Christmas: A Retrospective

(Sorry its February.)

At our house Christmas starts the day after Thanksgiving, and always with doughnuts for breakfast. We pull out the Christmas boxes, clear off the hard surfaces, and get to decorating. Every year I get this really warm, happy feeling when I see this goofball label my dad made for my box of Christmas stuff when I was in high school:

It says: Jamie and Tyler's ornaments to take with them when they mature and move away leaving Teri and Kris alone and desolate (had to put the guilt thing in there).

(For the record they have been on lots of dates and weekend vacations since my brother and I moved out, so I think they're not quite as inconsolable as he would have us believe...)

The kids were very in to the tree this year. Gracie helped Steve unravel the lights so he could string them, and, after he'd gotten about half of them on, he stopped to make the traditional disgruntled run to Home Depot to replace the lights that we discovered only then were not working. (No matter what we do, this happens every year.) Charlie had a lot of fun hanging the ornaments, so there were some scattered around the tree by the rest of us, and then a large cluster in the lower lefthand quadrant where his congregated.

We had a couple of afternoons/evenings of Christmas movie watching (my favorites are Elf, Home Alone, and the classics: Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Charlie Brown, etc.). This year we tried out the Polar Express. IT WAS SO WEIRD. This will not be tacked on to Walton tradition. But the kids looked pretty cute all snuggled up to watch it.

My family came out(!!!) the Sunday before Christmas! Dad was here in May for Steve's graduation, but my mama hasn't been out since Charlie was born, and my "little" brother has never gotten to see NC, so I was obviously looking forward to their trip for weeks. First order of business (after dinner and a good nights' sleep): admire Juliette.

She got lots of love. And she really enjoyed checking out Uncle Tyler's beard--she spent a good portion of the Christmas holiday looking at him.

When Christmas Eve came Gracie was OH SO EXCITED. She put some reindeer food in a bowl out on the porch so the reindeer would be able to find our house, and of course we left Oreos out for Santa in case he was hungry. Then the kiddos were off to bed, and the rest of us watched RED 2 while we baked cinnamon rolls and finished wrapping each others' gifts.

The kids were so excited that SANTA BROUGHT BIKES!!! Charlie pushed his around for a while. (How cute is that smile?)

Before she even got into her stocking Gracie ran to the back door to make sure the reindeer had found their snack. (They had!) Santa had also eaten his Oreos.

After she and Charlie opened their own stocking gifts (a Hello Kitty watch for her, a play camping lantern for him, as well as candy, Martinelli's apple juice, and many other goodies) she took Juliette's sock over and showed her the things Santa had brought. She got some cute baby boots, a sleeper bag, and some little ring toys, among other things.

I love the intensity in my dad's face (and the boredom on Juliette's) as he checks out the baby rings.

My "original" fam + the babe. (More Juliette admiration happening. Lucky girlie.)

Not pictured? Santa gave me a bike helmet... Because Steve & Gracie got me a BIKE!!! A brand new, really nice one that Steve found on clearance. (Since I am in charge of the budget and we run a tight ship, the fact that he found it on clearance was just as much a gift to me and I thought it was really thoughtful that he spent so much time finding a really good one for a really good price. THAT is love, right?) I was SO excited, I felt like a little kid. We even snuck (sneaked?) outside while the kids were playing so I could test it out.

Guess what else?! He found (impossibly! miraculously!) a petite one, so I actually FIT it. I can't tell you how hard it is to ride a bike built for a normal height adult when I am NOT the height of a normal adult. It is very depressing, and kind of nerve wracking (am I going to just tip over when I try to stop?!). It was incredibly comfortable and easy to ride, and lightweight, and just wonderful. My man delivered.

His gift, which he opened later, was a FitBit Force--a fancy watch that tracks your movements & sleep. He has been having a lot of fun with it. :)

After stockings and my bike, we took a present break and had a super yummy breakfast of these delicious "clone of a Cinnabon" cinnamon rolls. DELICIOUS. Totally worth the sugar/calories/everything. SO delicious.

(Can you spot your Christmas card on our wall?)

And then we dawdled comfortably through the opening of our gifts from each other and our extended families. It was really nice to be at home and watch the kiddos just relax and enjoy. (We've been traveling all but one other Christmas since we got married!) And then we got to just hang out and enjoy our presents. Bliss.

(Steve wearing his "ugly Christmas sweater" gift from my parents--he got a T-rex and I got a penguin.)

Girlie playing with bunk beds for her dollhouse and magical clip-dress princesses in her new duds. (One of her fav outfits now!) And below, practicing her scooter with Daddy.

Coloring with her crayon tower while Grandpa (GRANDPOB!! she kept calling him, and laughing) worked on clock diagrams.

The rest of the week we puttered around the house, enjoyed baby cuddles, and watched the kiddos play with their grandparents. They had many, many books read to them (and Charlie kept requesting that my mom read her book to him--a non-fiction piece about a naturalist--as well as his picture books) and Grandpa even consented to play pretend with the princesses. Uncle Tyler won their hearts by playing some My Little Pony episodes for them on his computer.

Gracie thought he was pretty cool.

We even ventured out for a visit to Old Salem (and some Teeter Thai to-go) and got a family picture--we haven't gotten one of all of us since Gracie was a baby!

It was a really lovely, restful, perfect Christmas.