I haven't been in the states for Christmas since 2005, and then Jay was deployed so I kind of forgot what Christmas was like here. It's not all that different in Germany, but the pace of everything is so fast. I think it's because of all the options; Germany is usually pretty simple!
This year we had a lot of family to see and a lot of places to go! We started Christmas Eve like most of our days here, wrangling a two-year-old into clothes for the day and playing the "what are you saying" game at breakfast. We baked and prepped and thawed and chilled and generally tried to stay out of the way if we didn't need to be in the kitchen. Hayden got to open a present early, and hung out with a little friend for a bit. In the afternoon we did some last minute running around before going over to Jay's Aunt Teressa's for a Christmas Eve party. Jay's cousins have kids that are close to Hayden's age, so he had a blast playing on the stairs with them and helping them share. We barely made it through "Twas the Night Before Christmas" before Hayden was ready to sleep! Santa had a few things to do here but was soon ready for Christmas morning.
We woke up for Christmas and for once, Hayden was sleeping in! We had to go in and wake him up, we were too excited! He wanted a waffle and a few M&Ms (hey, it's Christmas!) before going downstairs to see what Santa brought him. What a difference from last year! He was really excited about everything and has gotten pretty good at opening presents. He had a little Buzz Lightyear from Santa that he wouldn't let go of, so it was pretty funny to watch him try to open everything with one hand. He had books and crayons, clothes and toys, toys, TOYS. He was super excited about his Toy Story race track and his Buzz Lightyear that lights up and makes noise! After we opened all the presents and played, we got ready to go to my brother's house.
As we were driving to his side of town, we saw a few flurries coming down! They had been forecasting snow for a few days but we had yet to see anything. We got to Eric's with some brunch goodies and started opening presents over there. Hayden was excited to give Ryan his sword, and Zoe really liked her tea set from Poland! Hayden got some new trucks and more Toy Story gear, but was really interested in playing with Ryan's Glowdome and Zoe's dollhouse. The kids played a long time, and Hayden was pretty worn out by the time we left. But on the way home we were driving through about an inch of snow, thus giving Hayden his first White Christmas and my first in NC since 1998.
Jay grilled steaks out in the snow and we had Christmas dinner with family. Hayden had a blast playing with more little people and is getting better at sharing his new toys. He was up pretty late, and at 10 he and Jay and Oscar decided they were ready to play in the snow! We put on his snowsuit over his new Toy Story pajamas and bundled him all up to play. He loved it! I stood on the porch to take pictures but the boys were all over the place! Hayden threw snowballs for Oscar, helped shovel the driveway and then threw snowballs at the inflatable snowman outside. He was definitely excited about all the white stuff. We came in, dried off and finally headed to bed after our long day.
On Sunday the snow changed our plans to hang out with my aunt and grandmother, so we picked up some snow boots for Hayden to make it a little easier to play in. We enjoyed a lazy day around the house and of course, some more fun in the snow. It's starting to melt a little, but today it's not supposed to get above freezing so it should stick around for awhile. The roads are pretty manageable and the sun is out, so it's not bad. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays!
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