Christmas 2012

Christmas seems like such a long time ago.  It is amazing how quickly we get back into our routines and lose some of the magic.  Each year I like to document favorite gifts and other tidbits that shed a light on the girls and where they are in life.

First, all the girls were very excited to see Santa.  They all believe!  Perpetuating this is a mixed bag for me because it all seems to defeat the real purpose of the season and focus kids on gifts but I can't deny that there are magical moments with the guy in the red suit.  Seeing Santa was one of them.  The line was long and I gladly stood in it for 1.5 hours while the girls played on the playground.  Pregnant and with tired feet I was happy to be a part of this moment in their lives.  There are only so many more years of this and who doesn't love seeing the magic in their children's eyes.  There are certain traditions that go along with seeing Santa.  We enter through his special house that have elves chatting on the phone.  The girls remember this and can't wait to get their hands on the phone.

 I try try to get a good picture of all three before they sit on his lap and sometimes I am more successful than others.  

Finally, after two hours the girls are up.  We were surrounded by Christmas magic so the time went fast.  Santa spent a lot of time with each girl while they gave him lists that include pictures of what they want.   Lila was our skeptic this year and asked this Santa if he was the REAL Santa.  Sadly, I didn't get it on video but his reply was, "Give my beard a tug and that will let you know."  Sure enough, my brave girl gave it a tug and to her delight, the beard was real.  She was all smiles. 

 Full of joy after tugging on Santa's beard. 

Here are the lists from 2012

 Adeline is still shopping in the boy section of most stores. . .

Another tradition that I love is coming home from Christmas Eve service and baking cookies for Santa.  We roll the dough out in our dresses which is extra fun.  They the girls set out all their goodies for the big guy.  Savannah made a fantastic cardinal drawing this year.  

Finally, I like to document the favorite toys.  This year, Savannah entered into the American Girl Doll world.  I don't know how we avoided it for nine years but we did.  No longer.  Savannah's favorite gift by far was McKenna, the 2012 doll of the year.

 Lila loved all of her horses but still lugs this big guy around the house and enjoys a daily ride. 

Adeline has been begging for this Lego set for months and months. We went to the Lego store in NYC and they were sold out which sent terror through her veins. She assumed that it was sold out everywhere. I finally convinced her that it would be available come Christmas. Sure enough it was. 

 

I am going to include a picture of the my favorite gift.  It was a simple message written by my big girl on a Christmas card.  She definitely understood that this Christmas was pretty hard for me.  Being pregnant and keeping up with all the therapy and activities of the girls while trying to host Christmas was HARD!  I was tired, my legs ached and in the back of my mind I was reminded that an early birth is not out of the question for this baby.  There were three little girls counting on me to pull off a great Christmas and I felt "The Show Must Go On."  In hindsight, it wasn't the smartest move but I pushed through the achy legs and tired days and we had a great holiday.  Just when I was ready to eat Christmas dinner in a restaurant and book tickets for an "island vacation Christmas" next year, Savannah handed me this card.  It put things back into perspective.  It continues to remind me to focus on what is really important.