Christmas 2015's A Wrap

Another Christmas come and gone.  So much preparation and work for one special day, but I tell ya, it's worth it.  And it's oh so magical when you have Littles around to enjoy it.  Our Christmas Eve's and Christmas Days have changed a lot in the last couple of years.  No longer do we get all dressed up to gather with extended families and sit around a big table enjoying an overabundance of food.  No longer do we rush around trying to see everyone that we hold dear.  Instead, we say prayers of thankfulness that Dad is home and not working on Christmas Day.   We enjoy the holiday within the confines of our little 1400 square foot home.  We FaceTime with our California families in an attempt to catch glimpses of each other's day and feel love from each other, as much as a tiny iPhone screen can pass along.  And we try with all our might to create positive memories that our children will hold close to their hearts for the rest of their lives.

It is, without a doubt, a challenging time for me.  Josh had to work on Christmas Eve and was not able to make it home until minutes before the girls went to bed.  I attempted to make Ryan a festive breakfast of candy cane pancakes, but I was struggling throughout the day to feel cheery and was so happy that my friend Cami and her daughter Bella were up for coming over mid-day to eat my traditional birthday cake for Jesus, drink some wine, and help keep me from being Mrs. Scrooge.

The girls and I finished Christmas Eve opening our traditional Christmas Eve gift of new pajamas.  I tried my best to get a few good pictures in their matching pi's, but they were sure trying their best to make that impossible!  I mean is it really to much to ask to have ONE picture of both kids looking at the camera, not crying, and not having their finger in their belly button?!?!  Apparently it is.  However, the stockings did get hung and the cookies did get put out for Santa.  We read The Night Before Christmas and the Story of Christmas at least three times each and the kids went to bed.

Santa made his her appearance while the girls slept and it was just in time, because around 11pm, Josh got called back in to work for a liver transplant.  If I hadn't been so tired, I would likely have been in tears.  Liver transplants can take up to 10 hours to complete and we were not sure if he would be back in time for Christmas morning.  I knew I should count my blessings, someone was in surgery on Christmas and I was sad because my husband had to be there.  They definitely had it worse off than me, but it is hard.  Sometimes, being the wife of a physician seems very sacrificial in terms of family time.  This is undoubtedly something I/we just have to get used to as I'm sure it won't be the last time Dr. Dad has to work on Christmas.  I wouldn't have been opposed to pushing back Christmas a day, but I had prepped Ryan the night before and knew I had no option but to follow through with Christmas morning and Santa's appearance.

Thankfully, Josh found someone to relieve him in surgery around 5am.  He made it back in time for Ryan's 6am wake up.  Although, he had been up all night and was extremely exhausted so he slept through most of presents which was understandable but disappointing none the less, mostly for me.  Ryan was so excited about all of her presents that she didn't care that she was showing a sleeping Daddy her presents from Santa.

One of the best parts about this age is that after every present was opened, she wanted to play with it first before moving on to something else.  It made opening gifts take a couple of hours and we were really able to enjoy the morning.  Of course, there was a MASSIVE mess to clean up afterwards.  So the rest of the morning was spent playing and cleaning and playing some more.

Josh had gone back to bed during the playing and cleaning portion of the morning but got up mid-day to eat a big Christmas breakfast and take a family picture in our pjs.  We ended the day with homemade chili and cornbread, much like Grandma Scurlock makes every year at home in California.  It filled our bellies and made us think of all our loved ones at home.

Sure, Christmas looks a lot different these days, but ultimately, it's all about Jesus's birth and because of that, we have many reasons to celebrate.  I hope everyone of our friends and family both near and far enjoyed the day and gave praise to our Lord, the ultimate reason for the season.

Last Minute Christmas Shenanigans

With Christmas only a few days away, we've been trying to soak up every last bit of Christmas cheer before it's time to pack up the Christmasy goodness until next year.  Josh has been on the transplant service this month which has basically meant he's living at the hospital and so I've been trying to find ways to fill our days/nights/weekends... #Dr'swifelife.  It's a lot of days and hours of just me and my girls. And that's ok.  I'm pretty lucky to get to spend all my time with these two hooligans.

Thankfully, we've been blessed so far this winter with some very mild weather.  In fact, it's supposed to be in the 60's on Thursday...what?!?!  I wonder if we'll ever experience a "white Christmas" while living in Massachusetts?  It's definitely not happening this year.   I certainly enjoy being in my home when it's decked out in Christmas decor and lights.  But at least we haven't had to be cooped up in the house if we don't want to be!

Last week, I bought my first gingerbread house kit.  It was on sale and I thought Ryan might enjoy doing it and so I went for it.  She had a great time eating a ridiculous amount of candy and frosting.  And the house did ultimately get built.

And the meltdown that followed when I said we were done eating candy was pretty priceless.  Two year olds...I tell ya.  I'm basically the meanest Mom ever on an almost hourly basis these days.

I only have a few more days to dress the girls in Christmas attire and so I'm making the most of it and taking pictures of their festive outfits every chance I get.  Rory is typically my child of choice for these artistic endeavors because I don't have to bribe her to pose for pictures...yet.

Only 4 more sleeps till Christmas! Can you believe it's practically here!?!?!

Better Late Than Never

So I just realized that I never shared Rory's newborn photos on the blog.  I guess it's just one of the 59 things that slipped my mind.  #mombrain.  Anyway, we did photos with Emily when Rory was 6 days old.   Rory was an angel baby for the shoot and slept through the entire session which was great and allowed her to get all the fun sleepy baby shots.  I'm so happy with how they turned out and Emily made the session very enjoyable and stress free which is always great for a new mom.

 It's hard to believe that this little squish is closing in on 4 months old already.  We just love her so!

Santa Claus

Awww 'tis the season where you pay money to place your terrified child on the lap of a big bearded man in a red suit and snap pictures of the entire process.  Gotta love Christmas time.

Last year's visit to Santa did not go so well for Ryan and up until the moment she was dumped on his lap, I had high hopes of it being a successful Santa trip this year.  I gave her pep talks about Santa all week and how he is a nice man who brings you presents on Christmas and when we saw a big stuffed Santa at CVS the other day, she went right up and hugged it exclaiming "Santa!!!"  In line at the mall, she was fine.  She wanted to watch the other kids seeing Santa and seemed to be okay with the prospect of meeting him.  We were there with our other little friend Avery and the two of them were so adorable in their Christmasy best.

However, the pictures with Santa tell a completely different story.  One of terror.  They look extremely similar to last years other than the fact that Rory was present  (and could have cared less) and Ryan has a little more hair.   I'm such a mean mom.  At least one of my children wasn't crying.

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At least her prize at the end was that she got to walk the mall hand in hand with her BFF.  After that, all was right with the world.  A girl after my own heart.

I said it last year and I'll say it again.  Maybe next year?  Then again, if I'm lucky enough to have Ryan decide she likes Santa, undoubtedly Rory will be screaming in the picture.  We could have a few years ahead of us before we get a Santa shot with no crying kids.