Of course, as it often is when I disconnect from the internet, a lack of photos also occurs. But sometimes I'm ok with that, because it just tells me that I was too busy enjoying the moments than to be behind the lens of my camera all the time. I regret not getting a family photo of the three of us, but I'm trying not to dwell on that too much since there's nothing I can do about it now.
And perhaps my lack of photos is due to the almost impossible task of getting your toddler to sit still for one! I know this one above is totally out of focus, but it was literally the best photo I got after 400 tries. Also, I'd like to point out that my tree is looking a tad bare because somehow, in our move from Edmonton to Calgary earlier in the year, my box of ornaments got mixed up with my mom's (which was being stored in our basement) and she took mine and I took hers. Which meant the box I ended up with was full of falling apart, homemade Christmas ornaments from mine and my siblings grade-school days, haha! And no, I wasn't about to put those up on my tree!
For the first time ever, I even baked cookies this year! I promised Jim I would, and I'm proud of myself for carrying through. I baked some gingerbread men and trees, some sour cream cookies that my mom always made when we were growing up, pretzel hugs, and a hot cocoa chex mix. And then since I was feeling exceptionally crafty, I even whipped up some homemade sugar scrubs and modpodged some initial ornaments for my nephews. I'm usually just crafty in my head, lacking the time and motivation to execute said ideas, so I'm pretty pleased with myself this year!
Our Christmas celebrations started on Christmas Eve this year, and we had a lovely evening spent with my Aunt, her husband, and my niece at their place. Sully opened his first present that evening and was over the moon when he discovered it was a train.
Christmas Day, after a leisurely morning spent lounging in bed (my toddler is the best!), we slowly opened our gifts, stopping to eat breakfast and Skype with Jim's parents, before getting ready for the first set of out of town guests to arrive. My dad, brother and my uncle drove down from Edmonton to spend the afternoon and night with us. My friend Ange also joined us and my heart was so full that day with my house full of people.
On Boxing Day, my family and Ange left just after lunch, and shortly after, my sister-in-law and three nephews arrived! The best thing about having family visit you during the holidays is it extends Christmas. Patty and the boys stayed for two nights and we had so much fun just hanging out, playing games, eating and drinking, watching Paddington Bear, and getting in a little family skate at the rink in our neighbourhood. Sully was in heaven having his cousins here to chase after and play with, and it's so nice that he's at an age where he can really interact with them now.
Unfortunately, everything fun must come to an end, and our house was empty and quiet again come yesterday evening. It was hard to accept that Christmas was truly over, I wish it could go on for over a week, but I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas! Of course, I missed my mom, my sister, and Jim's parents dearly, that goes without saying, and is the biggest downfall of not living in the same city (or province) as your family.
We didn't get to too many holiday events in the city before Christmas, but thankfully Jim has the rest of the week off so maybe we can sneak in a few things (like the Spruce Meadows Lights!) before he has to head back to work on Monday. I also completely failed at taking Sully to see Santa this year - I left it until Christmas Eve day, thinking it wouldn't be that busy - but when we got to the mall, the wait was 2.5 hours and Santa wasn't even taking reservations anymore! Total mom fail. Next year I will do better!
As sad as I was for Christmas being over, I'm actually really excited for 2016 and what's to come! I'll be reflecting back on the past year here right away and talking about my goals and dreams for next year, so stay tuned!
I hope you all had an equally wonderful Christmas, surrounded by the ones you love, and filled with yummy food and drink! For my blogging friends, I've been keeping up with reading your holiday celebration posts, even if I haven't been commenting - I love hearing how everyone celebrated Christmas!
Merry Christmas! xoxo
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