Feliz Navidad

All three kids were greeted by this season's hot toy: Pillow pets. Santa had mixed emotions about those, but the excitement from the kids was contagious and they are still in use.

Lauren and Maddie exchanged joke gifts for the first time this year. We teased tomboy Maddie for weeks about asking Santa Claus for a pink flowered dress, so Lauren decided she really wanted to buy her one. So our last-minute shopping this year took place at Goodwill.

Since we didn't want Maddie to feel victimized, Mike convinced her that Lauren needed a joke gift. Maddie picked out a 40 oz. bag of Hershey kisses. Both kids were completely thrilled with their senses of humor, so the two joke gifts were the first ones opened.

Phineas and Ferb barely left Leah's hands in the week after Christmas.

My sister Heather paid homage to my impressive accumulation of frequent-driller miles at the dentist's office by giving me a new set of teeth.

Maddie was (and still is) very proud of her monogrammed sweater vest.

We ended the day with Christmas crackers, a Cocks family tradition that feels like a necessity. It's not really Christmas without those paper crowns. Since my parents were with us, we knew crackers were a must.