Christmas 2017

Merry Christmas in July January, better late than never though right?!?  Christmas this year was absolutely magical.  The girls are at such fun ages, especially Addie.  She woke up every morning and before she even hoped out of bed she was asking where Sparkle (our Elf on the shelf) was hiding and she ended every night asking if tonight was the night when Santa was coming to her house.  Bella is at an age where she mimics everything Addie is doing so she happily mimicked Addie's Christmas spirit.  We are still singing Christmas carols every night at bed time with Bella.  Rudolph, Wish you a Merry Christmas, and Jingle Bells are her jams!  This was Noah's first Christmas which was also very special and those couple of reasons right there are why I think Christmas 2017 was my favorite yet!

We kicked off our Christmas celebrations with a neighborhood Christmas get together.  We ate dinner, loaded up on some of our favorite Christmas cookies, and the kids exchanged their grab bag gifts.  It was the perfect start to our extra long week of celebrations.

On Christmas Eve day we went to an early mass followed by a day of Christmas prep.  Santa's elves were busy wrapping and putting together some last minute things and I spent some of the day packing for our Pittsburgh trip.  We continued our tradition of Chinese take out for dinner, which has become one of my favorite traditions because that means less time in the kitchen for me and more time enjoying the nights' festivities.  After dinner, the kids opened up their new Christmas pajamas, movie, and snack.  We also decided that the kids would exchange their gifts on Christmas Eve.  This year Addie picked out and even wrapped a Doc McStuffins book bag for Bella and an animal pop up toy for Noah.  Bella picked out a Belle stationary set and Princess Poppy notebook, two of Addie's favorite characters and a doggy toy for Noah.  Noah (with my help) picked out an activity book and scissors for Addie to practice her cutting and a Poke-a-dot book for Bella since she loved the one that her buddy Hudson got for his birthday.  After they opened their gifts it was time to prepare for the big guy's arrival.  We put out a tray of cookies, milk, and carrots for Santa and Rudolph, sprinkled our reindeer food in the front lawn, and checked our Santa tracker a few more times before we realized he was getting close and it was time for bed.  The excitement kept Addie awake for another hour or two up in her room, but the little ones passed right out.  Santa's elves got right to work and once they were done they even had time for a Christmas movie and some wine before bed!

Addie was the first to wake up, with Noah waking up right behind her.  We all stayed upstairs until Addie's light turned green at 8:30.  We had them sit at the top of the steps and wait for Eric to say it was time to come down, just like Eric and I both remember doing as kids.  Addie and Bella's eyes lit up as soon as they turned the corner and saw they cars, then they quickly dove in.  This was the first year that the girls flew through opening gifts, so much so that I'm not even sure they were paying attention as to what they were actually getting.   They had a blast opening their gifts and Bella even made a game out of cleaning up the wrapping paper, all while Noah just sat back and watched.  We strategically saved their new ipads for last, which they were super excited to play around on (spoiled kids I know!) while Eric and I worked on breakfast.  Eric made a Christmas tree out of cinnamon buns, which are always a hit in our house.  We ate and enjoyed our coffee as the girls played with all of their new toys.  After breakfast and about 127 outfit changes for Addie, she loved all of her new princess dresses and just couldn't make up her mind, it was time to take their new cars for a spin.  Then, it was nap time and a much needed break for Eric and I.  Once everyone woke up we spent more time playing and eating, then more playing and eating, until it was time for bed.  The whole day was so magical and nothing beats watching the Christmas magic through the eyes of your little ones.  I wish I could freeze time and recreate this Christmas year after year, it was that perfect.

The next morning we had another surprise.  We decided to take one more trip to Christmas town on our way to Pittsburgh and it just worked out that some of our neighbors decided to go too, which made it extra fun! We rode rides, watched a show, and ran off every last little bit of energy before getting in the car around 5 for our road trip to the Burgh.  Our plan paid off and we had 3 tired kiddos in the car, which made for a (mostly) quiet and peaceful drive. 

We spent the next 5 days in Pittsburgh continuing our Christmas celebration.  The kids, Eric, and I were spoiled with lots of gifts and made lots of fun memories with family and friends.  We had family dinners, family lunches, and family outings.  We took outings to the trampoline park and the bowling alley, both were huge hits with the kids (and adults I think.)  Addie and I went for mani/pedis with Grandma and T while the boys (and Bella) hung out at my parents' house.  We even got to enjoy a "White Christmas" because we got a few inches of snow the last day we were there and Addie had a blast sled riding.  We got to spend time with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa when they drove in from Ohio and spent lots of time with cousin Bryan when he also stayed at Pap's for a sleepover.  We literally went non-stop from the second we walked through the door until the second we left, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  It was the perfect way to end my favorite Christmas yet.  We came home to an un-decorated house and it's safe to say the kids were a little upset to see Christmas come to an end, as our we.  Merry (very belated) Christmas to you all!  I hope yours was as memorable as ours was, until next year...