Christmas Recap

Back to work today!  I’d be lying if I said I was looking forward to returning.  It was just so nice being able to spend every day with A and W.  We had a great mix of extremely busy days and lazy days.  I also enjoyed sleeping in (which meant staying in bed until 6-6:30) and even squeezed in a nap one day… bliss.  It was wonderful.  Our Christmas spanned 3 days and seems like a whirlwind as I think about it.  W was perfect and I think he really loved every minute – and all those presents.  He was definitely on Santa’s nice list.  Without further ado, a little recap…

Christmas Eve has always been reserved for my side of the family.  When we bought our house, I mentioned to A that I really wanted to have my family over on Christmas Eve (we typically alternate houses) so that’s what we did.  My extended family tries to get together every year, but my aunts and uncles in northern Wisconsin and Florida usually only make it to town every other year.  They were here last year so weren’t able to make the trip this year.  As a result, it was a smaller celebration with my mom, aunt, uncle, and 4 cousins, but it was great.  W had fun opening a few presents, my sweet cousin brought me some sparkling apple cider (so thoughtful), we ate LOTS, and called it a night.  Oh!  One thing I have to mention.  We decided to keep dinner casual – a few appetizers and pizza.  Well, when it came time to order the pizza, the first 4 places we tried were closed!  Oops!  I didn’t expect that at all.  My family was really sweet and said they were fine with appetizers or even frozen pizza, but we tried a fifth place and they happened to be open.  I guess not many people order pizza on Christmas Eve.  Lesson learned!

 Me and my handsome Christmas boy

 He's a pro as present opening!

I was so so excited for Christmas.  I couldn’t wait to watch W’s face light up when he saw what Santa brought.  I previously found a Little Tykes ride on fire truck at a consignment sale.  It was in perfect condition and I couldn’t wait for W to see it in front of the tree.  He did not disappoint – all smiles and climbed into his truck right away.  Melted my mommy heart.  I think W played with the fire truck for about an hour and a half and then it was time for church.  After church, in keeping with our routine, we headed to Starbucks for bagels and apple juice.  Then we headed home and by some Christmas miracle, A was able to get W down for an early nap.  As soon as he woke up, it was off to Nani and Papa’s for a big dinner and more celebration.  Dinner was delicious.  It was wonderful to be surrounded by family.  My brother even made a rare appearance.  There were so many gifts and we all had a great time.  We eventually headed home with full bellies and a car full of toys.  After some downtime at home, we decided to open our stockings.  Is open the right word?  We still hadn’t opened any of the gifts to each other or from Santa and we were in no hurry.  W was enjoying his fire truck and other gifts and it seemed silly to take him away from playing to open more gifts.  Not to mention, he was totally spoiled at Nani and Papa’s house with so many gifts already.  So we just did stockings and saved everything else for the following day.

 WOW!!  What's this?!?!

 Gotta make sure blankie makes it into the truck.

 I think he likes it. :)

Opening presents at Nani and Papa's house

Then, the day after Christmas, I declared I wasn’t cleaning and wasn’t changing out of my comfy clothes.  Grandma G came over for a big breakfast  - casserole, waffles, sausage, bacon, and bagels.  We finally opened gifts to each other and W opened his gifts from Santa.  The rest of the day was spent relaxing and playing with all those new toys.  We even played outside for a short time since the weather was really mild.

 Santa brought me SHOES!!

It was probably my favorite Christmas to date.  I ate waaay too many cookies, received amazing gifts, and even got to watch television and a movie!!!  But really, what I enjoyed most was spending the week with my favorite guys.  I loved watching W open presents.  And I’m so so thankful that W and I were able to spend quality time together before baby #2 arrives.  And although returning to work this morning was tough, my heart is full and the holiday bliss has not yet worn off. J