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Charlotte Grace, family, mama, Uncategorized ·

Our Christmas Season 2015

I know Christmas Day has long passed, but we’re still savoring the season until the Epiphany this coming weekend (which officially ends the 12 days of Christmas). Our Christmas celebrations lasted well over two full weeks, and we’re just now getting back into somewhat of a routine. Charlotte’s sleep times are all off, but I’m hoping we’ll be back to normal by next week. I want to remember each Christmas Charlotte has, so I think there’s no better place to do that than here. One day I’ll be on top of things and make our pictures into a picture book. One day. Until then, this will do.

Before we started our adventures of traveling across Texas, we stopped in to see Santa the weekend before Christmas. But in true Griswold fashion, the first Santa location we went to, Santa was sick. As in, there was no one there but the elves. A little Christmas miracle and a mall trip later, we found Santa well and happy. My little muffin ate it up. I think the little girl in line in front her had a lot to do with it, because she was an old pro at what looked like age 7. We had been talking to Charlotte about Santa for a couple of months, so when she saw him, she was cool as a cucumber. I think she even told him what she wanted. I’m so glad she didn’t cry like she has the two years past. Smiles for days.

When the time came to pack up for our first trip, we seriously loaded the Tahoe down. We even took the third row seats out to make more room. Once we arrived in Port Lavaca, we were surrounded by all of our family where our schedule pretty much consisted of eating, resting, eating, and resting. We made it down the Wednesday before Christmas and stayed at my aunt’s house. Let me just note that Charlotte is in hog heaven when she’s around family, and that makes my heart swell with pride. The love she has is the best thing ever.

Wednesday night, we went to my dad’s house and had our Christmas with him. Charlotte absolutely loves her PawPaw, and I wish I would have taken better pictures of the night, but I think the excitement got the best of me. (I have a few blurry pics, but I’ll keep those to myself.) It was a great night spent with my dad, and it was just what I needed to get the holiday started off right: good food, good company, good presents = good presence.

Christmas Eve, we laid low most of the day before we attended mass. Before we left, we took some family photos by the tree. I guess you could say it’s a family tradition, because we’ve been doing that since I can’t even remember.

Christmas Eve after mass was spent at another one of my aunt’s house, and it was so much fun. I am so disappointed that I didn’t save my Snapchat story from that night. If you saw it, you were one of the lucky ones. Ha. I thought I had saved it, but when I went to look on my phone, it wasn’t there. Oh well. I guess some things are just meant to be saved in the good old memory bank. We sang, drank, and were merry. Some of us sang more than others. It really did feel like old times.
I would be lying if I said Christmas was all fun and games and nothing else. This was the first Christmas without my grandpa, my Popo, and it was hard. There were several times I wanted to just break down and cry from the sheer weight of missing his physical presence of being around. I wasn’t the only one going through all those emotions either. It was quite the rollercoaster. But we kept pushing through and remembering the good times we had with him, especially the Christmas memories, and we made the most of it. My sister made a very, very special book of some of my grandpa’s favorite homilies that he had handpicked a long time ago and had given to her. It is now one of my most special gifts. And then I had to pull myself together again.
Before Charlotte went to bed Christmas Eve, we left cookies out for Santa. When she woke up Christmas morning, I think I was more excited than she was. The way Christmas works with my big extended family has kind of changed since “the kids” are now grown ups with their own kids. We pile our gifts to aunts, uncles, and cousins under one tree, but Santa goes to wherever the babies are sleeping. So for Charlotte, she had her Santa gifts waiting for her at my aunt’s house. And when she woke, she was giddy. I showed her that Santa had eaten most of the cookies we had left out for him, but she really wasn’t amused. She just wanted to eat the rest of the cookie. 
Until she saw her gifts. Santa’s big gift to her this year was her tricycle, and she received a few little things as well. She loved it all.
After Santa gifts were opened, we headed to my aunt’s house who hosted Christmas Day festivities for the whole family. We ate breakfast first, and then we all opened gifts one by one. I think all 20-something of us were done by midnight. Kidding. We finished up around 2 p.m., just in time for nap time. Then after nap time, we had a big Christmas dinner and sang some more. 
On Saturday, Michael and I had to come back to Houston for a baptism of one of our dear friend’s little girl. It was a really fun day for the two of us, especially since day dates are far and few between. Charlotte stayed behind in Port Lavaca because she had a cold the entire week of Christmas, and I didn’t want her to get any other kiddos sick. We went back to Port Lavaca that same day and relaxed as much as we could for the remaining time we had there. 
Sunday, we went to church, ate, drank, ate, and Monday and Tuesday looked very similar with the exception of church. In our downtime, Charlotte learned how to ride her tricycle, and I think it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. She is becoming an old pro. I almost forgot, but for most of our stay, it was in the high 80s and 100% humid. Great weather. Yuck. Then Sunday, it got cool, and we finally enjoyed the outdoors with her. She loves being outside, and we loved watching her play and have fun. 
Tuesday, we finally said goodbye after being in Port Lavaca for almost a full week. When we got home, we unpacked our bags just long enough to ring in the new year and then repacked to head to Beaumont to spend Christmas with Michael’s mom. It was nice and cold, and Charlotte was spoiled yet again with lots of love and love of presents. 
She really is becoming a little Beethoven at the piano, too. We had a really nice time over the weekend, consisting of what we do best: eat, drink, and be merry. It’s so fun to see Charlotte light up around her family, and she had an extra twinkle in her eye this time around because I think she was finally old enough to feel the magic of Christmas. 
We are fortunate to have a really big family filled with really big love. I wish I would have gotten more pictures of the entire crew, but I’ll do better next time. 
As the Christmas season is dwindling down, I’ll be soaking up the last of my Christmas decorations and remember that because a tiny baby was born in a manger full of hay, we’re able to enjoy this life full of grace. 
I hope your season was nothing short of beautiful! Be blessed, friend. Talk to you soon.
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Comments

  1. This is so so fun! Charlotte just keeps getting more and more adorable! I am so glad y’all had such a great Christmas – it is so much fun with a little isn’t it?

    • Thanks, Jamie! Yes, holidays are way more fun with her, and even more so now that she understands them a little better. Hope you’re doing fabulous, mama!

    • Thank you, Nikki! It certainly was a fun time. Now we’re trying to get back into our routine. Hope your new year is off to a great start! :)

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