Audrey's First Christmas

...and what a first Christmas it was! The festivities started on Wednesday, the 23rd, as we drove to David's grandparents' house in Alabama to celebrate with his mom's side of the family. She was an angel on the long ride over. (The ride back, not so much.) When we arrived, she ate, then we ate, then we took pictures, then she napped while we opened gifts. Once she was up and fed, we began the marathon session of opening her presents. She quickly got into it, and entertained everyone with her commentary of each gift. She "made out like a bandit" (that one's for you guys, B&K) and we are so appreciative of everyone's generosity. We loaded up our car to the brim with toys and leftovers and trekked home.

On Christmas Eve, we lounged some and cleaned some and lounged around some more. It was wonderful to stay in together and not have anywhere to be. David and I ate our traditional Christmas Eve meal of tacos and cheese dip (I don't know why, but we've done that since we got married.) We dressed Audrey in her new Christmas pajamas and read the story of Jesus' birth and The Night Before Christmas. Afterward, we let her open one present - an ornament of her own that we'll send with her when she is grown - and hung our stockings by the chimney with care. We set out cookies and milk for Santa and then tucked her in.

Christmas morning came early, as the cinnamon rolls and sausage balls weren't going to make themselves! David and I got ourselves dressed and cooked breakfast, then got Audrey up and fed. We took her downstairs, where Santa had set out a LeapFrog table, some books, and a small toy truck. She loved all of it, but was most excited about the big red bow on top (of course.) We played, opened her stocking, ate, and then put her down for her morning nap while David and I opened gifts. I gave him clues that led him on a treasure hunt for his present (a new lawnmower!) He got me a camera lens filter, a book, and some DVDs I wanted (more on those later.) It was perfect.

That afternoon, David's parents came over with a sleigh full of gifts. (But rest assured, they "did not go overboard this year." Wink, wink.) Audrey was fascinated by more ribbons and bows as she opened more toys. While she napped, Mommy and Daddy were less fascinated by the bows as we tore into our stash! We ate dinner and enjoyed being amused by Audrey's babble and expressions. The most hilarious part of the evening came when Audrey gave her own special present to her Granddad...and her pants...and the carpet..... What a memory that will be! We fell into bed that night, tired and feeling unbelievably blessed as our favorite Gift slept soundly in her crib.

On Saturday, we went to my brother's house and celebrated with my side of the family. With an 18 month old, a 9 month old, and a 6 month old, it was intense! It was hard to keep up with everyone - just as one got finished eating, another would start or one would go down for a nap when the other was just waking up. We had so much fun watching them all and tried to take lots of pictures. I know next year it will be even crazier once they're all mobile! As had been the trend that week, Audrey got way too many toys and loved every minute of it. It was wonderful being with everyone and it ended all too soon when we had to pack up and rush home in time to feed her and put her to bed.

Now you would think surely we were finished, right? Alas, we had one more celebration the next day. On Sunday we went up to David's parents house and celebrated with his Dad's side of the family. We had brunch, played cards, opened more gifts, ate more food, and looked on as everyone gushed over our Baby Girl. David and AJ even got in a mini jam session on the drums. It was a great day and we loved seeing family that we don't get to visit with that often.

Thus concludes Christmas Extravaganza 2009. It is wonderful to stretch it out and not have to be multiple places in one day, but it's also a lot of work to haul a baby (and her massive amounts of gear) around. We calculated that we spent about eight hours in the car during the three trips we made. Not bad compared to others' drives, but still a lot considering we barely left the state. I am so glad we established a "Not leaving the house on Christmas Day" rule!

It was definitely worth it, of course, and we are very grateful to all of our family for helping to make Audrey's first Christmas so special. The traditions we started and the memories we made will last us for many years to come. I hope you and your family had as wonderful of a holiday as we did!