a christmas recap

Christmas this year was on a whole other level. Caleb really understood and got it all in a way that he hadn't before - which made it both a lot of fun and exhausting! He started asking for Christmas back before it was even Thanksgiving. He would look at the calendar and ask why Christmas wasn't on there yet and he would look in the living room and ask why we didn't have a tree yet. I think that he was genuinely concerned that everyone else was having Christmas and we were missing it! When it was finally December, I put the little Christmas picture onto his calendar that hangs on the fridge. When he saw it, he got so excited and said, "Good job mommy! Good job putting on Christmas picture!" And when he saw us putting up the tree, he literally gasped and said, "It's beautiful! Hooray! We decorate the Christmas tree!"

Once it was decorated, every time he would walk past the tree, he would stop and give us a hug and in a very sweet, quiet voice he would say, "Merry Christmas mommy and daddy." Ummm, talk about a heart-melter!

We also decorated our annual gingerbread houses. We got each of the kids their own, so as to avoid any unnecessary arguing. They did both get upset because their tiny fingers just could not hold onto the little pieces of candy. Next year, I will definitely only put out larger pieces for them to use. Still, it was fun, and I love seeing their masterpieces displayed all month long.

I'm sad as I go through our pictures because there is so much that we did that I didn't get photographed.  I want to capture it all, but when you are dealing with two little people, you really need both your hands free and not holding a camera! Something else for me to try and improve on this year.

I used to be sad to see Christmas go, but I have to say that this year I really wasn't. I still love it and it's still my favorite time of year, but this year I was definitely craving routine and simplicity. And I knew that the kids, especially Caleb, needed that too.

So here we are, mid-way through January and considering this blog updated!  Now onto current events!