It was a busy week leading up to Christmas. Scott's family came in the week before and my family came up the week of. It was a week long extravaganza of festivities that culminated w/ us being at home for Christmas morning for the first time ever. Before I get to that, I just wanted to highlight a few things along the way.
**Elf Stays on the Shelf**
This tradition lasted all of 4 days, and said elf sat in the same spot until we packed him away for next year. Nick really didn't want anything to do w/ him. The only reason he even acknowledged it was his concern w/ what this guy was going to tell Santa. I was able to threaten him w/ the elf a few times, but even that didn't last long. He didn't even bother to name him. I must admit, it's a bit creepy looking to me. Oh well, maybe next year.
**Caroling Caroling**
Nick loved Christmas music. He would ask me every night to sing him Christmas carols instead of lullabies. I love it, too, but he has an innate ability to take something you love and drive you crazy w/ it. His two favorites... Joy to the World and the 12 Days of Christmas. He sang and listened to those songs incessantly. Incessantly. "Mommy, can you play that again?" "Again, Mommy." "One more time."
**Serious Business**
He took the business of being Naughty or Nice very seriously. We couldn't watch a Christmas show w/out him pointing out the ENTIRE time who wasn't being very nice. You can imagine how this played out during the Grinch and Home Alone.
**Christmas w/ the Robinsons**
Scott's family came to celebrate w/ us the week before Christmas. Nick absolutely loves seeing Scott's parents and his Aunt Jill and Uncle Denis. He knew they were coming in on his last day of school and he could talk of nothing else. He got to visit Santa, go bowling, pick out toys and eat endless amounts of cookies and candy. That was just on the first day!
One of the things Scott and I started this year was letting Nick pick out presents for everyone. He loved doing this ,and we loved taking him and seeing what he would come up with. He picked out a mini globe for his Grandad, a pair of candlesticks for his Magi, an eye pillow for Jill and Grinch boxer shorts for Denis. Not too shabby for his first excursion.
One of his favorite things in his stocking was the big calculator.
Scott's mom got Abby this Madame Alexander doll. She's going to love playing w/ it when she older.
**Christmas w/ the Trans**
My family broke w/ tradition this year and celebrated Christmas up here. We didn't change it too much as we still had our festivities on Christmas eve. My brother, Steve, was kind enough to host. It was such a fun time, especially since Huy and Shannon were able to spend it w/ us. We didn't last until midnight, there was the weather to contend w/ and getting a certain little boy to bed before Santa arrived. So we have our tasty dinner and proceeded to let Nick open his presents. It looked like so much fun that everyone ended up opening theirs as well.
My favorite part of the night was when Nick handed out the presents he picked out. You should have seen how proud he was of himself. We were pretty proud, too. He's a special little guy. He picked out for my dad a silver decorative piece that spelled out peace. For my mom, a silver ring holder in the shape of an elephant. For Steve, he picked out a big green ornament. For Huy, a baby plaque like thing. I'm still not sure what the heck that was. For Shannon, Disney princess playing cards. And for Nghia, a driftwood sign that said, "don't feed the sharks."
**Christmas Day**
Before turning in for the night, he left out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots and oats for the reindeer outside. After making sure he was out, Scott proceeded to get all the toys from Santa put together and out on display. I helped by dozing on the couch. We got ourselves up fairly early Christmas morning as we wanted to catch his reaction. Of course he decided to sleep in. He woke up to find a stocking in his bed. He would have been content to play w/ what he had then. But he had to check if to see if Santa ate his cookies. I think he was more than satisfied when he found the note left by Santa. We let him open his presents at his pace. He would open a present, play w/ it for a while and then moved on. Don't worry, Abby was not forgotten, although she spent most of the day snoozing and watching her big brother. Scott told Nick that today he could eat all the candy and cookies he wanted and could stay up as late as he wanted. He took us up on the offer. He said he was going to stay up until 9 o'clock. My absolute favorite part was snuggling w/ him on the couch watching a movie at the end of the day. He was clearly exhausted, but determined to stay up. As soon as the clock said 9, he was out.
He picked out this green polo for his Daddy all by himself.
My gift was a black "russian" hat and a big black ring. I love it!
I made this xmas tutu for Abby.
The end of a long, but blissful day.
It was just a fantastic Christmas. We had so many things to be thankful for this year. Thanks to Scott's family for traveling the long distance to be with us. We loved every minute of it. Thanks to my family for traveling to be with us, as well as the free babysitting. I would never have gotten any shopping done! Thank you all so much for loving and spoiling our kids. They are truly blessed. And last but not least, thank you to my sweet hubby. Nicholas would not have had the best Christmas ever! had it not been for your endless effort and enthusiasm.
