For the last few days I’ve been living in a cloud of sugar, pajamas, Christmas festivities, carbs (lots of them) and saying “Merry Christmas” to pretty much everyone I encounter – anyone else with me?
Now that I’m emerging from this cloud, I’m excited to reflect on the cozy Christmas weekend of uninterrupted family time.
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Friday (12.22.17) was a long day at work with me anxiously checking the clock to see if it was time to leave. Thankfully, the office closed early so I was out the door the moment we were allowed to go. Aaron and I had intentions to do more unpacking, but when I got home, we never seemed to move from the living room. I wrapped some presents while Rylie finished up her afternoon nap and then we played with her for the rest of the day. That evening, Aaron and I started watching “Psych” which has become our new show (Aaron has seen it before, but I haven’t).
Saturday (12.23.17) we did get a few things taken care of around the house and made a trip to the store to prepare for the festivities that were to take place the next couple days.
CHRISTMAS EVE:
Sunday (12.24.17) we went to church to serve in the nursery (we had already been to the Christmas service on Wednesday (12.20.17) evening) and then headed back home for a quiet afternoon.
That night we had a yummy dinner and had Rylie open her first Christmas gift – PJs. We changed her into them and then played for a little bit before breaking out a couple Christmas stories.
the night before Christmas 🎄 there were too many giggles for it to be a silent night!
After Rylie went to bed, Aaron and I watched a couple episodes of “Psych” with a yummy mix of popcorn and some Christmas Puppy Chow I had made for work, and then brought out the Christmas gifts from the extra room where we had been keeping them. During all of this, I had my phone on Google’s Santa Tracker and following where Santa was headed. No, I don’t “believe” in Santa (anymore 😝 ) but I think it’s fun to follow him, so I just do it to help the night feel extra special 😉
CHRISTMAS:
I woke up at 6:30am and decided to enjoy the quiet by sitting in the living room, admiring the tree and watching the sun come up. It was so peaceful and a great way to start the day.
After an hour, I decided to get going on breakfast so it’d be ready for Aaron and Rylie when they woke up. Aaron and I decided we’d have cinnamon roll waffles (they’re just Pillsbury cinnamon rolls placed in the waffle maker. You should try it – they’re extra yummy 😃), but we didn’t want Rylie starting the day off with that much sugar so I made her banana pancakes (one of her favorite breakfasts). Aaron woke up as I was getting the ingredients out so he started on the bacon.
I just finished making the batter for Rylie’s pancakes when we heard her stirring, so I went in to her room to grab her. With a big smile on her face and a wave, she stood up in her crib ready to be embraced.
I picked her up and said, “Merry Christmas Rylie!” and took her into the kitchen to be see Daddy, who greeted her with a big smile and a “Merry Christmas!” as well. After we had a group hug, I sat her in her highchair, finished making her pancake + egg, and placed it in front of her with her sippy cup. I poured a couple more pancakes on the skillet and not long after, Aaron said our breakfast was ready. We prayed and sang “Happy Birthday Jesus” which made Rylie dance in her highchair 😀
As soon as we were all done eating, we went down to the living room and sat in front of the tree to open a couple gifts. Rylie sat in Aaron’s lap as he would tear a piece of wrapping paper and then place her hand on it and show her how to rip the wrapping paper off. It was so cute to watch her little mind work and by the end of the day she was an pro at unwrapping and wanted to unwrap everything 😝
The rest of the day was filled with spending time with Aaron’s family. It was so lowkey and relaxed. We opened gifts and then had a delicious ham dinner. Afterwards, we all sat in the living room and chit-chatted before the food-coma set in and they left to go to bed.
After we did a little straining up, Aaron and I got ready for bed and reflected on the day. We both agreed it was a great day and we’re looking forward to building on it throughout the years.