Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas - our first as a foursome - celebrating in Omaha with my family. We left right after a big snowstorm took out most of the roads in central and eastern Iowa, including I-35. The closure left us meandering southwest through small-town Minnesota and finally down I-29. Despite the detour and Ryan's persistent determination to have only two modes in the car: asleep and crying, we made it safely and were glad to begin the festivities!

First on the list: Norah's inaugural sledding expedition. Oliver, Katrina, Holly and Norah took off for the golf course, sleds in tow. Norah even got to use a hand-me-down sled from when Nicola was two years old! Fearless as usual, she hopped right on! She loved going down the hills but wasn't so keen on the trek back uphill...

Next up was a trip to see Santa. After rehearsing with Norah all morning (me: "What are you going to tell Santa that you want for Christmas?" Norah: "A book all full of sharks and Foofa panties") she hopped up there and set to the task. We couldn't hear her but after a few minutes she started to look frustrated and was ready to get down. We took the cue, wrapped up the pictures and headed out. Once we left the Santa area, an irritated Norah asked Katrina, "Where's my book all full of sharks??" Rookie parents that we are, we hadn't explained that this was not an immediate-gratification thing... Oops!

Amongst all the Christmassing, Ryan was deeply determined to get moving and spent every waking minute trying to crawl. Mostly there was a lot of this:

 (thrilled)

 

(frustrated)

 

(determined)

but he figured it out! And while Cole may appear unimpressed, he gets around really well, mostly by army-crawling.

After a delicious dinner of homemade tamales, Christmas Eve brought the return of the "Homemade Secret Santa" gift exchange and once again, everyone showed their crafty side!

 

 

And the next morning was full of excitement for Norah, who was still trying to understand the whole concept of Christmas Morning. She opened a few presents, then headed off to another room to play for awhile, then came back to open some more. Her leisurely pace continued for most of the morning and was a pleasant reminder to savor the moment. Of course Santa came through with a shark book and some new panties which, along with wonderful gifts from the family, made for a very happy little girl!

Ryan slept through much of the morning but was happy to chew on boxes and bows while we unwrapped around him :) 

 A book all full of sharks...

 and Yo Gabba Gabba panties!

 Our snuggle monkey

 Several of Norah's presents in one fabulous outfit

 Grandma and Grandpa getting in on the unwrapping action

A present for Daddy

Our last adventure of the trip was an ice-skating excursion downtown Omaha. Norah showed her Minnesota roots, hopping right out onto the ice with Oliver and letting him push her along. After a few laps, though, she was ready to give it a go on her own. She didn't make it very far but she had a GREAT time!

 

 

From sledding to presents and ice skating, we had a great Christmas and were so glad to spend a week having a great time with the family! But before I sign off, I have to throw in one last picture, my favorite of the week. So just in case nothing else in this post has made you smile...