There is a trend in our house that has been ramping up steadily since the summer; we are getting up very very early. Painfully, hours before the sun rises, no cars on the road kind of early. I am naturally a true night owl, and I also can't stand coffee (I know, you no longer trust me), but somehow I am surviving on sheer will and the occasional nap.
In the days leading up to Christmas, Little Smith got crazy excited. This is the first year that he has had any real awareness, and it was certainly adorable. He started to piece together all of the ingredients; trees, decorations, Santa, reindeer, milk and cookies, and oh yes presents! Of course we talked about other aspects of Christmas too, charity and family and the seasons... he was very sweet and respectful, but also totally ecstatic for Santa's visit.
On Christmas Eve James had to work, so we spent the day drying orange slices and making gingerbread cookies as last minute decorations for our very bare tree. Once daddy came home we laid out milk and cookies, along with a carrot for the reindeer, and for the first time in his life, Little Smith asked if he could 'go night night now'. I took one look at his sparkling eyes and knew we were in for a wildly early Christmas morning, and of course I was right.




Adorably, once he was faced with a pile of presents under the tree, he seemed sort of confused. He spent the first few hours playing with a large truck that had been unwrapped, and when we paused for breakfast it was obvious we all needed an early and long nap. We are typically traveling all over the northeast to see family and opening many generous gifts on this holiday, and while we missed everyone, it was actually a welcome change of pace to take the whole day (from pre-dawn to dusk!) to savor each treasure and enjoy our own little family of four.
Our Christmas baby had a good day too, lots of lights to gaze at and a few giggle fests with her big brother. It was all sort of lazily perfect, the best Christmas yet. And now we are looking ahead to the new year. I'm hoping 2014 has a few late mornings in store for me (7AM is all I'm asking people!), but otherwise, I'd just like a whole lot more of what we've had going on lately. It's pretty sweet.