Christmas Wrap-Up

We had a very different Christmas this year. Usually, we either go to Texas or host family here. But, we couldn't really make definitive plans this time around because we weren't sure when Reid would arrive and/or if I would be up for traveling/hosting. Reid came a bit earlier than expected and we couldn't resist seeing him right away. So, we ended up being home for the holidays while everyone else made other plans. We missed everyone terribly, but at the same time it was pretty awesome just to be able to focus solely on Norah. This was the first year she understood the concept of Santa/Christmas/giving to others, and it was so fun to experience the holidays through her eyes.

I had been wanting to get Norah an outdoor playhouse for a while, but geez, those things are expensive (like $400+). I scoured Craigslist and my local mom's club for weeks and at the beginning of the month found a total score. BVZ picked it up in a borrowed truck in the freezing cold rain a few weeks ago and we've been hiding it out in the backyard (thankfully, the weather has sucked all month and we haven't spent much time out there). BVZ then spent about 3 hours on Christmas Eve afternoon setting up and cleaning the house. He's a good dad.

We traveled across the bay on Christmas Eve afternoon to celebrate with Grandpa Gene, Miss Mary, Mary's daughter Linda, and (Great) Uncles Dick and Alan. Norah wanted to wear her red ballerina dress and had no interest in letting me take a pretty photo of her.

This is what I got when I told her to be a 'Christmas Angel.' HA. She could totally be on Toddler and Tiaras. (By the way, if you haven't seen that show at least once we can't be friends. Really.)

Norah thinks it's hilarious to ask 'are we there yet?' as soon as she gets into the car. It is funny the first time. Not so much the 87th time.

Grandpa Gene, Mary, and Linda completely outdid themselves with dinner-it was an amazing feast. We ate, chatted, and then exchanged gifts. Norah got a duck pillow pet from Grandpa Gene and Mary (she was in heaven), and an amazing Nutcracker music box from Dick and Alan.

We were very remiss about taking pictures, but we did get a few cute ones of Norah and Grandpa Gene.

and Uncle Alan. I keep saying 'next time I will be better about getting good shots' but this time I mean it.

We got home and set out treats for Santa that Norah and I made earlier that day.

Santa got cookies and a glass of milk.

(Doesn't the tree look nice!)

And the reindeer got some carrots.

One last plea to Santa to "please, please, please bring me a drum and 2 drumsticks."


She went right to sleep and Santa enjoyed his treat. He left her a nice note, a full stocking, and believe it our not, a drum with 2 drumsticks.

We are finally getting some karmic payback from the first 18 months of her life, because the kid regularly sleeps in until at least 8:00 am almost every morning. When she woke up she made a beeline for the 'snack table' and almost lost it when she saw that the milk hadn't been touched (whoops). She made a quick turn around when she saw that the cookies and carrots were gone and a drum was in its place.

If only it could be this easy to always make them this happy.

She was thrilled to find stuff in her stocking and was beside herself to see The Aristocats.

And some watercolor paints.

Everything had to stop while she did some painting, specifically on Santa's note.

This is the best picture I got of everyone in their matching holiday pj pants.

Jessie doll from mom.

Christmas breakfast with Jessie.

Lincoln Logs from dad.

It was a lazy and wonderful morning and we took our time opening the loot so she could appreciate and enjoy each thing (she was very spoiled by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins). In fact, she still has about 5 things left to open. I tried to convince her to take a nap but she insisted that it was Christmas and she would just "rest and watch Beauty and the Beast" (thanks, Bubby).

At this point, you might be wondering how she liked the playhouse. Well, she didn't actually see it on Christmas. Why? Because ALL day it looked like this.

I knew we wouldn't be able to show it to her and keep her away, so we decided it would be better left as a day after Christmas surprise. Which of course meant it was no longer a Santa gift but a mom and dad gift. Which was okay with BVZ, I think. He worked hard on that thing.

Norah didn't take a nap, but bear did and she read to him from my new cookbook while he got settled in.

And spent some quality time with her new loot.

About 4:00 we headed over to the L-J house for Christmas dinner and general merriment. I am embarrassed to say I didn't take one single picture (as an aside, our family gift to each other this year was a DSLR camera I have been coveting for months. We still have yet to take it out of the box. Sigh.) It was a fabulous evening. They outdid themselves with a prime rib-we don't ever cook red meat here, so it was a serious treat and BVZ was literally beside himself with joy. In fact, he hasn't stopped talking about it for over 2 days. Food was great, company was better, and we had a really, really good time. In fact, we may just be back next year....

Happy holidays from our family to yours!