The Vanderwalls: Christmas 2014

Ok, so I know Christmas was almost 2 months ago, but this is one of first chances I've had to to sit down and blog about it. Not to mention we just got pictures uploaded from Christmas yesterday. Also, not to mention, we didn't have our last Christmas of the season until mid January.

We went to Seattle for Christmas and spent almost a week with Papaw, Nona, Auntie Erin, and Auntie Morgan. We had Christmas morning with all of them and Carol. Auntie Erin and Auntie Morgan's boyfriends also joined us for Christmas dinner. While we were there we mostly just hung around the house. We got out a couple times for walks, going to the park, and to do a little shopping, but that was about it. It was a very restful, relaxing several days.

Both Noah and Chloe were spoiled immensely. You both got books, toys, games, and clothes. Noah got some great puzzles, a little bowling set, a train set, and a Russell Wilson jersey. Chloe got an adorable and very soft stuffed dog from Carol and a stylish Nordstrom outfit.

When we got home from Seattle we had Christmas with Nana, Papa, Auntie Kristi, Auntie Kendra, Uncle Nathan, and Keith. We did their Christmas on the 28th of December. We did our usual Chinese dinner - some people ate Hong Kong and some people got Panda. We opened all our gifts. Chloe got some cute clothes and shoes and a really nice sippy cup. She also got some good teethers which have come in really handy because she started getting teeth right after Christmas. Noah got some new cars, window markers, rescuebots, and clothes. After we opened all our gifts we played Guesstures, which Auntie Kendra got for Christmas. It was so much fun! We hadn't played that game forever. Noah really got into it and would copy whoever was acting out the clues. It was hilarious!

Grandma and Grandpa went to Montana for Christmas. By the time they got home and we could find a night in both our schedules that worked to do Christmas I think it was January 11 before we did anything together. They had already opened all their gifts, but we opened ours and gave them what we bought. They kind of did themed presents for Noah. The theme was dinosaurs. Of course he ate that up! He got a dinosaur book, a tub full of different plastic dinosaurs (he'd already gotten some small ones from Papaw and Nona so he was really in 7th heaven), and a homemade dinosaur cave. Could a boy be any happier? Seriously. Chloe got her beautiful quilt for her nursery and some clothes.

We also had our own family Christmas on Dec. 30th. It was fun to do something with just the 4 of us! We spent the whole day together doing some errands, but they were kind of fun errands. Then, we made delicious bbq chicken bacon sandwiches for dinner. We opened our gifts by the fireplace. Noah and Chloe got to open their gifts and their stockings (Mommy and Daddy always stay up late the night before we do Christmas and open their stockings together). Noah got a big-boy bed, minion sheets, some new crayons, a spiderman cup, 2 sun catchers to paint some minion candies, and a new comforter for his new bed. Chloe got some curtains for her room, some of her favorite pusus, and a pink hat and mittens for the rest of winter. After we opened our gifts we spent the rest of the night rearranging Noah's room and putting his new bed together.

I'd say we are pretty doggone blessed to have had 4 Christmases. It was really nice to get to spend a little piece of the holidays with all of our family members. We enjoyed time with each of them and were made very aware of the blessing we have in our family. While it is fun to get and to give gifts, I think this year, more than any year before, I was continually reminded of the true meaning of Christmas and found it to be my heart's desire to focus on what matters most and to be sure to hold my loved ones close and to treasure each moment with them.