A few nights before Christmas we celebrated our second Bethlehem Dinner. (We did this a few years ago when Kayla and Matt were visiting.) It's basically a charcuterie board that we eat on the floor. And I have no fancy serving boards, so it's all hodge-podge. Still delicious, though. I bought several types of cheese from Trader Joes, and had some fruit, nuts, crackers, meat and dips. We were smart to do it after Enzo was in bed, and the older kids all loved it. Tiago kept repeating, "This is the best meal I've ever had." And it's nice to be on the floor because it makes laying down really easy once you're really stuffed. I think the winning flavors this year were a smelly french cheese paired with cranberry jelly and a dried apricot.
Jenna came to town on Monday and left Saturday, the 26th. I had fun chatting with her, but my girls! They couldn't get enough. At almost any moment they could be found sitting on her lap or hugging her. She spent hours doing crafts and activities with them, and the lived for it. She cut their hair, sang songs with them, and did bedtime every night, including extra singing together. That meant that Tiago and Enzo were also able to get a lot of extra attention.
We had some amazing food. In addition to our giant charcuterie board, we made a lot of treats-- english toffee, sugar cookies, fudge, and cinnamon rice krispie treats. The adults went downtown for lunch -- everything at Pecan Lodge was amazing-- the brisket, pork, sweet potato, mac and cheese, banana pudding. The weather was beautiful so we could eat outside. Jenna and I went to get fancy tacos at Velvet Taco -- indian , cuban, bbq, and grilled salmon. And maybe the most satisfying was making beef bourguinon on Christmas eve. We had a french theme, with several (trader joes) appetizers, shrimp, cheese, and bread. I added a french salad because I felt obligated to include at least one vegetable. But it was amazing. (And my funny kids didn't want anything but the bread, of course.)
On Christmas Eve the kids exchanged gifts with each other. They drew names this year, for the first time. Siena was SO excited to give Mila colored hair clip-ins. She has really enjoyed wearing them herself. Tiago got beyblades from Enzo, but needed a launcher he didn't have. The girls each got something L.O.L. related. Enzo got a super-cute bouncy donkey from Mila. He was picking it up and hauling it all over. From the start of opening presents, Enzo would match the excitement of whoever was opening, throwing his arms in the air and saying, 'Wow' even though he didn't really understand what was going on.
Tiago was very anxious to open presents, trying to rush every one and get to his next gift. We realized on Christmas morning the secret is to keep him occupied with something, like an interesting book.
On Monday before Christmas, we drove around looking at Christmas lights. We found a neighborhood that was recommended. It wasn't a huge deal, so there were not crowds, but they host a decorating competition so there was plenty to see. One amazing street had a song theme, every house decorated to a new song. We realized after our first drive-through that a radio station was programed to play the exact song, based on your location. So we drove through a second time listening to the music change from "Feliz Navidad" to "Baby it's Cold Outside," etc. Very impressive.
We took a trip to Crayola Factory. And then two of those crayons ended up going through the wash and causing a big head ache and a lot of waste.
For our Christmas Eve 'program' I had the kids draw pictures of different parts of the nativity. They took turns holding their pictures and reading the story. We sang a few songs mixed in. And the kids each 'performed' --Siena and Tiago on the piano and Mila singing Angels we have heard on high. Maybe in the future we'll go back to acting out the nativity, but I didn't actually miss it.
We had no presents under our tree until after the kids were in bed. I knew if I brought any out, Enzo would rip into them. So there was a big transformation on Christmas morning. Once the presents were all opened, it looked normal again, instead of just looking empty.
The kids all LOVED their Santa gifts. Tiago got a giant nerf fun, which 'shoots 90 feet'. The neighbor boys all love running around with these big guns doing battles (not even with bullets, just pretend.) The girls got L.O.L. dolls, which is all they really asked for. I don't get the hype, but they were pleased. Siena got a fuzzy headband in her stocking which she's been wearing non-stop.
All morning, Mila was just happy with everything. I think she would have been content if we stopped 10 minutes into it. Tiago, as mentioned, was anxious to open everything, and loved it all. He got a Titanic model he was so excited to build, and a stomp rocket, book, space robot building thing, Legos, and a science kit. That kid certainly has a niche, and is easy to buy for.
