The Holidays:
The girls enjoyed their first Christmas. They came down with a cold the week before and stayed sick until the day after Christmas. They looked pitiful but they were still able to have a lot of fun. We did not attend the Christmas Eve service this year. Mama and Papa felt it was too much for the girls to go out in the cold while they still had fevers and a runny nose. We spent the night at home baking cookies. It was a late night. Both girls were excited but did not know why. They left six cookies (three from Hazel and three from Cora) and a glass of milk from each girl. We think Santa enjoyed the extra helping of cookies and milk. Both were gone in the morning. The cookies were put on the girl's special Santa cookie plate they made before Christmas. Next year we are thinking the girls will make mugs for the milk.
Christmas morning started with a bang. A literal bang. Hazel decided to fall out of the bed when Mama got up to drink some water. It is a sound that still echoes in Mama and Papa's head. There was a loud thud, a pause for a second, then a loud cry. Papa thinks Mama felt worse than Hazel. Hazel seems to be over it. Mama is still recovering. The girls decided 5:30am was a good time to get up and see if Santa had come for a visit. We are hoping this is not going to be a recurring tradition. Mama and Papa took cold medicine the night before. We were not as awake and chipper as the girls. Santa brought a Superstar Sing-Along Stage, wood blocks, crayons, and wooden alphabet blocks. He had taken the time to set everything up in a nice sculpture for the girls. Each stocking had a set of sensory balls, a Christmas rubber duck, and a toy with sounds and textures. Mama and Papa gave the girls some books, the Fisher Price Chatter Phone, and a wooden maze. It was a great morning. By 9:00 the girls had played with Santa's gifts, opened the gifts from Mama and Papa, had a morning bottle, changed clothes, ate breakfast, and slept for over an hour. It was a busy and fun start of the day.
After our nap, Mama and Papa were able to take a short one too before everyone went to Granny and Granddaddy's house for breakfast. While the family ate, Cora and Hazel played with Auntie Amy, Cousin Harrison, and Cousin Ryan. After breakfast the girls opened a mound of presents. There are too many to list. The girls are still playing with everything they received. The pictures tell it all. By the end of the afternoon the girls were starting to understand the concept of presents. Dinner was at Grandmother's house. Gam-maw and Paw-Paw drove all the way from Manteo to see the girls on Christmas and for their birthday party the day after. Dinner was delicious as always. The girls enjoyed seeing three sets of their grandparents and playing with their cousins: Caroline, Olivia, Nicole, Harrison, and Ryan. The day was still not over! All the excitement prevented the girls from going to sleep at their normal time. At 10:00 they were still awake. So, they opened more presents! Gam-maw and Paw-paw brought a truck load of presents from the beach. The girls loved everything. They finally fell asleep and had sweet dreams of their first Christmas.
The day after Christmas, we were supposed to have Cora and Hazel's first birthday party. Everything was planned. It was going to be great. We had not planned on the snow. It snowed on Christmas Day. It was a beautiful white Christmas. We were expecting two inches, we got six. Our power went out around 8:30 Sunday morning and did not come back on until 1:00. There was no way we could have the party with no power and unsafe roads. Instead Gam-maw, Paw-Paw, Mama, Papa, and the girls had our own celebration. The girls opened even more presents! By this time they started to understand what the excitement was about. Everyone was a little cold. The girls still did a great job even though they had on coats, mittens, and a hat from Auntie Mel. We took pictures, sang Happy Birthday, and then Gam-maw and Paw-Paw left early to go home on the snowy roads. Papa and Mama started to load the car up to take the girls to Grandaddy and Granny's because they still had heat, but as soon as we got the girls up to put in the car seats, the power came back on. It was a relief. The rest of the day was spent playing with all the girl's new toys and gifts. It was a great holiday weekend full of fun, family, and friends.
New Year's Eve was spent at Aunt Bertie's house. We thought the girls would play with their friend Winnie, get tired and fall fast asleep. We were completely wrong. Again, the girls picked up on all the excitement. After Winnie went to sleep, the girls decided they were going to stay up. Around 10:30, Hazel final feel asleep. Cora was up when the ball dropped. It was an evening of fun and games. Mama did not get to play Aunt Bertie in Cranium. Both of them are currently undefeated. The match has been postponed to another date.
This year has already been great. We are looking forward to the trend continuing.
Happy New Year!
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