Christmas morning came to our house on New Year's Eve. And I have wonderful news: Santa makes special visits. He especially makes an effort when he gets a sweet, heartfelt note from a big sister who wants her little sister to have the best first Christmas morning ever. Of course, I can't imagine that Vivien really understood what was going on, but maybe I was wrong. You see, first thing she did was go right to the Santa plates to discover to her delight that the food was missing. Santa and the reindeer had eaten her treats. On top of that, Santa had filled up her stocking with candy and toys, her favorite being two Minnie Mouse Christmas books. I don't think any of the gifts she got that day were as exciting to her as those tiny books.
We just spent the morning opening gifts and it was great. I think Vivi loved it. I loved having two kids instead of one to share the joy of opening presents. I feel like the pictures kind of speak for themselves.
My favorite tradition was made even more exciting by adding Miss Vivi to the mix. We taught her how to throw all of the wrapping paper up into the air. But first Stella had to hide in all of the paper and surprise her daddy and sister. Then, she did some home-run slides into the paper and Vivi thought it was THE BEST and most hilarious thing ever.
Ashley popped over before she went in to work. Ava and Finn were still with their dad for Christmas break so we didn't get to see them.
That night everyone kind of chipped in to bring a little dinner to life. We had ham with rolls and it was just great. Tyler and Courtney and Iva and Steve came over too to enjoy the fun. The highlight though was being able to go into the theater and watch Vivi's China video that Courtney had finished editing. BEST. GIFT. EVER. After everyone left I think I watched it 15 more times that night. It still needed a few more touch-ups, but would soon be ready to share with the world.
Stella helped with wrapping all of the presents this year, and Vivi did her part as well. I'm not sure how I would have gotten all of the wrapping done without Stella as my assistant. Vivi was less helpful, but still extremely enthusiastic.
Christmas 2017 may have been late, but it was a success. We were reminded of the things that matter most and were still able to enjoy a pretty fun Christmas. Better late than never, for sure.
