*I wrote this in a fuzzy NyQuil state and forgot to post it, in my fuzzy NyQuil state. I figured I may as well post it late anyway. ;)
Apparently Sophie turned 13 last month. This picture is like a glimpse into my future... I love it and hate it all at once. Where is my tiny baby? She turned six and lost her first tooth and is telling stories at length about this that and the other. This is definitely a good stage, but geeeezzzz, can we slow things down already?
It's Christmas next week. Between now and then, we're reuniting with old friends, visiting new, going to a birthday party, the zoo with friends, playdates, and hosting a party. SO MUCH FUN. I love Christmas! We have been on fever/cold lockdown for the past FIVE days, and I'm a little stir crazy! We are ready to start the festivities and get out of our cozy home.
Speaking of Christmas, do your kids believe in Santa? I'm so curious about what people do. We are Christians, so Christmas is REALLY when we thoroughly celebrate the birth of Christ and we tell our kiddos about how we share gifts because God gave us the beautiful gift of His son... that's the important part for us...
The Santa part has me tongue tied and Brian and I have had many a laughs about how clumsy we are with it. It kind of snuck up on us last year that we needed some sort of explanation for Santa. We landed on a concept that Santa is a jolly delivery man. He delivers the gifts that the family orders from him, basically. I mean, why should Santa get credit if Gramma is the one who got the gift, right? The kids have to say thank you! We totally fumble over words and stories. We don't need them putting much stock in Santa e don't want our kids being the ones breaking it to their peers that shhh, Santa is a fairytale, so we just kind of go with the flow.
This year brought a lot of unexpected twists and turns and ups and downs. Good-- no, great- moments. Then terribly trying moments. We are already two weeks from saying goodbye to 2014, and I cannot say for sure whether I'm thrilled and ready to move on, or if I'm filled with nostalgia and want to pause time. Ahh, who am I kidding... Since becoming a mother- I'm always full of nostalgia and wanting to pause time. (Except that one time I was on a plane solo with Sophie during the holiday season and she cried for 3.75 hours straight. In that moment, I would have requested a triple-time fast-forward).
I hope all of you enjoy your Christmas week and that we're all nice and healthy in time to celebrate! I'm excited that we're on the upswing of health and can get out and about to enjoy the season properly! :)
xoxo