Christmas

This month has brought about many cold days in the warmth of homes of family and friends. We created an advent calendar last month that we started the first day of December in preparation for Christmas too and it was nothing short of magical. Amity would often ask to read what was inside the flap for that day early in the morning, and anticipation would only build as the day progressed and we waited for Papa to come home and see what adventure was in store for us. Some of my favorites were having hot cocoa for the first time together, bundling up and heading down to downtown O'Brien Park here in Parker to see the lights in the park and take a family picture, giving away some toys to others that we don't play with anymore, and building a fire together as a family. Some days we read stories related to the season, watched Charlie Brown Christmas, White Christmas, Frosty, and the Grinch. It made the month fly by, but it felt great being so intentional with our time.

Christmas Eve was spent with Mom and Dad, and Mikey and Kara. The bar spread was even more plentiful this year and Mom tried a new recipe called "tater tot bombs" which were pretty amazing though you felt like if you ate more than 3 you'd probably need to undo a belt loop or two. They were tater tots, rolled in bacon, and dipped in some sort of brown sugar glaze before being baked. Yum. Yup. So much yum. Mom and Dad spoiled all of us, as they do every year and we were so thankful to have a sweet night celebrating Christmas with them before heading home to snuggle up and do our own traditions the following morning. 

On Christmas morning Aaron and I both awoke to our sweet chickadee quietly tiptoeing into our room and climbing up into bed to snuggle. It was the first time she's done that and Aaron and I shared a moment of "Oh my goodness - it's happening -- the moment we talked about longing for before we had kids." It was everything I wanted on Christmas morning and was the best gift she could've given us. We quietly started to get ready, careful not to wake up little Everest, who was still snoozing in the cradle beside our bed. Aaron and I had saved all of the wrapped presents and hidden them prior to Christmas morning, so you can imagine Amity's face when she went downstairs and saw all sorts of pretty packages under the tree that weren't there the night before. This year our big gift to her was a box of magic sand and thankfully, now 5 days after Christmas, seems to be a huge hit! She also received some new Hello Kitty jammies, cozy slippers, some new books, and the Annie soundtrack on vinyl. Aaron and I exchanged small gifts for each other and saved our big gift as a Christmas/Anniversary present and got ourselves a new bed from IKEA. 

We were even blessed with a white Christmas this year too which allowed us to embark on a sledding adventure on the 26th with the Poppenger clan. Amity was really in her element this year -- eating snow, running at a slow pace as she lifted her packed legs through the white world of wonder. We stayed Christmas night with them and the following night as well, getting in some relaxing and quality time. And by relaxing, I really mean RELAXING! Everyone pitches in with the kids at mom and dad's and Aaron and I always get to drink our coffee hot... which is a true treat! Amity helped Grandma make cinnamon rolls the morning after Christmas, and built a fort with her the next morning (complete with Grandpa's head lamp). Daylyn and Mandy decorated a ginger bread train with Ami too. I love watching all of them love on her and know how much it means to her that they spend so much time doing so. Dad and Aar enjoyed a nice, long, pipe and a chat in the basement together too. Christmas night, Beth and Chris drove down from Longmont, and Missy was out from California staying with Gigi. Gigi worked with Ami on some puzzles on her iPad, which I'm not quite sure Ami totally understood, but it will only be a matter of time before she's grabbing it from Gigi and doing them all on her own I'm sure. 

Seeing our family in Kersey was ever-so-special too as we went up early and stopped at Grandma, Grandpa and Dad's house before heading over to the Naibauers. We all sat in the cozy room with a log fire burning in the fireplace, Grandpa sitting in his easy chair, Grandma getting on the floor to snuggle with Everest, and Grampy showing Ami the ins and outs of tic tac toe on the game table. Beth and Chris came up early with us too and Beth's adorable baby bump makes me all nostalgic and giddy for their bundle of joy to arrive and become Ami and Ever's new best friend. Pregnancy looks great on her and it's such an exciting thing to watch.