Christmas came and went much too fast this year. Although Claire was terrified of Santa, this is the first year that she was so genuinely excited about everything Christmas- and Santa-related. The weeks leading up to Christmas were so much fun. I loved watching the kids come down in the morning and search for Margot. It was very sad to say goodbye to her! Claire cried on Christmas Eve morning when we talked about the fact that Margot would go back to The North Pole and stay there until next year when she returns to watch the kids at Christmastime. She kept saying, "But I'm going to misssssss Margot!!!!" I was afraid of that happening! Luckily, all of the presents Christmas morning distracted her from the fact that Margot was gone, and there haven't been any more tears. I also told Claire that there is a good chance Margot could come back, say, in the summer to check in on the kids...you never know!
Christmas Eve morning we made cookies for Santa because we just had not gotten to that yet. Claire and I baked cut-outs, and then I let Claire decorate them however she wanted. We mixed up lots of different colors of frosting and Claire spent about an hour decorating them. She worked so hard to make them look beautiful!
Christmas Eve night we went to Grandma and Papa's house for dinner, just as we do every year. There were lots of yummy snacks, but obviously, Jack's favorite were the grapes.
It is fun to see how this tradition has changed over the years. It wasn't that long ago that there were no kids there and we would sit around, have snacks and eat a fancy dinner of steak and lobster. Now, there are five kids, with Claire being the oldest, and one more on the way (not us...Matthew and Alexe!). There is no more steak and lobster because there is no way we can pull off a fancy meal like that with so many kids. We are lucky if we get to sit down all at once to eat, since someone's cutting meat, someone's forcing a kid to eat potatoes, someone's grabbing sippy cups of milk...someone needs blueberries!! NOW! And although it is hectic and crazy, it is so much fun, and I'm sure that none of us would have it any other way...and who needs steak and lobster when you've got a whole lotta love to go around???
Jack loved his new ball!
If you look at this picture long enough, you can practically hear the noise and activity level.
Awwww...so cute, all of the kids sitting to hear Uncle Jeff read The Night Before Christmas. Yup, that lasted all of 15 seconds before it turned into chaos!
Christmas Morning:
Santa came!!
Claire, holding Mommy's stocking.
The big presents this year were a workbench and basketball hoop for Jack and a bike and doll for Claire...among many many other things!
Jack was very happy to get another ball. The kid is totally obsessed.
My two favorite guys, sharing some cereal before our big breakfast.
Claire loved opening all of the presents and Jack could not have cared less. Claire was a huge help and opened all of Jack's presents for him.
Disaster Zone
If only we lived somewhere warm, so we could take the bike outside! Instead, Claire rode it around the house while I cooked breakfast.
Claire loved her gift from Natalie, a bead set to make "necklenesses"
My sweet, happy boy
I should have gotten a picture of breakfast, but I forgot. Each year, we have blueberry pancakes and fruit salad. This year we had bacon, too. Grandma and Papa came over for breakfast and it made the morning extra special. It was nice to spend time that morning just hanging out and playing with all of the new toys. We weren't in a rush to go anywhere, and the kids had a lot of fun. We stayed in our jammies all day, until it was time to get ready to go to Nonny and Poppy's for more presents and dinner!
I have gone to Nonny and Poppy's house every year for as long as I can remember on Christmas, and I love it. I'm glad that it is a tradition that has carried through into my adulthood, something to look forward to every year, and I'm so happy that I can share it with my own kids.
All day I kept looking at the kids and thinking about how happy they were. It was hard not to cry and get all sappy, knowing that there are so few truly magical Christmases like this one. Someday, I'll be old, wearing a crocheted cardigan, talking about how I miss those times when my kids are little. I know that time goes way too fast...Claire is turning four in just ten short days, a reminder of just how fast time goes...and so I tried to enjoy every second of this Christmas. And boy, was it a good one!
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