This was Ashlyn’s 3rd Christmas and I think it’s safe to say that it was the best one yet. She didn’t fully get what Santa is all about, but if you asked her about Santa she would respond with “Santa is bringing me presents!”. And Santa did indeed bring presents, as did the parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. But before we get into that, it was great to start out the Christmas weekend with a family tradition that’s been going on close to 25 years.
We got dressed up on Christmas Eve for the children’s service and Joe T. Garcia’s. Ashlyn even got decked out in a new dress courtesy of Auntie Sisa. Ashlyn was very squirmy during the service and I spent most of the time trying to keep her from kicking the nice lady in front of us. There were a few moments that interested her, but she was still a little too young to pay much attention to what was going on.
Christmas itself was broken up into four parts.
Christmas #1: Mommy and Daddy
This was the first year that Ashlyn wanted to open her own presents and we had a great time watching her do it. She worked up so much energy during the festivities that she had to take a nap with mommy halfway through.
Christmas #2: PePa, Aunt Lynda, Auntie Sisa, and Uncle Jeff
After we finished the Christmas with our little family, it was time for Christmas #2. This meant more presents, one which was a soccer ball from PePa. We’ve been kicking the soccer ball around the house ever since. So far we haven’t had any damaged household items, but the cats are a little more leery to be on the floor when Ashlyn is awake.
Christmas #3: Nena, PaPa, Auntie Sisa, and Uncle Jeff
We went straight from #2 to #3. This was a good thing because Ashlyn was going on 60 minutes without opening a present and we were afraid she would go through withdrawal. Another frenzy of gift opening ensued, and since then our house has been filled with sounds of “Me want cookie!” from Cookie Monster.
Christmas #4: Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Bruce, Aunt Tracey, Uncle Brian, Aunt Jasmine, Cousin Amy, Cousin Heidi
Ashlyn fell asleep for about 20 minutes on the ride home from Christmas #3, and that was about it. We tried to put her down when we got back to the house, but she wouldn’t have any of it. She fussed for a few minutes and then played in her crib until we took her out and headed to Grandma and Grandpa’s for Christmas #4.
As always, Heidi was the magic pill that bypassed Ashlyn’s standard bashful stage. She played non-stop the entire night until we got home.
Putting Ashlyn to bed was a long process because she was still excited from the day. Once we finally got her down, Ashlyn slept like a log. This was a good thing because mom and dad were beat as well. But it was a good day, and thanks everyone for making it a special Christmas for us. It may have been busy, but it showed us how fortunate we are to have such an awesome family for Ashlyn to grow up in. I have a lot more pictures, and more stories, but the blog will only hold so much.
So until next year, Merry Christmas!