Christmas 2013

This year was a big year for us because we finally made the decision to celebrate Christmas at home before traveling to see our families.  So it meant we had the opportunity to experience Lexington during the holidays before we headed out to California.  

It all started with preparing for Santa and the reindeers before the Christmas Eve service.  Callie is somewhat of a pro and knew exactly what to put out.  Reese had fun tagging along, but thought that the carrots were for her.  Hopefully the reindeer didn't mind a few slightly nibbled treats.  The need to do this before service came about because we had plans to have Christmas Eve dinner at our good friends, the Abrahams.

The girls could not have been more excited to spend an extended period of time with Claire and Ella.  We could not have been more excited to spend time with Kirk and Kelly and the wonderful chocolate covered treats that Kelly prepares.  But the best part of the evening came when the Abrahams busted out the Wii and played Dance Revolution, or whatever the game is called.  Reese was giddy and just jumped up and down.  But Callie tried to hold the beat and match the dance moves.  As long as she didn't think we were looking, she let her inhibitions go.  It was pretty fun to watch.

After a fun night at the Abrahams we came home, put the girls in bed, and made sure all was ready for the morning.  When morning finally arrived, we all had had a good night sleep.

But we were also very excited.  John made sure everyone waited at the top of the stairs so that he could make sure everything was ready for the big entrance.  It was obvious that Santa had made an appearance, so the time had come to let the girls see for themselves.

Callie wanted to help Reese with her gifts right away.  The very first present provided many oohs and aahhs, as well as a clear indication that Santa is a smart man.  Reese received her very own bitty baby, which meant she would no longer have to fight with her sister over Bella.  Later, Callie and John would devise a plan so that Reese's new doll became Bella while the old Bella became Zoey.  Then when Reese wanted to have Zoey all the time, the plan was reworked so that new Bella became the new Zoey while the old Zoey became the reborn Bella.  And if you can follow that you will be allowed to babysit.

Callie quickly turned to her own presents from Santa and found a great deal to smile about.  When she was told that she could not have an American Girl doll because she was too young, she stated that she would not mind Barbie and some Barbie clothes again.  Santa was happy to oblige by giving her Belle, from Beauty and the Beast.  It turns out that she is not a big fan of Belle necessarily, but she was still pleased Christmas morning.  Sometimes it is tough to be Santa.

It was extremely fun to watch Reese open up her stocking, because she reacted to every new gift as if it was the best thing she had ever seen.  This in part explains the joy she is displaying here over a granola bar.  This fact will particular please both of her grandmothers who enjoy loading up stockings with toothpaste, batteries, and other extremely useful products.  Callie also enjoyed her stocking stuffings, but also got a huge kick out of watching Reese soak up the Christmas experience.

It was obvious that Santa hit a home run by bringing Bella to Lexington for Reese.  She also received a stroller, which got just as much affection.  Like her older sister, Reese also displays that tendency to express her love with enduring embraces, a la Pepe le Pew.  This love affair has continued ever since, and a day rarely passes without Reese, and for that matter Callie, spending time with their bitty babies.

However, the most magical Christmas moment this year came when Callie saw the cardboard house that Santa left for her and Reese.  When asked what was her favorite gift, she said the house.  "Santa knew exactly what I wanted even though I couldn't say exactly what it was!"  Who knew that $10 could bring such joy?  Both Callie and Reese loved the fact that it was a house they could decorate, and also it was big enough that they could get inside.  It continues to provide hours of entertainment, and it is quite amazing how many things they can fit inside that thing.

Since Christmas Eve was spent at the Abrahams, it was only fitting that they came to spend Christmas day at our house.  All four girls quickly went to work on the house.  They play so well together, and the only real problem was isolating Reese on the house, since she is the least accomplished artist of the crew and has an unfortunate tendency to color over what others have so painstakingly worked on.

Here is a picture of the fearsome foursome in all of their Christmas glory.  We tried our best but could not get a good picture without at least one of them with their eyes closed.  Perhaps this is what too much holiday sugar and excitement will do to you.

We are very lucky to have such wonderful friends like the Abrahams in our lives.  It was a lot of fun to share the holidays with them.

For us, however, the fun didn't end there.  The day after Christmas it was our good fortune to have a visit from the Hannen clan.  Suzy, Brian, and Zoey were spending Christmas with Brian's family up in Cincinnati and were able to fit an overnight trip to Lexington into their schedule.  It was great to see them and the girls could not get enough of Zoey.  They wanted to hang all over her and Reese definitely loved seeing her old high chair put to use.

It's also safe to say that Zoey is not exactly a shy, retiring wallflower.  She held her own with her cousins and seemed to enjoy the visit just as much as they did.  In fact she wanted to stay up as late as possible.  This picture was taken around 10pm after Suzy and Brian had tried to put her to sleep twice.  It was great for Sarah because she had to work during the day.  But the smile on Zoey's face was not exactly echoed on those of her parents.  Oh well, such is life.

The next day Suzy, Brian, and Zoey were able to hang out for quite a bit before they had to head back north.  And this meant that Callie and Reese got to spend even more time soaking up the Colorado love.  Based on our travel schedules, it is a distinct possibility that we will be able to do this any year we don't travel to Connecticut after Christmas.  That is another great thing to look forward to.

The day after this picture was taken, we boarded a plane for sunny southern California.  But that's a story for another post or two or three.