Christmas Day

On Christmas morning, Ashley woke up with Lydia around 4 a.m. and then decided to start packing instead of trying to sleep. Later, we woke up and had breakfast at Nona and Big Daddy's. I laid down in the bed for a hour wishing for more sleep and medicine that actually helped while Ashley finished packing the suitcases and used an entire box of Kleenex. By this point, Eden was feeling 100% (except for a residual cough that she sort of still has today - New Year's Eve). We had hoped to leave around 9, but illness delayed our plans.

Around 10:00 I got the energy to pack the car, fix a cup of coffee and psych myself up for a three hour drive in the rain.

As soon as we got to the 147 I got in bed for a long winter's nap while Eden played. After several rounds of lunch, we exchanged gifts. Again, the sickness going around showed itself in the small number of photos taken, but at least we have some.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we went to the "cloth disciples" service - lots of little kids and puppets. Eden was excited this year as in years past ...

... Lydia was a bit more interested in the people around us than in the puppets (and in trying to eat Ashley's face).

After the serive (and several family photos) ...

... and being entertained by Jeremy's iphone ...

... it was time to exchange gifts. Eden was really fun this year - getting excited about all her gifts, playing with them, and thanking people.

Then we had a wonderful dinner prepared by Nona and exchanged imaginary gifts. We saw the idea in a NY Times article. Everyone gets a slip of paper with someone's name on it and the words "For Christmas I give you..." You get to fill in the blank with anything - money is no object and neither is the reality of the thing itself. I got sleep, for instance. Thanks! I needed it (especially since I had at that point run a fever for two days straight and my head felt like it was going to explode). Apparently, someone gave these three funny faces ...

Christmas in Mobile

 We finally left Bass Pro around 3:00 and arrived in Mobile while the sun was going down. At that point, Eden had started running a fever but was still in good spirits.

Lydia was surprised with a jumpy plaything and several toys she could put in her mouth - YEAH!

The next morning, Eden was surprised with a new art easel ... chalkboard on one side ...

... a white board and paint station on the other!

She asked for paint right away and started creating her first masterpiece.

Her paintings were the decorations above the Christmas buffet for our big meal.

We were joined that afternoon by Aunt Ashley ...

... and started opening presents a bit early (who can resist, really?) from the Andalusia Brooks's ...

Then Eden decided to do a repeat performance of The Nutcraker ... we watched the play twice on Tuesday at our house. Since then Eden has been dancing quite a bit, notice the serious face. She no longer smiles while doing ballet.

Since we were inside for the most part (the sickness had spread to me at this point, and Ashley was starting to feel a little under the weather), Ashley decided it would be fun to build gingerbread houses!

Ashley's house was just as she wanted. Then, Eden picked up one of her red jelly beans, placed a black one in its place, and ate the red one just in case Ashley would want to fix it. Ashley is still not over this trauma.

Eden's house is the triangle house with lots of snow in the front yard. Nona made the rectangle.

We're not sure how we didn't get a picture of Aunt Sarah with the girls since she was playing with them all the time while we were there. Ashley is blaming her lack of photos on being sick.

a picture with Santa

On Wednesday we packed up, loaded the car, and set off for Mobile. On the way, we decided to stop at Bass Pro Shops for a picture with Santa. Ashley figured that we needed at least one with Lydia so that when she's 20 she won't be able to say, "Since I'm the second child, my mom and dad didn't get to a lot of stuff for me ... I mean, I don't even have a baby picture with Santa," and we needed to eat lunch anyway. We got there at 12:30 or so and got a card that said 2:30 - lunch and coloring helped to make the wait bearable ...

And Lydia handled the strange man with a beard like a champ.

our Christmas celebration

The Monday night before Christmas, Ashley and I wrapped gifts and assembled the tent. We planned to have our family Christmas celebration on Tuesday - before the big drive on Wednesday.

We finished around 10:30. About 10:45, we heard Eden walking down the hall into the den {she never does this}. As soon as I saw her I scooped her up and took her to her room.

Eden: "What was that tent?"

Me: "What tent?"

Eden: "The one I saw."

Me: "You must be dreaming, honey."

Eden: "No. It was real."

So it was! The next morning around 6:00 I heard "Dad! Come here quick! Come see!" For some reason, it was still a surprise, and we never had to have a discussion about why the tent was there the night before.

After waking Ashley, Eden got to open her presents. There was of course the new tent, which she loved playing in all morning. She got a Kangaroo "stuffie" ... the one thing she mentioned in her letter to Santa that they wrote at school ...

... a puppy dog hat for pretending {that was mine when I was four} ...

... and an owl sweater (not pictured).

Ashley and I also exchanged gifts. She got me white board paint for my office - I have been wanting to turn one of my walls into a large "think board".

I got her photography lessons through an online shop that she likes so she can be even more incredible at her hobby.

We also did stockings (Ashley and I received things from around the house at the last minute for ours - a disposable razor, a Cliff bar, deoterant, an Icy-Hot patch, a lemon). Eden and Lydia each got a new elf for the tree (though neither ever made it that far).

Lydia finally got up around 7:30, and Eden was more than happy to help her open her gifts (baby food and puffs). Lydia tried to eat the paper, the highlight of her gifts.

Also in Eden's stocking ... bars and M&Ms (i.e., breakfast, lunch, and dinner) ...

They both really enjoyed playing in the tent. Eden pretended it was a spaceship, a hospital, a house, an airplane to go visit her Aunt Fee and Uncle Bebop in Oklahoma and CC & Granddaddy, and a dog house. Lydia spit up in it.

Eden told us ahead of time that Santa was coming to our house; we're glad that Santa's travel plans can be accomodating.

The rest of the morning, Ashley and Eden watched the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker performance twice. Then, Eden and I acted/danced the Nutcracker. She even made me the Mouse King and threw a shoe at my head to kill me. She has been a serious, no-smiles ballerina every day since then.

It really felt like Christmas morning, and we were thankful to have a family day at home to celebrate Christmas.