Christmas this year was kind of jam packed!
We spent Christmas Eve with my mom and her husband at their home. We had Italian food, snacks, and way too many desserts. We got to spend time with my grandmother, my sister and her husband, and my stepbrother and his wife. The girls had a blast and love playing "bubbles" with the mirror ball in their retro room and "store" in the window cut outs of my their terrace area. We all enjoyed the time together.
Christmas morning was quiet at our home. We had to wake Keegan up after we all slept in fairly late. I had made a quiche the day before so breakfast prep was minimal and loved that I could relax along with the family. At the last minute since the girls were still asleep we decided to cover up their power wheels that we got them and have breakfast first. It's really nice to do it that way since nobody is cranky and hungry as presents are opened. We did "break our rule" of three gifts each since the girls technically got 3.5 each, but the power wheels came out of my budget and would have been given to them anyways. We read the Christmas story before we opened gifts which is a tradition passed from Matt's family. After we put Johnny down for a nap, it was nice to relax, straighten up, and prepare food, while Mattie took the girls out to ride their toy. He said Mac is a faster learner but Keegan is a better driver. It was funny to see the girls and what they liked, they were most excited about the car and their very own toiletry bags in their stockings.
That afternoon was spent at my dads. We had six kids under five over there so as we got closer to dinner being ready, I took the older four outside to run around and keep them from being underfoot. It was definitely a tradition to continue as all the kids were a little hyper with all the Christmas excitement. My dad cooked ham, turkey, lamb, dressing, and dirty rice, and we all contributed various sides. I was stuffed as we opened presents. We all enjoyed a great time.
That night we drove up to college station and spent the next morning celebrating with Matt's family. We were able to all get together and it was the first time we had seen Matt's brother and sister in law in a year and a half. We had pancakes and waffles for breakfast and cozied up with a fire and gifts. Matt's mom has dropped stockings in favor of Godiva chocolates for the grownups which I am very much a supporter of! We just got back from our visit there so it was nice to have extra days with them.
I think that if we were to do four back to back Christmases again, I would hold off on our presents or open our presents early. The girls handled it well, but I could tell they were really overwhelmed and not able to focus on each gift and being grateful. They said thank you of course, but it was hard for them to really get into their gifts and associate who gave it to them. Of course each year could be different so who knows!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year again!!!
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