Christmas 2012

Christmas has come and gone and it was a whirlwind of activity, even if we didn't travel far this year and we were all sick at some point over the holidays.

We kicked off the holidays with a corporate Christmas party on the 22nd.  Since Ryan went contract this year and I am not working, we had no Christmas party to attend so we decided to throw our own.  We had a great afternoon and evening, snacking, visiting and catching up with friends.  Plus it was a good excuse to dress the little ones up in their Christmas best.

The next evening was our traditional anniversary date.  While my parents babysat Sophie, Ryan and I went to see a Christmas Carol and then went out for dinner.  It was great to spend some time together, just the two of us.  It had been a while and with the new baby around the corner, I am sure it will be another while before we get the chance to do it again.

My parents stayed the night of the 23rd and spent Christmas Eve with us as well.  Unfortunately, Sophie was sick over the few days my parents were here.  She wasn't quite herself, but did seem to enjoy opening presents.  We each opened one gift on Christmas Eve.  Sophie got an easel from Mamie and Pepere which has been a big hit.  There is a chalkboard on one side and a white board on the other side.

Most of the presents had been under the tree for weeks but Sophie hadn't realized that they could be opened.  Once we started, she didn't want to stop, and she wanted to help everyone else open their gifts as well.  She wasn't quite as excited by the contents as I had expected, but there was one gift that got a big squeal Christmas morning.  She got a large Olivia doll which now needs to come with us wherever we go; she is almost as special as Nunu.  However, the present that has gotten the most play so far has been the playdough kit.

We took our time opening gifts Christmas morning.  I think we opened a new one every hour.  We let Sophie play with the new toy she discovered and waited before opening the next one.  Hunter came later in the afternoon so then there was another round of opening gifts.  It really was a whole day event. 

My parents left late Christmas morning and we spent the rest of the day relaxing, just the four of us.

 

Boxing Day, we went to Olds.  Warren and Ave hosted Christmas dinner this year.  We opened some gifts when we got there.  Then later had dinner.  It was complete with turkey, potatoes, salad, stuffing, sweet potatoes and gravy.   We were able to make it home in time for Sophie's bedtime, which isn't too hard since she goes to bed so late these days.

Our last event of the holidays was New Year's in Red Deer.  We left in the morning, hoping Sophie would go down for a nap at Mamie and Pepere's house.  Unfortunately, Sophie didn't have the same plan in mind, she decided to skip her nap altogether.  My Uncle Jack and Aunt Kathy were there as well this year.  We had tourtiere and salad for dinner.  Without a nap, Sophie was struggling by 7 pm so we had to head home early and miss out on dessert.  We got Sophie to bed and managed to stay up until 10:30 pm.  Not quite late enough to ring in the New Year.  Oh well!  Maybe next year we will do better.

By the end of the holidays, Sophie really began to appreciate just how great Christmas is.  She was quite upset with us when it was time to take the tree down.  She is still talking about Santa, and the decorations and it has been hard when we visit places where they have left their Christmas memorabilia out, only to remind our little one of what she has to wait a whole year to experience again.  My solution, let's leave the tree up until at least February.  I can't seem to get Ryan to agree on this yet.  Oh well, I have a whole year to do it.

To view all our Christmas photos, click here.