The girls also got princess Legos, although Siena ended up letting Tiago put hers together... They got sparkly sequin skirts, purses (which they use to bring snacks to church) and a lot of crafts -- window art, beads for bracelets, etc. My mom gave them a package of a few dozen rings, which they went around sharing with neighbor girls. Plenty for everyone.
Enzo got a board book filled with family pictures. And was none the wiser that -- being the 4th-- he was kind of neglected.
After opening presents, and eating breakfast (which included candied bacon) the kids played, then went outside for a bit to play with neighbor kids. Over the next few days Tiago spent a dozen hours putting together the Titanic and was pleased to show it off to everyone over video chat.
We watched a few movies (Home Alone, Muppet Christmas Carol) and the kids put together a gingerbread house with Aunt Jenna. Bless the people who invented the ready-to-go kits at Costco.
The nights leading up to Christmas we were pretty good about doing the "Novena"-- a Colombian tradition we've adopted and adapted. We do a short spiritual thought, hang an ornament on the tree, and sing "villancicos" -- spanish Christmas songs. The kids learned a few really well this year. We sang "Campanas de Belen" and "Burrito Sabanero" many, many times. It's cute to watch them sing, and be able to read the words on the TV. (We just searched YouTube videos.)
For the kids 'last presents' to open on Christmas morning I did a little scavenger hunt for them. Tiago got to the end of his, and it said, "Go to the black trashcan." (It's on our back patio, where we store outdoor toys.) I was waiting out there to see his reaction. He walked out and went straight to the trash can, looking around, confused that he couldn't find anything. After about 30 seconds he turned around and saw the new bike he had walked right past. He acted surprised and confused. If only I'd pressed the right button to catch it on video, but glad I got to enjoy the moment of his confusion.
The girls' hunt led them to 16" squishmallows (stuffed animals). They were thrilled, because they asked for them, but expected 6" versions. Costco pulled through.
Hyrum received some new shoes, chocolate, socks, a fancy water bottle, and I guess technically a bike that we bought last month but still haven't put together.
As a family we got some new pots and pans from Mom, a gift certificate from Dad, and artwork from the Blomfields. I had Hyrum gift me some nice leather sneakers that I've been eyeing.
The day after Christmas we took the kids over to the school playground to play with some of the toys in the field. Tiago would launch his stomp rocket and Hyrum would try to shoot it with the nerf gun. It looked a lot like shooting clay pigeons. We were playing around with slow motion videos and got some great clips. It was warm enough the kids all took off their coats.
Hyrum took off work the entire week of Christmas. He worked with the girls every day helping them learn how to ride bikes. They're not quite there, but getting closer! (bending over, holding onto the back of the bike... really makes us appreciate that Tiago taught himself.)
Santa and the reindeer enjoyed the treats we left. We used all the carrots in the beef bourgoinon, so we left a bell pepper. Someone took quite a violent bite out of it. I imagine it was quite loud.
My kids spent the whole week taking sips of Jenna's diet coke. Enzo spent the week mostly avoiding her, although he, too, tried to steal coke. I was holding Enzo about a foot away from Jenna. He was watching out of the corner of his eye, but wouldn't make eye contact. So I rotated my body towards her, and in equal measure, his head rotated away. After a few days, he warmed up, and even chose to have her hold him, instead of his own mother, when she offered him a cookie.
We sent out Christmas cards. I didn't have any specific plan, so the Sunday after Thanksgiving I made the family dress in Christmas colors and sit in the back yard while I propped up the camera on a bunch of stuff. When I looked though them later, we had few 'usable' shots, but we found this one cute one of everyone looking a little goofy and a very serious Enzo. We decided it would be perfect for a bit of comedy, so I created all these speech bubbles in Powerpoint, then pasted it into the card website. It wasn't perfect or professional, but it was well-received. (On the opposite side, I put a drawing that Mila did in church one Sunday. It was so cute! And completely spontaneous. I just had to use Paint -- yes, very professional -- to squish some of the text and picture closer together.)
The best gift of Christmas was that Hyrum let me sleep in... the entire week. He woke up at 5:30 with Enzo, which shifted gradually to 6:15. And I slept as long as I wanted. Initially my body woke me up around 7, but by the end I slept happily till 8:30. I can't remember the last time I was able to sleep in like that for more than a day at a time. Priceless.
