Unlike the past few years, I had to work the week before Christmas. So Olivia and I did not get our usual week of fun. Instead, I lined up a smorgasbord of babysitters including some Kinkaid high school girls and the grandparents. While it wasn't exactly what either of us wanted, I know she had a good time and was well taken care of!
One Christmas activity we did manage to sneak in was the carriage ride through River Oaks to look at Christmas lights. The ride got rescheduled 3 times because of weather, but when it finally happened it was a perfect night. Cool enough for long-sleeves and to feel "wintery" but not cold enough to even fight with Olivia about a jacket!
But I was lucky enough to take off Friday afternoon. I planned on taking Olivia to a playdate with some friends from school, but it unexpectedly ended earlier than we thought and we had a few hours before we had to pick up Eric from school. So we decided to grab a late "cheese plate lunch" at Coppa. I think that was probably one of my favorite moments in the past month. It was easy and relaxing and fun. I got to spend some quality alone time with my girl, which we both desperately needed while munching on manchego, brie, and blue cheese. It was just what the doctor ordered!
After lunch we picked up baby brother, blasted Christmas music and let out a huge sigh of relief that we made it through the week. We rushed home to find Matt and the surprise he had waiting for Olivia. When your daddy owns a toy company, you get the benefits of some samples. SO this year, our Christmas present to Olivia was a giant doll house for all her babies. While we were at the playdate, Matt had it assembled and waiting for her. We knew she would love it, but her excitement was really palpable and the perfect way to begin the Christmas break.
And that night Uncle Drew and Aunt Jenny were in town this year for Christmas, so they came over for a slumber party. We ate pizza and watched The Santa Clause 3. It was such fun to get in some good quality time with them! Both kids were pretty obsessed with our dear Aunt Jenny....
And before we knew it, it was Christmas Eve. We headed to Humble to celebrate with Mimi, Grandpa, Naz and Tyler (poor Yazzie and Grant were in Iowa and both Olivia and I were pretty devastated to not spend the holiday with them!)
Both the kids got lots of presents!
And we had a delicious dinner of Grandpa's famous roast and other yummy sides!
It was a great Christmas Eve with these 3 and my family!
After that, we headed home to put out cookies for Santa, spread some reindeer food on the lawn, read The Night Before Christmas and then we put our 2 little sugar plums to bed!
I guess these 2 were on the nice list because Santa left them quite the spread..
This was our first year in the new house with Olivia upstairs. She made a big point to me on Christmas Eve that she would come to our room in the morning and "cover her eyes" so she didn't see any presents. I'm not sure she stuck to the plan, but nevertheless, she was pretty thrilled with her loot!
Some "kid knives" so she can help mommy cook
A baby doll crib/playpen set she had been wanting
The latest addition to the AG collection, Camille.
And her own "Alexa"
Even though Eric wasn't feeling well, he seemed to like his gifts too
This year Olivia picked the presents she & Eric gave Matt and I all by herself. She picked a really pretty necklace for me and for Matt she picked 2 books: one of Daddy-Daughter Dates and Your Baby's First Word Will Be Dada; as well as a Houston Astros championship ornament.
(Seeing this sea of red and white stripes all piled on my rug is about the best thing ever)
After we opened presents, we all snuggled on the couch to watch A Christmas Story. Poor Eric woke up that morning with double pink eye (and double ear infections as we would later find out). So he was pretty tired all morning. But, luckily his parents and sister are obsessed with snuggling him, so he got lots of love.
And then, for the first time ever, we stayed at our house on Christmas...in our pajamas....and hosted Christmas morning!! Matt's sweet parents gently offered this option to me a few weeks ago and I couldn't have been more grateful. The ability to stay home and spend some time relaxing myself, instead of packing up the kids and all the stuff they will need, plus presents and food was such a gift. Luckily, I think that Matt's family enjoyed it too and I'm hoping Christmas day at our home will become the new tradition!
Of course Olivia and Eric were showered with lots of presents
One of her favorite gifts was a magic set + magician outfit. She immediately changed into her new costume and The Olivia Show began...
Even Matt and I got some awesome presents!
Sweet Tutu, as usual, stuffed our stockings with all sorts of yummy goodies!
And I think Popo and Tutu enjoyed their ornament!
We kept brunch super easy with a breakfast casserole, cinnamon rolls and fruit. (I tried to uphold our tradition of breakfast tacos by ordering some from a local Mexican restaurant. But as luck would have it, the store never opened on Christmas Eve (cue all the frustration from Matt & I) like they promised. So after a late night grocery delivery, Matt and I whipped up a breakfast casserole on Christmas Eve). We also had a mimosa bar (mine and Matt's favorite) + hot chocolate bar (Olivia's favorite).
And, a few days after Christmas I was able to give Matt his gift from me. Months ago we agreed to give each other new Fitbits but given his poor knee, that seemed like sort of a lame gift. So I found a local chef who specialized in "upscale Cajun" food. I worked with him to put together a tasty menu and a few days after Christmas, he came to my house and prepared a delicious meal for us (shrimp bisque, scallops and grits; steak, crispy chicken cutlet, and dark chocolate mousse). I tried to manage my expectations for the night, but it really couldn't have been more perfect. We put Eric to bed early and thankfully he slept for several hours, we gave Olivia unlimited screen time in bed, opened a bottle of wine and had a quiet date night at home in our PJs. It was really great and something I hope we can do again.
And that's a wrap on Christmas. I am completely worn out but I hope my kiddos had a good holiday. This holiday season I am feeling extra sentimental and grateful. 2017 had some sad moments, a few health scares for me/Eric, and of course terrible Hurricane Harvey which flooded my poor parents' home. But it also brought us Eric Aspy Dean who has perfectly fit into the family and continues to be the most doted on baby.
It also brought us our new home that we all absolutely love. And although Matt's knee injury looms large right now and there is uncertainty about how the next few months will play out, one of my best friends recently helped me find the silver lining. All this time, I thought I was the glue holding our family together. But, I now realize I'm not. Its Matt - his constant support, his humor, his personality, his strength. All these things that I took for granted, I now realize are a vital and crucial part of the day-to-day workings of our family. When he is sad and sick and unable to fully contribute, the ground feels shaky and it leaves all of us a little weaker, especially me. So we will all rally around him to help him through this time so he can come back to us 100% - right where we need him!
My hope for 2018 is that we can have a peaceful and happy year, with little drama and lots of laughter.
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