Foto (Photo) Friday is a show and tell of pics from the past week. I am finally getting to the Christmas recap. I know, I know it has taken long enough. We had a great Christmas this year. B was scheduled to work Christmas Eve and be off Christmas day but traded because we do most of our celebrations on Christmas Eve. The only thing that really happens on Christmas day is Santa comes. Normally we go to my Aunts on Christmas Day and then B’s Aunts but this year we stayed home and had his parents over.
When S was little we decided that we (B and I) would give most of the gifts and Santa would bring one big gift and fill the stockings. Because Santa only brings one gift we started doing all of our presents Christmas Eve morning. Really it is selfish why we do that. I want S and now P to enjoy the presents we get them. I feel sometimes if we wait until Christmas Day they are so burnt out and tired from the day before that they will not get to really enjoy what we get them and it will be an afterthought. It really works well also in the fact that it has always kept S busy Christmas Eve morning while we are getting every thing ready for the day.
Christmas Eve Day
- S was up bright and early but we told him he could not open presents until B had gotten some sleep. B and I were up till about 4:30ish wrapping presents, finishing food, and decompressing from the day. I fell asleep about 5am and was woken up at 6:30am by S. He said he was barking and having trouble breathing. Yup, he woke up with his famous Croup. I knew I needed to get him to settle down and see if we could control it with Tylenol. It didn’t work and at 8am I tried the ped’s office hoping his doctor happen to be the on-call doctor. To my surprise someone answered the phone and they actually had office hours. (When S was just one he had the same problem and when I called on Christmas Eve they were closed.) I knew it was either the ER now or later. Thankfully the office was open and we were able to get an appointment. They were able to get us in at 9:10am so S had to wake up B so we could open presents before we had to leave.
- We were in a rush so we did not get nearly as many pictures as we normally do. We will start with S. He got a whole new train set. This is a set that he has to assemble bridges and buildings. A step above Thomas the Train and a step below the HO trains. He loved these and when he got home from the doctor’s office B had set up a track for him. P got VTech Go!Go! Smart Wheels playsets. She wasn’t really sure what to do with them, but we had one track set up for her and they both loved it. We also got them a cleaning set which P gravitated toward and started trying to dust and mop the house.
- The kids left at different times, S with B and P with me when she woke up. These are the cute outfits they wore all day. I had to get dress shoes for P and when I showed them to her she loved them. I thought she would try to take them off but she happily wore them all day. The headband not so much.
- The kids had a great time running around at Papa’s playing with all there cousins. S was his usual charming self, and P was a big flirt with everyone letting them hold her. P was funny when it came to opening presents. She didn’t really know what to do with them so she kept giving them to me to open for her. Once I opened the gifts she would take them back and examine them. She loved the soft baby and stroller Papa gave her. The stroller lights up and sings. She can easily put her babies in and out of it on her own. Right now pig baby is currently in it, but that changes daily.
- S got a ton of remote control devices. From my brother he got dual remote control cars that are each controlled by your phone or tablet. S and B have been racing them around the kitchen/dining room. My sister gave him dual racing boats. You blow up an inflatable race track and fill it with water. The two little boats zoom around the little inflatable tub. I found S and B out in the garage playing with it a few times in the past week. Both were big wins in his book. We have been playing “Guess Who” which my other sister got him. It was a favorite of mine when I was younger and love to play it still. Papa teased S quite a bit and gave all the grandkids their presents except for him. He knew he had the big present in the back because he saw his name on it. Well we all went on and S just stood there almost dumbfounded because we had all forgotten him. The look on his face was priceless and after a few minutes passed Papa gave him his gift. He had told me earlier that he knew it was a sled he could just tell. Of course, it was a sled, but unfortunately we have not had any snow for him to go and try it out.
- The rest of the afternoon we hung out while all the kids played. P danced and entertained.
Christmas Eve Night
- We had B’s side of the family in the evening for dinner and then presents. Before we got there and while everyone else was at church Santa visited. This year we reserved the Knights Preserve. It is a really nice lodge/hall that you can rent. It has a fireplace and very homey feeling with the space a hall provides. B brought a big rug for the children to be able to sit on the floor, his aunt brought a small Christmas tree, and all the tables were decorated with tablecloths. As I did last year, I got all of the kids cups with chalkboard labels on them with their names. It makes it so much easier to keep track of whose drink belongs to who. After everyone ate the children got to open their gifts from Santa.
- S said he did not feel good and asked if he could go and lay down on a bench in the hall. I guess that is what happens when you go to bed late because you are helping wrap presents, get up early because you have croup, and never stop the entire day. In fact both of the kids were so tired they literally were laying on top of each other in my arms.
- S and P opened there presents from “Santa.” S got MegaBloks Hot Wheels Building Sets. He was so excited to be able to put these sets together. P got another VTech Go!Go! Smart Wheels Train Set.
- The children did a gift exchange between themselves and it was kind of a round robin where they sat in a circle and passed gifts until the music stopped. S got a Wubble ball. P was not in the exchange and instead traded gifts with her cousin who is just a few months younger than her. It makes it so easy to find gifts for her because we just buy what P likes and P’s cousin gets P clothes. P got a few outfits, a small doll, and a piggy bank to decorate.
- Literally right after that, S asked me if we could go home because he did not feel good. I knew he was just tired but was okay with leaving because I was tired from only getting 1 1/2 hours of sleep. We were home by 7:30pm (the earliest I have ever been home on Christmas Eve), and the kids were in bed by 8:30 in there Christmas jammies. I was sound asleep on the couch not long after. B got home and took care of the duties necessary (leaving cookies and milk out and arranging gifts).
Christmas Day
- P slept in which I was thankful for, but S was up at the crack of dawn. Of course, he ran in to tell me he got the Electric Motorized Razor Scooter he asked Santa for. P got a small ride on toy that the wheels go in all directions.
- After P got up we opened presents. Santa brought a small fire truck for S along with a new semi-truck to hold a bunch of Hot Wheel cars. P also got a new set of pots and pans and a birthday cake set for her kitchen. They also got stockings, which we were going to wait until B got home to open. When I came out with P, S had already opened his stocking while he waited for P to wake up.
- After B got home, S got to take his scooter outside for a test run.
- B’s parents came over and we opened presents with them. The kids got a ton of gifts and loved everything they opened.
The day after Christmas we simply lounged around recovering from our busy days. I hope everyone had a great holiday like we did. My mom was missing from the festivities but everyone forged ahead. We made new memories and started new traditions. I am even closer now to my dad then I was before and got to spend quality time with him before Christmas that I may never have gotten if my mom had not left. I am trying to look on the bright side of things.