Stiffler Christmas

 We had our final Christmas on the 27th with my Dad's side of the family.  Everyone came together to laugh and enjoy the Christmas spirit.  Henry did very well with all of the excitement, but he was still really tired.  He is yawning in a couple of the photos, but he was a trooper.

*On a side not, and before I share the pictures and events of our evening with you, I want to share how difficult the family gathering was for me because of the loss of my grandma, a little over a month ago.  We hadn't been together as a family since her funeral and I really didn't know how it was going to go.  We still laughed and enjoyed our Christmas, but I was very sad that we made very little mention of her.  There was no toast to her memory or reminiscing about how she always made the holidays special.  I take responsibility for not initiating what I thought should have happened.  I am slowly learning how I grieve and what I need to gain some kind of closure.

Aunt Marilyn has the magic touch. He got a little nap while everyone ate dinner.  Andrew, as big as his heart is, managed to call my cousin, Jennie, old and told her she needed to get back to work.  She took it all in stride, but we decided to reenact the moment anyway.

Grandpa has been such a blessing to our family.  He and Grandma were married for 17 years and as the Alzheimers really started to take effect he was the epitome of unconditional love.  It was bittersweet seeing him again.  I couldn't bring myself to sit and talk with him because I was afraid of the emotions it would release.  Andrew and I were able to spend time with him on our own a couple days later, it was a much needed time together.

Jennie's kids, Emma, Bella and Luke, enjoyed their presents from the family...

Maybe not as much as her husband, Chris, though.  This chemistry set, meant for Luke, will give him hours of fun!

My cousin, Katie really enjoyed her gift.  Yes, she's a little crazy, but that's why we love her.

Henry received some very fun new toys, a couple stuffed animals, a new book and super cute clothes!

With all of these great presents around him, he still liked the bows the best.

Charlie wanted to get in on the action too!

I got my little sister, Madison, this "laugh" wall hanging.  She can always find something to laugh about and when I saw it I thought of her.  My other little sister, Annie, is very creative so I got her wall stickers that you can decorate your room with and then move around or change.

Nana (Kim) and Boompa (Dad) got Henry the cutest little outfits and this mohawk penguin hat as well as a very cool book, Swing. We have been incredibly blessed by all of our family throughout this holiday season.

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was everything I hoped it would be and I know it is just going to get better as he becomes more aware of what is going on.  We really thought we were going to get a good night's sleep.  After all Henry was awake through a 1.5 hour Orthodox Christmas Eve service, dinner and present opening the night before.  That is more consecutive awake time than he has had in a long time.  However, he had different plans.  He woke up around 5:15am, so I fed him and thought he would go right back to sleep, but he just didn't want to go back to sleep.  Ok, I admit, I was pretty excited about Christmas so, I didn't try all that hard to put him back down.  I decided to wake Andrew to do our Christmas.  At 5:45am we headed downstairs to open up what Santa had left for us.  

Henry loved pulling the tissue paper out of the bags and he was pretty good at it too.  Andrew and I decided we wanted to get him books.  We trade off bed time so picking new books that we would enjoy reading and Henry would like sounded like a pretty good first Christmas plan.

Henry got to open more than one gift at a time because he had the most.  He got a couple really cute outfits and some books from Uncle Nic and Aunt Meghan.

I didn't know what to get Andrew from Henry so I searched the internet for diy ideas.  Pinterest is where I found this gift and although I am not addicted to Pinterest yet, I'm so glad I am a member, if for no other reason than to find this idea.  I traced Henry's hand (that was challenging in itself, but we eventually got it done) and on one hand it says "i LOVE U" and on the yellow paper connecting the hands it says "this much!"  I think he likes it.

I was surprised to see that Andrew remembered to get me a present from Henry as well.  I got a large wet bag, which carries more of his cloth diapers when we travel so I don't have to keep them in the diaper bag.  Yay!! Henry knew just what I wanted!

Henry got a couple little toys from us, it wasn't anything too exciting.  As most people know, we could have given him bags and he would have been just as happy.

These are his books from Uncle Nic and Aunt Meghan.  We love Sandra Boynton books!!

We are going to Hawaii with Andrew's family at the end of January, so that is the majority of our Christmas.  Sally sent us a fun "get ready for Hawaii and a Luau present"  Yay!!! Can't wait!!

These are the book Andrew chose for Henry.  Andrew always does a great job of choosing books that are unique and very fun to read!

I got Andrew a wing stand for his glider, which is really a cymbal stand that will have another attachment when it gets made.  I have never gotten him a present for his glider before so I was really excited about this one.  I think it was a hit.

Andrew got me some new running socks (I haven't had new ones in five years) which is what I asked for and a new visor for my workout group.  All in all, we had a fantastic Christmas morning!!

