Christmas Snapshots

All signs of Christmas life have been packed snuggly away in their rightful red bin, hibernating until the next go round.  Our Christmas was merry and bright, with a few bah-humbugs in between.  Both girls were fighting fevers and Christmas proved to be a bit of a challenge for my oldest toddler… we had about eight meltdowns that day.  That being said, this was the first year Kaelyn had a grasp on the idea of Christmas and all it’s magic and I wouldn’t change a thing about our past week.

The week started off with a picnic by the tree and Polar Express.  Kaelyn was pretty captivated by the movie and all other movies having to do with Christmas.  She was even into the Grinch, which I totally thought would scare the bejesus out of her, but not so much.  A girl after my own heart…  she has the love for a good horror flick at a ripe young age.

That same evening Santa visited us on a blinged out fire truck… right in our driveway.  The terror set in as the sirens signaled Santa was on his way… but in the safety of Daddy’s arms our girl was in awe.

We had a little Christmas get-together with our friends.  Kaelyn and Luke snacked, crafted, and exchanged gifts that they had picked out for one another. When asked what he wanted to get Kaelyn for Christmas, Luke said, “a princess.”  That boy has my girl nailed down pretty well.  She is turning into quite the diva.  She knew Luke is a fan of Jake and the Never land Pirates and picked him out a Jake Lego set. 

We had the joy of my best girls paying us a visit a few days before Christmas.  They brought along their beautiful girls and we even got to enjoy the company of Prahlad… bonus!  Not so long ago (ok, like 10 plus year ago, but who’s counting?) us girls were living together at Florida State, with our only worries consisting of class and what the evening entailed.  My how things have changed.

On Christmas Eve we made the short drive to Cocoa Beach to see the Surfing Santas.  It was so cool.  There were over 200 surfers dressed up as Santas… raising money for a good cause.  We missed the parachuting Santas but always have next year, where Brax has plans to join in on the fun… the surfing, not the parachuting.

Once home, the girls opened their Christmas Eve box which had a new movie, snacks, PJs, reindeer food we made earlier in the week, and most importantly… Santa’s special key.  Living in Florida we don’t have the luxury of needing a fireplace so Santa may run into trouble trying to deliver the goods.  Santa’s key is hung on the front door Christmas Eve night so he can be sure to get inside without breaking and entering.  Kaelyn would not put that darn key down.  The girl wanted to nap with it.  Who can blame her?  That key is magic.

After rushing around to have everyone ready for Christmas Eve service and dinner, we arrived at church to be told they couldn’t let anyone else in because of fire code… awesome.  So we had a super early dinner that was delish, followed by entertainment provided by one Miss Kaelyn.  This girl so gets her moves from mama.  She will light any floor on fire.

Reindeer food was sprinkled, new jammies in place, a quick wagon ride around the block to make sure we didn’t miss any lights, cookies and carrots ready, and we were in bed.

Christmas morning was magic.  Kaelyn sprinted into the living room and the look on her face was priceless.  Lana was still a little dazed and confused… hadn’t had her milk yet, but she got with the program pretty quickly.  After what seemed like the opening of a thousand gifts… we spent the day enjoying one another, playing, riding our new bike, and eating nonstop. 

We’ve been lucky to have Nonnie here with us all week, and today await the arrival of the Apples to help us bring in the New Year.  So many amazing memories tucked away from the year, looking forward to making many more.