Merry Christmas
Our first Christmas as a family of three (and with a child to share it with) was so much fun. I'll be honest; the last few years I haven't been super excited about Christmas. It seemed so high stress and I wouldn't go near a mall. Having Nolan in the picture has made me change my attitude about the holiday. Even to the point that I made Christmas cookies (aka desserts that did not need to be baked), took an entire day off of work with Eric to go shopping, and made sure to have "The Night Before Christmas" ready to go for Christmas Eve.
Speaking of Christmas Eve.....
Eric and I got ourselves and Nolan all dolled up and ready to go to church, piled in the car, and quickly realized that church had started a half hour sooner than we had thought and they were turning cars away because there were so many people. So we turned around and ventured over to the Methodist church around the corner and were able to make it to the children's service. It was really nice and very much geared towards the kids. Lots of kids singing, a children's book was read instead of a sermon, and they turned off the lights and handed the kids glow sticks during "Silent Night." Nolan was so well behaved and loved to chime in with a few "da da da da das" along the way. After church we went over to Aunt Heidi and Uncle Kevin's house to spend time with the Wolfers and Eric's parents. Once we got home, it was into the Christmas pajamas for Nolan, Eric read "The Night Before Christmas" and we all headed to bed so Santa could put out his presents :)
Ready to go to church.
Watching the kids sing.
Nolan was so excited to open up his presents the next morning that he was up and ready to go on Christmas by 6:30 a.m. He had his bottle and then the fun began! He was actually pretty good at tearing the paper but Eric and I ended up opening the majority of them towards the end or we would have been celebrating Christmas for the next week. Nolan loved to look at his new toys and test each of them out. Eric and I also opened up our gifts to one another in the midst of this chaos. I received a pair of Tory Burch flats, a couple sweaters, a robe, slippers, and new yoga pants. Eric got some clothes, a leather Ipad case, a decanter and bottle of scotch, aftershave, and a new dopp kit. This was just the start.
Testing out his new activity walker.
We need a play room...
While Nolan took his morning nap, Eric and I ate a Christmas breakfast of fruit, eggs, and monkey bread.
Then it was off to the Wolfer's house again to spend the day with Aunt Heidi, Uncle Kevin, the cousins, Grandma and Grandpa Holick, Uncle Chris and Aunt Debbie. This was a lot of fun. Five kids under the age of 4 opening gifts and playing with their new toys was a sight to be seen. The kids had so much fun together and it's great to watch how Nolan interacts with his cousins as he gets older. On Christmas he was able to crawl around to chase after them and wasn't fair game for the girls anymore :) Nolan continued to receive awesome gifts and is now the proud owner of his own over sized chair, lots of cool toys and clothes, and also holds season tickets to the zoo for the next two years courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Holick, Aunt Kelsey and "Mr. Nick."
Ready to go...
Some highlights from the day...
You would think that Christmas would have been over at this point. Nope. We still had round three to go with Grandma Taylor and Aunt Darby. They drove into town on Christmas night and were in Columbus the next day to celebrate with Nolan. So on Monday, December 26th Nolan was the lucky little boy who got to have another Christmas morning. He opened up even more gifts (a rattle activated car, blocks, bath toys, DVDs, books, and his very own rocking chair for the front porch). It was a relaxing day of opening presents, watching old family movies, eating, and spending time with one another. By dinner time Aunt Darby and Grandma had to get going and we were once again a family of three with a lot to be thankful for.
Although we wish we could have spent Nolan's first Christmas with all of our family members, we had a really nice holiday and are truly grateful for all that we have in our life. Merry Christmas!
Then it was off to the Wolfer's house again to spend the day with Aunt Heidi, Uncle Kevin, the cousins, Grandma and Grandpa Holick, Uncle Chris and Aunt Debbie. This was a lot of fun. Five kids under the age of 4 opening gifts and playing with their new toys was a sight to be seen. The kids had so much fun together and it's great to watch how Nolan interacts with his cousins as he gets older. On Christmas he was able to crawl around to chase after them and wasn't fair game for the girls anymore :) Nolan continued to receive awesome gifts and is now the proud owner of his own over sized chair, lots of cool toys and clothes, and also holds season tickets to the zoo for the next two years courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Holick, Aunt Kelsey and "Mr. Nick."
Ready to go...
You would think that Christmas would have been over at this point. Nope. We still had round three to go with Grandma Taylor and Aunt Darby. They drove into town on Christmas night and were in Columbus the next day to celebrate with Nolan. So on Monday, December 26th Nolan was the lucky little boy who got to have another Christmas morning. He opened up even more gifts (a rattle activated car, blocks, bath toys, DVDs, books, and his very own rocking chair for the front porch). It was a relaxing day of opening presents, watching old family movies, eating, and spending time with one another. By dinner time Aunt Darby and Grandma had to get going and we were once again a family of three with a lot to be thankful for.
Although we wish we could have spent Nolan's first Christmas with all of our family members, we had a really nice holiday and are truly grateful for all that we have in our life. Merry Christmas!
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