christmas 2012

A few Christmas highlights:

+ ALL OF THE FOOD. My first home-cooked meal came from my Nanny Johnson - she pulled out all the stops and made my favorites.

+ I loved seeing Nanny Johnson, especially since it's been so long since we saw her last. And she made this unbelievable stocking for him this year, which is just beautiful.

+ A day date to Chapel Hill with my love. We got burgers from Spanky's, walked around campus and spent a little too much time at Student Stores on behalf of Santa. But for what it's worth, Jack loves his new basketball ;)

+ We saw old friends and their babies. Five years ago, we'd be staying up late eating Pokey Sticks after a basketball game. This time we talked about cloth diapering. Life is weird.

+ All of the relaxation. Having grandmothers and aunts and uncles around means there is always someone to take the baby. Which means I sat around a lot and drank tea. And I ate all of my meals while they were still warm!

+ Seeing the family that has loved me so well also love my kid. That's pretty awesome.

+ The family time in general was awesome. I cried a lot after each of the goodbyes because living far away from them is just plain hard.

+ Seeing our sweet boy take it all in. In the cutest plaid Christmas jammies ever.

+ Having my little family in tact for the holidays. What a blessing that is.

Christmas with Jack was magical. He noticed every light, every jingle bell, every ornament. He learned how to ho-ho-ho. He asked to see the Christmas tree first thing every morning and he learned to open presents. And on Christmas Day, he took his first steps. Like I said: magical.

I didn't take a lot of pictures, mostly because I was busy enjoying it all.

In a way, we're still on Christmas vacation and I'm so much in relaxation mode that I'm afraid for the day when Andrew goes back to work and I'm on my own again. We've spent the last week camped out inside watching movies and eating waffles and looking at the snow from the window by the couch. I think I've worn real clothes instead of PJs twice this week? It's been amazing.

Best! Christmas! Ever!