Merry Christmas!
Even though we were away from, and missing, so many of our family this year and we are all fighting off colds, I'm going to venture to say that this was The Best Christmas Ever!
Why? Healthy, happy, and enthralled kids!
Isla is enthralled with all things Chrsitmas and Isaac is enthralled with life.
Isaac has become a huge flirt in the past week or so. He coos and grins and holds little conversations. He loves to imitate our facial expressions and movements and bats at toys. When he can't talk with us, the mirror is the next best thing and if we don't have all the lights off at night he will look at the mirror on his swing and coo and smile and make concerned faces and then smile again at "the baby in the mirror" all night long. It is wonderful to see him becoming so engaged and interested in everything.
Isla really "gets it" this year and every Christmas activity from carols to hanging stockings, looking at lights to wrapping gifts, has been fascinating and exciting to her.
Here's how we celebrated...
On Friday I cooked up a storm - chocolate mint cake (YUM!) and parker house rolls, and Andrew came home a bit early. We got dressed up and headed to Dan & Barbara's for dinner with Grandma A, Aunt Candy & Jim, Margo & Diego and Luca, Dan, Barbara, Malia, Vivi, and Michael & Hunter (Aunt Wendy was sick). After a delicious dinner and dessert, the kids made salt dough hand prints to turn into ornaments. Then we opened gifts. Isla had a blast playing with her cousins but at one point launched herself off a chair onto the coffee table giving herself a major bruised cheek bone in the process. About 45 minutes later she got sick all over the rug and her fancy new outfit from out neighbor. She took a bath and calmed down and then played some more with her cousins. Since we wanted her to stay up for a few hours after her head injury we let her play and she wasn't in bed until 11.
The next day we straightened up the house. In the evening we had dinner and then finished reading our Christmas story advent calendar and acting it out with the Little People Nativity. Isla loved moving everyone to their places. Then we read some Christmas books and changed into the frosty jammies Santa brought for St. Nicholas Day. Isla wrote a note to Santa (Merry Christmas Santa! Thank you for the Frosty Jams! Thank you also for all the presents I'm getting right now while I'm sleeping! <3 Isla and Isaac:" - It was hear idea to draw a heart for Santa.) After that we put out cookies & milk for Santa & carrots for his reindeer. Then we watched some of Santa's journey on NORAD's Santa Tracker. Isla was riveted and loved watching Santa fly over different places around the world. We pointed out that he was getting closer and that she needed to be in bed. Then we cut the zip ties that hold our fire place door closed and opened the doors (a first in Isla's life!) This step in our Santa preparations really seemed to solidify the fact that Santa would in fact be coming tonight. Isla got worried that Santa would come in her room and we assured her that he most definitely would not - he was just too busy to actually check on anyone on Christmas.
Then we lit the candles, turned off all the lights except the tree and sang Christmas carols. Isla loved it and so did we. It was truly magical.
Andrew tucked Isla in while I got things ready for the next morning. Isla came out to use the bathroom while Santa was filling the stockings, but luckily she did not see him.
To Be Continued...
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