Christmas started early for one little Junie Buggie. Santa left a fully-assembled “park” in her backyard the evening of the 22nd. To her glorious surprise, it was waiting for her the morning of the 23rd… two whole days before Christmas. She immediately had to get out there and check it out. Much like her daddy, she couldn’t be bothered with putting on pants first.
We ate breakfast at the picnic table under the fort. And she tried out the swings, checked out the slide (but fell flat on her booty the first try and steered clear of it for a few days), and hung from the rings. Jeremy had planned on going to work as an elf to boost morale, and so he showed up to give us goodbye kisses looking like Santa’s helper.
If I only had captured this photo weeks before Christmas instead of a few days before Christmas, it might have ended up serving as our Christmas card.
Once Daddy left, we put on clothes and our jacket and spent a few hours really checking everything out. We spent lots of time on the swings – next to each other as well as with me pushing her way up high in the sky. I was sure Jeremy would not approve of the risky behavior, but she was enjoying every second of it.
We also mastered the rock-climbing wall and used it repeatedly to get into our fort. The babies had to stay in the fort, and I think a few of them ended up spending the night out there.
Selah June was up fairly late Christmas Eve night. I had wrapping duty, so most of my evening was spent in my bedroom. The nice thing about anticipation of Santa’s visit is that it serves as a great motivator. She ate her dinner and took her bath – both with minimal resistance.
Once she went to bed, we took a few trips up and down the stairs to bring it all out from our bedroom to the fireplace. Jeremy noted that for a kid who was getting her big present a few days before Christmas, she certainly was not hurting for gifts on Christmas Day.
Jeremy actually had to wake her up Christmas morning. She was in our bed, having made the trek upstairs at some point in the night. Jeremy woke up around 6am to make cinnamon rolls, and came to wake her up around 7/7:30.
She was very patient and waited for me to get down the stairs to watch her see all her presents. But then it was a constant flurry of activity and excitement. The lighting was poor, and she didn’t stand still for a second. I didn’t get any great shots…. some video, but not great pictures.
The theme of this year was babies. We LOVE babies. She probably received 4 babies. Some made noises; one was an American Girl Doll; one came with milk and orange juice; and all of them are enjoying a miniature pink crib, highchair, and rocker in the new nursery – SJ’s toy room.
At Grammy’s house, SJ had a stack of presents to tear through. There were so many moments she wanted to share with Jules, but he was really focused on his own presents. She would open something, and say “Hey Jules! Look at this! A baby, Jules!” And he wouldn’t even hear her. That’s the most difficult part of this particular phase of cousin life. The volume of six young children is high ALL THE TIME. After about an hour of it, you swear you’re going to lose your mind.
Nonetheless, we did keep the kids focused on individuals zones of gifts. They managed to get through all of their gifts at one sitting and without many meltdowns. And then they cleared out and let the adults have a bit of time to open their presents. I think we’re beginning to see a light at the end of the crazy-town children tunnel.
One of her favorite gifts was a Frozen lollipop holder from her stocking. Sometimes it’s the littlest things that captivate their attention and affection.
She also got a doctor’s kit, and it came with such funny stuff. The modern doctor set still comes with a stethoscope, a thermometer, and shots. But it also comes with spectacles and a cell phone. She loved it! She immediately used the phone to call and tell mommy, “No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”
SJ’s Mimi gave her a Calico Critters cottage. It came with some critters and furniture, and Selah June was very excited. It’s so hard to tell kids that they have to wait to open stuff up until they go home. But it was also quickly apparent that the kids were going to fight over opened presents. And SJ was far from innocent in this war over new toys.
Mom’s window seat kid table was a popular space this Christmas. But the kids all lined up on a single side of the table as opposed to on either side. We had to get a picture of the congested silliness.
By the end of dinner, the kids were turning into monster pumpkins. I scarfed down dessert, but then we had to remove Selah June from the setting. She was beside herself from all the stimulation and fatigue.
