Christmas 2014 - Norah's First Christmas

Norah had an awesome first Christmas. Not that she really knew what was going on, but I think she did enjoy some aspects of this holiday season. Some of her favorites were looking at the Christmas tree lights, playing with/hearing the sound of wrapping paper, and having Dad home from work so much. She also did seem to get excited about her new toys when we showed them to her, and she's definitely enjoys playing with them. Our favorites are her foam play floor situation (similar) and basically anything that will fit in her mouth. I think we have some early teething going on big time. She got so many goodies that I had to order this toy box. I can't wait for it to come in so we can better organize all her tiny toys.

We kicked off the holiday week with a visit from my sister. It's always fun having her in town and Norah even got to be babysat by her Aunt Paige when I had to go to the dentist. While Paige was in town we ate a ton, baked, watched Christmas movies, and just hung out. It was a perfect visit.

 

On Christmas Eve we visited with my Dad, Aunt, and Grandma. We exchanged gifts and had a delicious lunch prepared by my Grandma. She sent us home with cookies and eggnog pound cake, which was perfect because I didn't have to make dessert. I've spent almost ever Christmas Eve of my life at my Grandma's and it's nice to carry on that tradition with Norah.

We had to head come around 3pm to make it to Christmas Eve Mass. Of course we couldn't be early since we were so busy that morning, so we had to sit in the very back of the church, but it was still nice. Norah was on her best behavior and got tons of smiles at her cuteness from everyone around us. After church we put her to bed and Will and had dinner with just ourselves.

I prepared this meal in literally 30 minutes and will probably continue to make it every Christmas Eve. I freestyle my mashed potatoes and they always turn out great. Broccoli is pretty self explanatory, and the ham was also a piece of cake. This was my first time making a ham and I got so lucky that it turned out. All I did was cover the bottom of the crock pot with brown sugar, put a small ham on top, covered it with a can of pineapple juice, a ton of brown sugar, about 1/2 a cup of honey and 1/2 a cup of maple syrup, then cook on low for four hours. I also perforated the skin of the ham before cooking and basted throughout. It was perfect for the busy day we had and we had plenty of leftovers for breakfast and another dinner.

Christmas Day we kind of lazed around the house, as Will and I had already exchanged presents. That afternoon we spent the day with his parents, brothers, and their wives and kids. It was a blast and dinner was delicious. We all got some great gifts and it's always fun to see all the kids open their presents.

I cannot get over how small she looks next to all her cousins!

The only sour spot in all of this was that Norah had a fever the day after Christmas. She absolutely would not go to bed at Will's parents on Christmas, and I don't know if this is because she was just off her routine, or because she was getting sick. Here it is three days later, and she has no more fever thank God, but is still struggling to get back on schedule. We've had some crazy nights the past couple of days, but I'm just glad she doesn't appear to have the flu or something like that. We had to skip out on two more Christmas celebrations which stinks, but I didn't want to take any chances with her a) getting sicker or b) getting even more off schedule. This baby likes to be put to bed in her room, by 7:00pm, and there is just no getting around that!

Despite being sick we snapped lots of pictures since she was so smiley.

Overall our Christmas was wonderful and one we won't forget. We're looking forward to spending the next week at home, enjoying all Norah's new things, and having Will home from work. How was your Christmas?