I put up a tree this year. It didn't have ornaments, but it was completely lit, which is more than I can say for years past. Every time we came downstairs for breakfast or came in the door from work, Norah would smile and say, "Tree!" This alone is motivation to start decorating for holidays.
Norah discovered the art of unwrapping the presents that were under the tree. I totally let her because I'm a sucker and don't want to argue with an 18 month old about why sometimes we can open presents and sometimes we can't.
We spent Christmas Eve and morning with my family, which was delightful as always. We also witnessed a Christmas miracle as Norah slept the entire night in a crib that was not hers. She went to bed without a fight and woke up being her usual, awesome self. Unprecedented!
At some point the pajamas came off and the nakey reading began.
Norah entertained us Christmas Eve by dancing to Beyonce for at least a half hour. Christmas morning she was still in the dancing mood. She's added quite a few new moves to her routine--like jazz hands.
We spent Christmas evening with the Stewarts. After being so good for more than 24 hours, Norah had had enough. I bribed her and two cousins to be good by watching Tangled, which just so happens to be the only movie that Norah will actually pay attention to. It sort of worked--meaning we didn't have to leave before presents, but we didn't ever get back to the 1,000-piece puzzle we so optimistically started.
I have never experienced Christmas madness like I have at the Stewarts. There are so many kids and so many adults and so much excitement and so much good food. It's exhausting and completely wonderful.
The best part is gathering in the basement to open presents. It's a mad house and I highly recommend it.
As always, I'm overwhelmed by the love of family and friends who make our lives completely magical. We've been blessed with a lot, and we have a lot of people to thank for that.
Remember the weekend before Thanksgiving? Norah doesn't. But here is proof that I took her to her second apple party and attempted to get her to enjoy it. My dad made a valiant effort and even got her to help for a bit.
I ruined it by trying to get an adorable picture of her in the apple bin. Colman and Alexi loved this when they were little!
Luckily for me, J.J. was there to make her smile again.
Oh, and also, I turned 30 this month. The best part was that I didn't even have to freak out because Nic did it all for me. He is seriously not okay with the end of our twenties and could possibly being having an existential crisis of some sort. His reaction completely absorbed any anxiety I would have had about my birthday. All I could think was Jeez, Nic. You need to take it down a notch; this is not that big of deal.
Nic sent me beautiful flowers to my office with the most awesome of all awesome love notes that have ever been written. You'll have to ask me what it said later. My mom came to our house that evening to play with Norah so Nic and I could enjoy a restaurant dinner without me and Norah fighting over who is going to hold her glass of water.
Also, Norah is adorable. I finally got her to let me put something on her head without yelling at me. It's the little victories.
We took Norah to see The Muppet Movie, which was the first time I've dared take her to a theater. It helped my anxiety level knowing that she was outnumbered by adults three to one. My favorite part was when she took the entire bucket of popcorn on her lap, leaned back, and actually watched a lot of the show.
We spent Thanksgiving week, plus some, in Virginia and the outer banks of North Carolina with all of the Wilcoxes. The top two reasons why it was amazing include that we got to spend time with Josh, Jess, and Ellie, and that this trip has served as a marker for the end of my mom's cancer treatment as we've gone through the past year.
I have an overabundance of things that I'm thankful for; on top of that list is my family. Thanks guys.
