Kevin had to work on Christmas this year, and in order to avoid the stress of
last year's Christmas, we decided to use his only day off (Christmas Eve) to celebrate. So on the 24th, when everyone was up (8am, hallelujah!) we got to open presents and pretend it was Christmas Day.
I was so smart this year and wrapped the kids' presents in specific paper. Almost all of Aspen's were in Tinkerbell and Lincoln's were in Spiderman. It made it easy for the kids to get gifts out for themselves and take turns (mostly) opening them.
Linc really wanted a Mac launcher (because months ago I mentioned he should make good choices or I wouldn't give him the Mac launcher his Daddy and I had bought him for Christmas) and Aspen really wanted a little bunny and hutch from American Girl. My mom was extremely nice and shelled out the $$$$ for the AG bunny that is seriously the size of a Happy Meal toy. I laughed so hard when Aspen unwrapped it because IT'S SO SMALL! Whyyyy did it cost so much money?! ;)
The kids were both really happy with their Legos (Uncle Seth gave them each a set, and Aspen got one from us as well), action figures, art supplies, books, toy cars and more. As a nod to my own childhood, I put Aspen's and Linc's stockings outside Linc's bedroom door (the kids both slept in his room the night before) so whenever they woke up they could immediately go through them. The only hitch is that Linc still sleeps in a crib (YESSSSSS!) so when Aspen got up, she found
her stocking, abandoned Linc, and sat in front of the tree in the living room to dump it out. I don't know when she got up, but around 8 she burst into our room and woke us, saying Linc wanted to get out of his crib. She dropped his stocking in for him and he refused to get out until he'd gone through all the contents. He was pretty psyched about his first ever baseball mitt! Too bad we can't find the wiffle ball we have somewhere that he pretends is a baseball. He was so mad... two-year-olds are tough, man.
There's that dang bunny ^^ Thanks GG!
After unsuccessfully trying to get the kids to eat some breakfast, we finally moved the plant I'd put on the table so Aspen could see THE NEW BETTA FISH YAY!!! Once she saw him in the tank, she was willing to sit at the table and at least pretend to eat some food other than candy.
She named him Gill and she stares at him so much throughout the day. He now lives in her room on her dresser, but she often wishes aloud that he could always be on the table so she could see him more.
Aspen also received her first pair of high heels, and she wore them alllllll day. And of course we got a beautiful foot of snow on Sunday so I carried her through the un-plowed parking lot into church the next day. I'm so glad they fit her tiny little feet! I always measure and carefully go over size charts, but Aspen's feet are so mini (she's kind of between a TODDLER 9/10) I never seem to order the right size online. This pair is still a little big, but I'm sure she'll wear them into the ground.
Linc also got a set of superhero masks and capes, and I already regret that purchase. For many hours each day, I have to wear one and we have to punch each other. The highlight is when he hauls me to "jail" and I get to sit on the floor of my closet for a while in peace.
It was a really lovely Christmas, and it was fun to have our first Christmas that was just our little family. We usually host people and I stress about feeding everyone and having gifts, but this year that didn't matter. Seth came over before lunch and he didn't even complain when I admitted I'd ordered groceries while on cold meds and had accidentally ordered DELI HAM instead of a ham I could heat in the oven and serve with potatoes, stuffing, veggies, etc... Coincidentally, he brought over some amazing rolls and we all enjoyed ham sandwiches for our official Christmas meal. It's all good!
It has been a little sad that Kev doesn't have any additional time off for Christmas, and I'm just hoping I survive the break without another grown up to serve as a buffer. These kids are wearing me out! I was very lucky Seth agreed to come to church with us on Sunday morning so I could sing in the choir without bothering anyone else to watch my kids for me. He braved the un-plowed freeway to meet us at 9am and then spent the entire day with us. He even insisted on moving car seats into his truck when we headed to Orem later in the day to see Sophia and her family. The roads were a lot better, but since Kevin took my SUV to work we didn't think driving the little Mazda after the huge storm was smart. It was so incredibly nice to have someone help with the kids, play with them, trick Linc into eating, and chauffeur us around. A Christmas miracle!
We also got to Skype/FaceTime with Jeshua and his family, plus my parents, and I enjoyed being able to share some time with all of them on Christmas, too. One of these years we need to have a Christmas in July together in Maine, or forgo all other gifts and meet in Disney to Christmas. A girl can dream, right?
I hope you had a great holiday!
You can also find me on:
I laughed out loud about the super hero cape/mask regretful purchase. I have a couple of those myself this year. LOL.
ReplyDelete