Toy story

When I was growing up, my Mom was always very careful to buy Christmas gifts in twos and threes, to make sure my sisters and I had the same of every item and no one got jealous or had their feelings hurt. Yet still, our most memorable fights were all about stuff. Who had it. Who wanted it. Who ruined it. I guess these things are unavoidable.

Everyone was very thoughtful and careful this year with Molly and her Cousin Will. All of their gifts were similar. Two buses. Two laptops. Two stuffed animals. Books, books, and more books. Winnie the Pooh figurines for Molly. Matchbox cars for Will. Will is still too young to be possessive, but Little Miss Molls does. not. like. it. when Will wants to play with her things. Her little horns of jealousy have been coming out big time over the last two days. I know this is totally normal behavior, but as a parent, it is just horrifying to watch as your child tries to hold 15 stuffed animals in her skinny little arms just so no one else can play with them. Sigh.

Don't get me wrong, Molly and Will really like each other. See the pics below. They've been holding hands, following each other around, and sharing bunny crackers and orange slices with each other. Those little moments of cousin love just couldn't be cuter and make up for almost all the times where Molly has shouted "mine!" And we're lucky...they take naps at different times, so each kid has a chance to play with ALL the toys for a couple of hours each day :)

Yoda and Chewbacca. How cute is this?



The most adorable little Elf I've ever seen

 

Digging in



The pile just kept getting bigger and bigger. Good thing we're flying Southwest and can check an extra box for free!

 

Molly's favorite gift was probably her laptop. Now she can check her email and blog just like Mommy :)

 

My -- I mean Santa's -- gift to Molly. Her very own backpack!

Yes, even the adults received a few gifts. Rudolph the Red Nosed Guiness. Joe's girlfriend Kathleen knows the O'Grady boys well