Christmas Day 2016

Despite having had a few late nights the boys still woke up super early on Christmas Day. While I would have loved a bit more sleep it was nice having a few hours with just the four of us to enjoy the morning. The boys dug into their Santa sacks, I made pancakes and orange juice, and Jon made coffees. Jon ended up heading over to his parents for a bit while the boys and I got ready and worked on lunch and dinner. Around 10:00 everyone arrived and Grandma and Grandpa requested we take family pictures. It really was all they wanted for Christmas since we aren't all together very often, so we happily (some of us more happily than others if I'm being honest) obliged. The rest of the day we opened gifts, played games, and really just enjoyed each other's company. We said our goodbyes thinking we wouldn't see anyone again. I had to work the next morning but I decided after nap time to head over to Grandma and Grandpa's for one last play session for the cousins. Great Papa Dean and Great Grandma Didi were going to stop by to see everyone too so we were able to give them their Christmas gifts and even got to see Uncle Mark for a bit. Grandpa took the kids on an orchard tour and let them start the windmachine which apparently was fascinating for all of the kiddos. Saying goodbye the second time was just as hard and the boys told me the whole way home how much they already missed Annaliese and Haleigh.

Christmas Celebration Number Two

After our visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house on Christmas Eve we headed to Nonna and Pepe's. We got there just in time to put Kieran down for a nap, start a board game with Reed and Nonna, and have Pepe make us afternoon espresso drinks. Soon C, Tio, Lyla, Zach, Gran, Papa, Aunt Di Di, and TJ arrived. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the kiddos and Pepe made an amazing Christmas/Nonna's Birthday dinner, complete with a berry cobbler that K loved so much he basically was covered in berries by the time we ended dinner. Of course there was present opening too. The kids loved everything they opened and were especially ecstatic over the Superhero playset they received from Nonna and Pepe. We changed the boys into their pajamas for the ride home but they were so excited they didn't come close to falling asleep. This meant they got to put a plate out for Santa when we got back to the house, which they were super excited about.