ahhhhhhhh, christmas eve......one of my favorite nights of the year!! ever since i can remember i have always love love loooooved christmas eve, and the fact that we now get to celebrate it with you makes it that much better!
truth be told, christmas eve day has almost always been kind of a stressful day for me...in years past anyway. it seems that is the day that the entire world goes grocery shopping, for that one last item on their list. this year was no different - i had two things left to buy, so i ventured out to smith's marketplace. guess what?! there were NO shopping carts left when i walked in the store! crazy beans. good thing i only needed to get two small things, eh? :) other than that, though, this christmas eve was not stressful at all! why, you may ask? well, i didn't want to be stressed out, and i knew that having you to take care of on top of running around the entire town to get those last minute things that it seems i always need to get would make the day awful, so i made sure to get everything done ahead of time. and can i just say, it made the whole day so much better!
okay, onto the festivities. last year dad and i started a new tradition....we invited grandpa jeff, grandma wendy, uncle devin and aunt dana over for breakfast. we continued that tradition this year, and it was a lot of fun, as would be expected. we didn't do anything fancy for breakfast, just regular old eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, sausage and toast. and even though it was simple, it was mighty delicious. dad did most of the cooking....he is an excellent breakfast cook! we just sat at the breakfast table enjoying our yummy meal, while you took a nap up in your crib. :) sorry you missed out. well, once we were done they all insisted on waking you up, because let's be honest...who comes over to see us anymore?? no one. you, mr, are the main attraction! you woke up a tad on the wrong side of the crib, if you catch my drift. you were quite the ornery little turd, and it took a few minutes to cheer ya up! but in the end we prevailed, and grandpa jeff spent the rest of their time here holding his handsome grandson that he loves so much. :)
we exchanged gifts, and we sure got spoiled. your gift from them didn't make it here on time....but i will spoil the surprise for you, because it's not like you care. ;) they bought you a highchair! you have been needing one desperately, because your little bum is gettin' a little too big for the bumbo! so it should be here next week, and i can't wait to see how you like it! i picked it out...it is the rotating chicco 360. mr locke phippen has it, and from what i gather, he likes it, so i'm sure you will too.
after opening presents we spent another hour or so just hanging out, talking and playing with you. we were actually all so tired from our big breakfast that we all needed to take a nap! haha anyway, we are so glad that we were able to spend the morning with them. the difficult part about the holidays is deciding which family to spend christmas eve/christmas day with, so we are so thankful that grandpa jeff and grandma wendy make it easy on us. we hope that this christmas eve breakfast will be a tradition that we carry on for years to come!
after they left, i went to smith's marketplace (as stated above) and you ran a couple errands with dad. then we just came home and took it easy until it was time to get ready and go to grandma and grandpa hansen's house for the hansen annual christmas eve party. this has always been my favorite party of the whole season. almost everyone attends, and for me, it is just the best way to celebrate christmas eve and prepare for the next morning. we always enjoy a delicious meal of ham and turkey, salad, potatoes, hot rolls, shrimp, grandma cindy's famous water chestnuts and the past few years we've been lucky enough to have the clam dip from fiveall's, along with the yummy little breadsticks!
we just assumed that this party started at 6:00 pm, because that is always when it has started in the past. well, we got all ready and left our house by 5:30. well, right when we got in the car, grandma cindy got a call from someone, asking where on earth we were! apparently the party started at 5:00, not 6:00 and we had absolutely no idea. grandma cindy was a bit p.o.'d (pardon my french) because no one told her that's when it started. anyway, we hurried as fast as we could and made it there right at 6:00.
after enjoying the delicious meal, we sang some christmas carols, just like we always do, then grandpa hansen read the christmas story from luke 2. i always love this part....reflecting on the real meaning of christmas. the spirit is always so strong, and i just know that is what it's all about. then grandpa always gives a little speech about how much he loves everyone, and i always enjoy listening to that too. :) in the past years, that has always been it. after that, everyone just mingles for a while, takes some pictures, eats dessert and leaves, etc etc, but this year all you kiddos had a surprise in store! guess who stopped by for a surprise visit?!?!?! SANTA!! i can't believe he made time to come visit, on his biggest night of the year! he did though, just for you sweet kids. so we took some pictures with him, and he gave each of the little ones an early christmas present. he gave you a "finn mcmissile" race car!
we left pretty soon after santa did, because you were getting a bit fussy and ready for bed. so, you, dad, nanny goat (who came to the party this year) and me headed on home. when we got back here, we carried on yet another one of my most cherished childhood christmas traditions......opening our christmas eve pj's!! now, you're probably wondering, "why even bother to wrap them when everyone already knows what they are?" i know it seems silly, but half the fun is in opening the gifts, right? :) anyhow, ever since i can remember my mom has always given me and uncle zac pajamas on christmas eve. it was a bit sad for me this year, not taking pictures in grandma cindy's beautifully decorated christmas home in our christmas eve pj's. but at the same time, i was so excited to have your first christmas at our house. so, when we got here, you opened your pj's, and dad, nanny goat and i all opened ours as well. we put them on and took some pictures in front of the fireplace. then nanny goat left, and grandma cindy, uncle zac and grandpa jimbob came over and opened theirs! grandpa jimbob was a bit of a scrooge, and wouldn't open his. remind me not to get him any in the years to come.
i am now ready to retire to bed, but not until i stuff myself with a few too many homemade caramels. :)
merry christmas eve baby finn! i'm so happy to have you here with us....it has made the day (and whole month) so much better than i ever could have thought possible! now here's to hoping that you have a good night sleep, so that when you wake up you'll be ready to experience the magic of christmas day.
night night, little one.
love,
mom
