much nicer to listen to than that plastic trumpet he got at the county fair last summer.


Some new Sandra Boynton books for Alicia...


And a DoodlePro!


She got very excited when she saw this baby. "Baby! Baby!"


But when we turned it on to make it laugh and coo, she looked very worried. She wouldn't feed it until we turned off the sound effects again.


Toby got a dinosaur that roars impressively while rearing its scary head, but that doesn't bother her. A giggling doll, that's freaky.

Of course, the coup de résistance was the Playmobil Drawbridge Castle. Toby has been telling everybody for weeks that he's going to get this. Dad got to put it together, which took 30 minutes, and Toby got to play with the rest of it for the day. It's hard to say who had more fun.


Playmobil is really quality stuff; the level of detail is very good and the mechanics of how all the different parts work is pretty impressive.


A big thank you to our papas, nanas, grannies, aunts and uncles! We love you all and hope your Christmas was every bit as merry as ours!