This is late in coming, I know, but Christmas 2012 was a whirlwind of fun and family at our house this year. Shaun was off for 17 days, and I was off for roughly a month. Because I was scared the boys would get the Flu that was spreading like wildfire in the Bluff, I decided to keep them home as much as possible while I was off. This meant I lost some "Mica alone shopping and wrapping" time but gained tons of "fun kid loving and playing time"! All in all, Christmas was fabulous; it was however, very different from Christmas last year!
In 2011, Sawyer was a baby, 7 months old, and could not even crawl that well. 2012 was an ENTIRELY different story. He was literally like a monkey and was everywhere! I cannot keep that baby contained. He is 23 lbs of exploring, curious, smiling, pacifier-sucking mischievous toddler. My big problem is keeping him from climbing on my dining room table, which is taller than most, and keeping him from dragging a stool or chair to the stove to climb up and mess with the oven knobs. I cannot take my eyes off of him. He will be on something, in something or behind something before I know it. One night I couldn't find him and looked everywhere before I discovered he had been locked in my kitchen pantry. He was smiling from ear to ear when I did find him, like it had been one fun game of hide and seek. He removed Christmas decorations from my tree on a daily basis and broke quite a few. Basically, he was as much of a hassle as one would expect a 19 month old baby to be; add to this the rambunctious four year old who is often the subject of my posts and that makes for a lot of chasing during the month of December for this momma!
Ryder had an exceptionally great Christmas. Because of his over the top gasps and "That's Awesome!" responses, buying presents for him is so much fun. He can get a book, a toy or a shirt and he will always act like it is the most fabulous item he has ever seen. Shaun says his audible gasps are inherited from Cathy Marker, and I think it is one of his most adorable behaviors. He saw Santa at the Polar Express in Calera at the Railroad Museum and, though it was a hassle to tote him and Saw and all of the unnecessary crap we took with us, it was such an amazing experience. If you have never heard of this, Google it. We rode a real train and went to "the North Pole" and met, you guessed it, Santa and Mrs. Claus. Ryder ate it up. We were packed into our seats, but Ryder was buying every second of it. He sang and giggled and thought he had been to THE North Pole. Sawyer was a wiggle worm and hard to hang on to but enjoyed it. Ryder also got to go on two field trips at school (days I actually sent them to school in December) to the Let It Snow exhibit at the Cultural Arts Center and to the Polar Express event held at HBES. Ryder thought, again, he had visited the North Pole and possibly was confused by the very different locations of each of them; however, the 4 year old imagination prevailed and he totally bought it again.
We had fun family get-togethers this year, and one huge difference this year from last was that this year, we celebrated in our new house in Southside. It was fabulous! We decorated and Shaun decked the house out in wreaths and Gwen Christmasfied (sp?) my mailbox (a bit overkill, but a lovely and sweet gesture). And we hosted the Kelley/Mecham Christmas party and the Mecham/Minton/Marker Christmas party before Christmas. We had a blast, the boys ran around like crazy and we all enjoyed the added space of our Buckhaven home! (Though I would be a liar if I didn't admit it felt weird not being in mom and dad's Tawannah house after 30 consecutive Christmases there.)
Christmas Eve and Day came quickly and we celebrated with Christine in the am and with Chris and Nikki that evening, who this year are now proud owners of the Tawannah Mountain Home, as I so affectionately call it! It was great to get to still go into my childhood home for a holiday party and feel so comfortable. I am so glad it stayed in our family.
Christmas Eve was chaotic, pulling out gifts and arranging them ever so tediously. Now, if you saw my FB pics, you probably know I let myself get slightly (*cough, clear throat*) out of hand with our gifts. I totally admit it. But truthfully, I had no idea until we pulled it all out that I had done that. Clearly I underestimated the size of space to fill up in my new den. I had been buying since summer and really sort of forgot what I had. That being said, I don't regret it. I have no greater memories than walking into my den Christmas morning growing up and seeing the mountain of gifts brought by Santa. My parents were overkill Christmas buyers too (I learned from the best), and though the individual toys were fantastic, it was more of that feeling of walking into such an amazing, magical room filled with every child's desires that stands out to me. I wanted my boys to have those same associations with Christmas morning. I guess I didn't think about how my four year old brain probably thought these Christmases were bigger than they really were, but I still, the memories are priceless. So, that being said, it was over the top, but we had a fantastic day. Ryder was thrilled when he entered the den and our family just relaxed and enjoyed each other and what wonderful blessings we had been given. Randy and Gwen and mom and dad came and hung out and the day was picture perfect.
Of course, I cannot mention Christmas without saying how thankful my family is for all of our blessings. We love the Christmas traditions we have, but recognize that the true reason for the season is the birth of the Christ child. Without him, we would be eternally lost with no hope. We talked to Ryder about the basic concept of Jesus and he was so funny when we asked him why we celebrated; he would respond accordingly, and then would want to know when Jesus' party was and were we going.
Despite the fact that Christmas ended officially on December 25, we didn't wrap it up until the 28th. This is when we had our big family Christmas with the Markers/Markers/Mechams. Brad and Allison came home and celebrated with our family on the 28th. The presents were ridiculous and our family had such an amazing time. The star of our Christmas party was the newest Marker, who had not been introduced to the family in person until then, Thatcher Bradley Marker. I cannot even describe how cuddly, sweet and great it felt to hold that pudgy ball of baby. He was precious, and I cannot wait until I see him again! The bigger boys had a blast chasing and sword fighting and Sawyer thought he was just as big Ry, Grey and Jake! All the boys were excellent and had such a good time. One big memorable moment came when Anna opened her special Christmas gift, along with Savannah, who also got the same thing: tickets to see Justin Bieber. I have never seen two more excited teenagers in my life. I am not going to lie: I am totally jealous and wanted to go. There. I said it.
And finally, my sweet hubby came through with the yearly tradition of making me find my Christmas gift via treasure hunt, but the surprise was that this year, I made him go on his own treasure hunt! In the end, he bought me some beautiful personalized jewelry, and I bought him a grill, both which we will get lots of use out of (well, okay, maybe he won't use my necklaces or bracelet, but I sure will enjoy the food he cooks on the grill!)
All in all, our first Christmas on Buckhaven Drive was so fabulous, and I can only hope our upcoming Christmases are just as amazing.
So, how was your Christmas?
