As I have mentioned there are so many traditions in our family surrounding the holidays and I treasure each of them for different reasons. Now with a child I treasure them even more. This year Brenton was so excited to participate in the festivities of his third Christmas season!
Perhaps his favorite pastime was removing the ornaments from the tree and really who can blame him. They are shiny and beautiful. I strategically placed the dollar store and unbreakable ornaments toward the bottom of the tree. This was based on a warning from other mothers with toddlers older than mine. As usual they were correct and I continuously found myself saying, “Brenton, please don’t touch the tree.” But he did and really it was ok. Nothing was broken and to me that was a small Christmas miracle.
I had a grand plan to take pictures of him in his brand new outfit, but due to a shipping error and limited time it ended up as a spur of the moment session when he was in good spirits and wearing a suitable holiday sleeper. Toddlers are hard to catch so I made the most of the moment I could get him to be still long enough to capture a few suitable shots for the holiday card. I still somewhat resist the idea that anyone would like to receive a card with my child’s picture on it, but my cousins have assured me that they do in fact enjoy them and that I must continue the practice.
We skipped the visit to Santa. Next year I will make it a priority to do both a breakfast with Santa as well as a picture. Perhaps we can make that a one shot deal since we will have one more little bundle of joy to wrangle. This year just like the picture for the cards time closed in on me too quickly. I did decorate the house the day after Thanksgiving and I finally got some outdoor decorations as well. One step forward and I don’t count the backward steps to be honest.
Family Christmas with the Applegate’s on the Saturday before Christmas was just as it always is. Crazy! All the cousins and all the children of the cousins running around like little Christmas maniacs in their holiday outfits. It is loud and wonderful fun. It was also warm not just from holiday cheer and egg nog, but actually like 60 degrees. We took the family photo outside and my favorite part was that the fireman made a bonfire. It isn’t a party without a fire!
We ate too much and laughed and the children made their drawings for the scrapbook that my cousin Chris makes each year. There were gingerbread houses too. Brenton just ate icing. I mean really just ate icing. He finished half the jar before I took it away much to his chagrin. He really threw a fit so I distracted him with a cookie because I am a good parent!
It was a late night so we put him in a Santa sleeper and his cousins threw him around. They even put him in a blanket and swung him back and forth and threw him in the air. After all the presents, icing and throwing he was spent and we made the short drive home finally at 9PM well past his bedtime.
A few days later my parents arrived. I made lasagna for Christmas Eve and handed out Christmas jammies. They were footed sleepers with pockets and hoods. They have already gotten a considerable amount of use and are way better than just a snuggie.
Christmas Eve night after Brenton fell asleep in his Christmas jammies, it was time to wrap and put together the presents. Man I will tell you who knew an easel would be the most difficult item to construct. The directions seemed easy enough, but it took a heavy mallet to get the two pieces together in the middle. The rest was a piece of cake by comparison, but it was all worth it the next morning when Brenton descended the stairs and exclaimed “Oh Wow! What’s this?” in the language only we understand. He made a beeline for the Thomas the Train set and then back to the kitchen set and then over to the easel and sat in the chair at his new table. He was overwhelmed and still there was more. He opened presents from his grandparents and a few more from us and his great aunt and uncle. He was thrilled and completely spent.
It was time for the traditional Christmas breakfast. I really love the meal because there is bacon and eggs. It is a happy time of gluttony and smiles. Brenton shoved eggs into his mouth and sausage too, but his favorite was the sticky bun from the Amish market. I have recently discovered this secret to my baking conundrum… you see I hate to bake and well the Amish seem to love it, so I buy it from them. Everybody wins as they are fantastic bakers!
Then the roast went into the oven in preparation for the next holiday meal. I think eating with your family is the number one tradition for the holidays. It is a necessity. We spent the day playing with new toys and napping and waiting for the roast to be finished. It was a little over done, but live and learn and next time take it out sooner. Still there was plenty and it was pretty good. I prefer the mashed potatoes to the meat anyhow.
Early to bed and the next day it was off to the beach. Perhaps my favorite tradition of all! We returned to the same house as last year and it was fantastic as I remembered. After unloading and settling in I could feel myself finally relaxing. This is our time to reconnect and relax our way into the new year.
The mornings were spent lounging on the deck in the sun. it was surprisingly warm. Each morning my father made a meal that included pork roll. You see Costco sells it in a 6 pound roll, so we just had to. It was eggs or pancakes and pork roll and it was ok because we were on vacation!
Brenton spent the early mornings with his grandparents and we slept in. Both of us. It was heavenly! Some mornings I was actually too well rested and just laid in bed luxuriously without a toddler foot or elbow in the back of my neck. Some days I took naps with Brenton in the afternoons too. I was beginning to lose track of the days. The hallmark of a relaxing vacation.
There were additional highlights. Rolston and I had a date night and went out to dinner at the Gables where he had wild boar! We took pictures on the beach and I got some excellent footage of Brenton chasing his father. We met Jason’s new girlfriend. Carson and his friends were so sweet to Brenton and included him in their fun for a while. Just like always we had some pretty amazing moments.
For the New Year we went to Calloway’s on the mainland. They have an arcade and Brenton was enamored. He loved the flashing lights and excitement. He even won himself an ET from the machine where you drop the arm and it picks it up. I helped a little, but really it was him. He loved watching his father play the basketball game and would shout and cheer as Rolston shot basket after basket. After dinner we even went back for more and then redeemed our tickets for useless crap, but it was a total blast!
Our trip was winding down but not after I actually made it until midnight to ring in the New Year with some sparkling cider! It was the end of Brenton’s final year as an only child down the shore after Christmas. We only had one more day to lounge and enjoy before heading back home, but we sure did make the most of it.
Then we packed up the car early the next day and with the threat of a big snow storm looming we high tailed it out of there. We dropped off the keys at the realtor turned around toward route 72 and said goodbye to the ocean one last time hoping we would be back next year to make some more memories. Unfortunately, it was the end to the most wonderful time of the year!
