Christmas unplugged

This was a December to remember and not necessarily for all of the right reasons!  We’ve been plagued by illness since Abby’s birth, with a particularly violent stomach bug striking us all at Thanksgiving.  So, we began the month with a high level of fatigue, beyond what you would normally expect from a family with a newborn.

I decided early on that we’d simplify Christmas, foregoing quite a few of our traditions and keeping the calendar extremely flexible.  We used barely a third of our Christmas decorations, did not even attempt a daily Advent calendar activity, never sat on Santa’s lap (both opportunities were thwarted by illness), didn’t see the gingerbread houses at the Grove Park Inn, and missed Candlelight Christmas at the Estate.

However, as the pictures in this entry and the next few will show, we still had loads of holiday fun and maybe even created some new traditions along the way! 

This simple Noah’s Ark Advent Calendar was the perfect way to count down the days until Christmas.  Ryan raced down the stairs every morning, eager to add the next animal. 
Thanks, Grammy and Papa!

Our annual trip to the Farmer’s Market to pick our Christmas tree.  Next year, maybe we’ll buy from the other side of the market for the express purpose of getting a squint-free family photo!

Five stockings now!

A homemade pizza picnic by the newly decorated tree!  I think we’ll make this a new tradition.

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For the first time, I also let them open their Christmas pajamas on decorating day. I thought it would be a fun way to start off the season, and they were able to enjoy wearing them all month.

We managed to get a decent family picture for our Christmas card, although it took
dozens of attempts and lots of bribery.  I think Paul’s blood pressure shoots up at just the mention of this annual endeavor!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!