Westley woke up around 6:30 and it was only then that I realized Lincoln and Adelaide had snuck out of their rooms into my sisters’ bed.
We kept everyone upstairs until 7 and then gave the kids freedom to go wake the rest of the house for presents.
Things I want to remember most about the day:
- Lincoln ran down the stairs, through the library, and into the living room. He glanced at the couches full of presents from Santa and ran straight to the tree to find a small bag. “This is the gift I want you and Dad to open first, Mom! This is the one I made at school!” The next thing he did was get his present for Adelaide and ask her to open it. He embodied the spirit of giving this year.
- Adelaide’s response to almost everything she got, “Oh this is what I have been waiting for my whole life!”
- “Christmas is just the very best time of year ever.” Lincoln, multiple times.
- Westley was a little overwhelmed by all the commotion + mess and was happiest in his mom’s arms.
- We had a sweet moment before bed with Lincoln and Adelaide, refocusing on the true meaning of Christmas. After sharing a bit about my love for the Savior Lincoln expressed, “I have a hard time remembering Jesus when I open presents because I get distracted by the presents.I don’t think about Him until after the presents and Jesus is more important than the presents. I want to be able to think about Jesus while opening presents next year.”
I got dressed around 3pm and I’m not sure the kids ever made it out of pajamas. Ben didn’t put on the matching PJs this year and rocked the sling all day. Westley napped, we ate all the food, and I got a little overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of STUFF in the house.
I love Christmas. I love the reason to celebrate. I love the people I get to celebrate with.
And a few other notes:
- Christmas eve we did our annual live nativity and Aunt Maddie picked out costumes for everyone. I was Joseph, Adelaide was Mary, and Grandpa was the donkey.
- A few nights before Christmas the kids put on their school’s holiday performance. We couldn’t meet altogether this year so the teachers printed out the program and Lincoln and Adelaide gave out tickets for us all to “attend.” We gathered in the living room and they took turns standing on the chair by the Christmas tree singing songs, reciting poems, and sharing their love of Christmas with us. I could tell how hard they had worked learning all of the words and the pride on their faces was precious.
- The pictures of Adelaide and her great-grandpa (my grandpa) are my favorite from the season. There are 90 years between them and they enjoy a game of Uno or painting session together a couples times a week.
^ Ben got a pass on the matching pajamas this year (broken collarbone) and Westley is wearing the same ones Lincoln wore for his first two Christmas’s and Adelaide wore the year after that.
outfit details:
Matching pajamas: Hanna Andersson (we’re had ours for 6 years, just added additional kid’s sizes as needed and they’re always still in stock)
my striped sweatshirt (very light sweatshirt/ very thick tee shirt): Daily Ritual, a couple colors left in stock
my maroon sweatpants (the coziest, the best): Lou & Grey (they run true to size)
my gold watch: Nordgreen (Danish manufacturer), gifted
Baby’s First Santa Visit