Christmas Eve

We started our Christmas on Christmas Eve with Grammy (my mom),  Grandpa (Glenn), brother (Jeremy), sister in law (Misty), brother (Tony), sister in law (Lindsay), Andrew and Henry.  As was expected, Henry made out like a bandit. What I wasn't expecting was how much Andrew and I raked it in too.  Henry was so cute surrounded by all of his presents.  He would just start grabbing at them and when he got one, start chewing on it.   

Grandpa and Henry getting ready for the festivities.

Henry got this classic toy, I'm pretty sure I grew up with the ring toy, and it is still a good one.  He and Aunt Misty had a great time playing with this toy a few days after Christmas.  Apparently it is a toy for all ages.

 Tony got a hunting hat, he is an avid deer hunter who has learned to clean his own deer and, from what I hear, makes an amazing deer roast.  For those of you who don't know Tony, this is how he normally looks.  He is one of the funniest guys I know and always keeps us laughing with his antics and Tonyisms.

Meanwhile, Henry is going after another present.  We tried to talk to him about patience and how everyone takes their turn in the family, but he just couldn't wait.

Jeremy always has a goofy face for the camera (it must come from the confidence of having won a cutest baby contest when he was about 6 months old).  Misty is enjoying a gift all of the girls received,  a metal wallet that won't let anyone steal our identity.  Thank goodness, because I can't tell you how many people want to be me :-)

Andrew, Jeremy, Misty, Henry and I are all enjoying gifts and probably laughing about something that was said.  The book I'm reading Henry is so cute.  It has his little picture on it with lights and music and that is all great but the rhyming words are the best part.  I think it's called "You're my Little Lovebug."  (I would go look at the actual title, but its in his room and he just finished crying himself to sleep).

Of course there were airplane items.  I don't know if you can see the cute leather boot feet on this outfit, but they are adorable and the elbows have little leather looking pads on them as well.  Mom said she found it in an airport gift shop, very random.

 Lindsay is always laughing and smiling.  There is not a person this girl cannot talk to (and believe me we've put her to the test).  She always finds the most thoughtful gifts and seems to really know what people are going to like.

This, I was not expecting.  Mom surprised the girls with very nice purses.  I got this orange Coach purse (orange is my favorite color).  I think my first comment was, "is it real?"  I couldn't believe it, I never thought I would own a Coach purse.  Anyway, very fun and yes, very spoiled.


Andrew loves his new Columbia running shirt.  If you know my husband well you will recognize those as "wine eyes."  He had a few glasses of wine before the festivities started.  But I will say, his reactions to his gifts were never better!

Grammy and Grandpa received a gift from Henry that was a collage of our family photos made into a puzzle.  I'm pretty sure Grammy started to cry.

We had an amazing time and, as always, we were completely spoiled.  My mom and I are so much alike when it comes to gifts.  Our present is seeing the reaction of the person receiving the gift.  It's so much fun to get something for someone that they will truly enjoy.  

My favorite gift to give was a scrapbook I made for Glenn from his Ironman experience.  Those things are a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun putting it together and especially seeing how much he enjoyed looking through it.  Maybe in the future all of my gifts will be made, it is a very satisfying feeling.  

Candy Cane Lane/The Night Before Christmas

It's amazing how this Christmas the lights have been brighter, the songs have been merrier and the holiday spirit has been twice as special.  I never would have imagined that Christmas with a child could be this special.  As my family grows so does my sense of completeness.  This is all I have ever wanted, family time.  My amazing husband, perfect little boy and crazy dog make me the happiest person in the world.

We started our family holiday time with a run through Candy Cane Lane.  A neighborhood on the west side of Wichita goes all out with their Christmas decorations and instead of driving through, like we normally would, we ran through the neighborhood with my workout group.  Andrew ran with Charlie and I pushed Henry, we did about 3.5 miles.  Luckily it was about 54 degrees out, we got in a good run just before the weather turned really cold.

We had to stop for a pic before going into Candy Cane Lane.  All of the houses were just as amazing as the ones you see behind us.  It was a lot of fun!  Of course Henry slept the whole time, but I'm sure when he looks back at the pictures he will appreciate the experience.

A few days before Christmas Andrew's mom called and said there was a present for Henry that needed to be opened before Christmas.  Henry was so excited to open a present before Christmas that we didn't wait very long.

 I was surprised how well Henry grasped the "ripping paper" concept, of course, like everything else it went straight into his mouth.

Mom had to help a little bit, but when we got it open Henry was so excited to find a book, The Night Before Christmas, from Grandma.  Not only that, but she was reading the story to him through a recording device in the book.

He loves to read.  So, we immediately opened it up and it starts with music on each page and then Grandma reads the story to him.  So much fun!  It was always a tradition, as I was growing up, to read this story before we went to bed.  I'm so glad that Grandma can now be a part of that tradition every year.

Merry Christmas!