Picking up where we left off...
On Christmas Eve we left the Selph's around 12ish to go to my parents' house for the rest of the day. As soon as we got there, I made Garrison something for lunch and got him down for a much needed nap. Thankfully he took a good, long one and we thought we were in the clear for the rest of Christmas. No more meltdowns due to exhaustion and lack of sleep. Or so we hoped.
After his nap we all got ready to go to our church's Christmas Eve Family Lord's Supper. We met Terrell's parents and my grandparents at the church and enjoyed this sweet tradition with our families.
Next, we were back at my parents for a Christmas Eve dinner of steak, baked potatoes, salad, and corn. So good. (The food we were able to enjoy this Christmas was ah-mazing.) My grandparents were all there as well and I'm glad my Granny, Paw-Paw, and Nanny were able to spend some time with the boys before the craziness of Christmas Day arrived.
Christmas Eve night Garrison and Austin also got to open up 1 present from AnAn. Christmas pajamas! They were super cute going to bed in their new pjs.
Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, Garrison went to bed a little later than normal and was a master of stalling when it came to bedtime. Oh dear. Keep in mind he woke up almost 2 hours earlier than normal that morning and went to bed almost an hour later than normal. Even a good long nap couldn't make up the difference. And we would pay for it. But more on that later.
Santa arrived during the night and left a load of goodies! Garrison got a big present this year in the form of a "Dune Racer". Ho Ho filled up the car with a remote control dump truck, baseball glove, set of tools, homemade play doh, and a stuffed Buzz Lightyear. The wrapped presents were from us and Granna and Papa.
Austin got a few small toys and books (plus a few things from us and lots of things from Granna and Papa). A Christmas Story was on when Santa came. =)
Austin had a really good night, and so did Garrison... until about 5:30 Christmas morning. He woke up AnAn to tell her he had to go potty (which he never does... wake up early to go potty) and things went downhill from there. He cried and cried and couldn't tell us what was wrong or how to make it better. I seriously believe he was just really, really tired. So tired (and maybe a tad anxious about Ho Ho) that he never settled into a deep sleep. Anna told us that he had been moaning and groaning in his sleep all night. After going to the potty he asked for milk, then wanted it in a different sippy cup, then wanted juice, then didn't like the cup the juice was in, then wanted AnAn's pillow, then wanted AnAn to go sleep somewhere else. It was one thing after another. Finally Granna got him settled and he went back to sleep. At that point we determined it would be best to let him sleep until he woke up, which meant we may or may not make it to church.
Meanwhile, the grown-ups went ahead with our gift exchange. I know I've mentioned before just how generous my parents are, but they go way overboard on Christmas every year. Way. Talk about the spirit of giving. We had a ball opening gifts while the boys slept. And my sweet hubby surprised me with a special gift that I opened last. He had my first year of blogging (2010, when we were still Selph~ Party of 3) published! I was totally and completely surprised. I almost cried I was so happy! It was the most thoughtful gift and really made my heart melt. =) He even wrote me a special message saying he loved me and thanking me for putting our memories in writing. How sweet!
Finally sometime after 9:00, Garrison woke up on his own and was excited, in a good mood, and ready to get out of bed! He was thrilled with his new car and all the other goodies. Yay!
He loved his camera from AnAn...
Austin was pretty happy with his goodies too. Granna did most of the gift opening for him and he was tickled with everything and taking in the excitement of Christmas morning.
Garrison also loved his fireman hat from Granna and Papa and finish opening his presents while wearing his hat and sitting his car.
Playing with his big "tool thing" from Granna and Papa before heading outside for a test drive. At this point, we had accepted the fact we weren't going to make it to church.
His feet didn't quite reach the pedal so we had to put a pillow behind him. He was in love and rode around the front yard until it started sprinkling on him.
After coming back inside we did stockings for the kiddos. Normally the tradition is to wait until Christmas night to do stockings, but Garrison was very curious about what Ho Ho had put in his and kept asking about it, so we went ahead.
He was even sweet enough to open Austin's for him and show him everything he got.
For lunch on Christmas Day we always go to my Nanny's and celebrate with my dad's side of the family. We enjoyed a delicious meal, caught up with everyone, and had a great time... except for the fact that Austin had his biggest poopy diaper ever that went up his back and all over his clothes... then he spit up all down my shirt (don't know how that happened)... then Garrison got in trouble for not telling people thank you for his gifts. Gracious. I was worn out! (So were Terrell and Austin.) I even missed my little man and other family members singing Happy Birthday Jesus and blowing out a candle on a birthday cake. I'm thankful I at least got to hear it.
After we left my Nanny's we were able to go back to my parents house for a little while before heading out again for Christmas dinner with my grandparents and mom's side of the family. Again we enjoyed a delicious meal and had a great time catching up. Garrison stole the show when he announced that he wanted to say the blessing (right before my dad got started) and then sang the "Johnny Appleseed" prayer that he learned from his cousin Allison. It's pretty precious to hear... and see. He closes his eyes and folds his hands and concentrates so much. Thankfully Garrison was in a good mood the whole time we were there. He didn't eat anything, but he was happy and polite and well behaved... until it was time to go.
He had a huge meltdown over leaving. As in, one of the biggest ever. He got SO upset that he threw up. You read it right. He was crying uncontrollably, then coughing, then gagging. It was lovely. We tried reasoning with him, we tried doing whatever he wanted, we tried all sorts of things to calm him down. Nothing worked. I mean what do you do when it's Christmas Day and your baby is exhausted and just literally can't handle anymore? Can't handle anymore excitement or people or food or presents or awake time?
After he got sick and cleaned up, my mom came outside to check on us (since we'd been in the driveway trying to leave for like 15 minutes) and Garrison practically jumped into her arms. Granna had rescued him. She said they would get ready to leave soon so we decided to let him stay with her. On the way back to my parents I thought I was going to cry and have a meltdown. A lot of our Christmas experience had just been waay different than I imagined. Challenging is a good word to describe it. I was sort of disappointed... not to mention exhausted. But I was so thankful we were all able to celebrate Christmas together. That's all that really matters anyway. Everyone was healthy, every family member present (plus 1!). And Christmas isn't about the "experience" or even the traditions I love so much, it's about celebrating the birth of Jesus with the people we love. And that's exactly what we did. Memories were made, lack of sleep and all.
Garrison and Austin both had really good night Christmas night and we woke up on the 26th and enjoyed a big breakfast prepared by Granna. Spoiled once again! We made it home just in time for naps on Monday afternoon and now we're looking forward to ringing in the New Year this weekend. Maybe sometime soon the Christmas decorations will come down and the after-Christmas mess will get put away! We certainly enjoyed the season. Merry Christmas everybody!!!
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