This year we really tried to keep things simple for our Christmas, and my hope was that we could relax and truly enjoy ourselves. We were set to leave (by plane) on the afternoon of December 24th for Orlando to visit Grandpa and Grandma, and we didn't want to feel rushed or crazy the day, night, or morning before we left. We told Jay, "Santa's coming early to our house because we'll be at Grandma and Grandpa's house on the real Christmas morning"...not that he understood all that, but it was nice to have it straight in our own minds. It all worked out wonderfully. We had a memorable Christmas "morning" at home, even though it really was December 24th. Our Christmas Day with Grandma, Grandpa and the whole gang in Florida was also super, but that's for another blog.
We got our tree up early (Thanksgiving weekend) and put lights on it. We hung "garland" that Jaydon and I had made on the tree, but we never got around to adding any ornaments, except for one with our newest family picture. This was the first year that we hung all our stockings up by the fireplace, including the stocking I finished making for Jaydon last Christmas. Appropriately, Jaydon's stocking is much bigger than Brian's or mine, even though the patterns for all the stockings were taken from the same book (they were crocheted). Finally, we took out several of our nativity sets, including a wooden set which was a gift from Nana from a previous Christmas. Jaydon loves this wooden nativity set, as do I, because it's perfect for helping to tell the story of Jesus's birth.
Brian took a vacation day on Dec 23rd, so we had the whole day together to celebrate our "Christmas Eve". We had some errands to run in the morning (ie., dropping Ellie off at the kennel, picking up some last minute travel items...), so to help us settle into the Christmas mood, we had our first family movie night (really it was early afternoon) ever...the feature presentation "The Polar Express". I had been planning this "family movie" event for awhile, and to get Jay excited about the movie, we borrowed the book "The Polar Express" from the library. Jaydon loved the book, and wanted to read it every night at bedtime up until we watched the movie. By the time our movie night rolled around, Jaydon was excited about it. It was the first time any of us had seen it. Jay thought some parts of the movie were too loud (I would agree) and he covered his ears, but otherwise he really enjoyed it (we all did). He sat through the whole movie while we all munched on popcorn and snuggled on the couch...so much fun!!!!! This was so much fun and the movie was right on point for getting us in the Christmas mood that I think we might make this into a Christmas Eve tradition.
Because of "The Polar Express" story, Jaydon kept talking about how he was going to get a bell from Santa for Christmas. I had been looking for such a bell to give him, but I never found anything quite right. December 23rd rolled around, and we still didn't have a bell. Consequently, after Jaydon went to bed that night and being the good father that he is, Brian set off on a mission to find a bell. Mission accomplished - Brian came back with a bell. It was attached to a singing white bear. We detached the bell, wrapped it, and Jaydon got both the bell and the bear from Santa. Santa also remembered to bring him a grader. The bell, the grader, and the singing bear were a HUGE hit! Jaydon was so happy with his gifts, so much so that he wasn't at all interested in the rest of the presents waiting for him under the tree. With some encouragement, however, he opened the rest of them. Then it was stocking time and lots of little goodies to be had in them.
The Bell
The Bear
The Grader
The Stockings
There was time left after all the presents were opened for us to enjoy our gifts and each other before heading to the airport...no rushing...no craziness...just wonderful, priceless family time! The morning of the 24th especially, but over the course of this entire period, I was so overwhelmed by the fact that my little boy is so much bigger and so grown up compared to last year. It's so unbelievable, so amazing and he is so very special...I couldn't be happier. So I gushed a little here...can't help it. I'm going to cry just thinking about all this now...so let me move on...
Jaydon really "got it" this year. Not only was he very excited about Santa, but he was very excited about celebrating Jesus's birthday. He loves singing Christmas songs, and we absolutely love hearing him sing. As I've mentioned before, Jaydon loves to dance, and singing is now on par with dancing for him. His favorite Christmas song is "Jingle Bells". We know this because he told us so and because he asks us to play it for him a million times a day, "Jingle Bells, PLEASE Mom, it's my favorite!" He also loves to sing "Deck the Halls" (especially the "fa la la la la, la la, la la" part), "Silent Night", and "Joy to the World". My personal favorite is when he sings the parts of "Joy to the World" that are repeated - "...and heaven and nature sing" x 3..."repeat the sounding joy" x 3, etc... It's soooo sweet! There's also something extra special about "Joy to the World". When it comes on, Jaydon's face lights up, and he immediately breaks out in a joyful dance. It's like instantaneous. Before I even realize it's "Joy to the World" playing, he's already out and dancing along. It doesn't matter what he was doing. It's like his body is on remote control and that song is the "GO" switch. He dances and makes sure everyone around is dancing, too. I love it!
I can't wait to see what next Christmas brings!
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