Yule (yool)

Baby's first Christmas... well, Christmases. We already had one Christmas under our belt but this weekend - it was the real deal.. the big show... the official run. We started it off on Christmas Eve at the Dagman's. We were ready, we were prepped, we drove around the neighborhood before arriving to hopes of prompting someone to nap so we could be festive and happy!

When the eating begins at 5:30 and presents begin at 7:00 and the baby tends to go to sleep around 6:30 - that timeline tends to not work the best. We were a happy baby for a good portion of the time including arriving, being held and loved by all family members, and meeting some of the cousins. Laramie -  who is closest in age to her seemed to take an interest in the "baby" but she was perfectly content crawling around in her skirt and attempting to stand. She began fading fast just in time for present opening. She got some cute things from the Great Aunts including a pink camo bib and moccasin combo, a stuffed kitty, princess snack cups, and a cell phone. After we put her to bed... we also go to participate in the gift exchanging. We got some really nice gifts this year. My favorite has to be our wedding book that Aunt Descie put together. She had given it to us as a gift for our wedding but the time and energy she put forth to put it all together was very touching. It was a great night to visit with family that we have gotten to only see a couple times a year, see their changing children, and laugh a bit. It would have been a near perfect night if "someone" wouldn't have insisted on stealing my gift during the women's exchange. She shall remain nameless.

After food, drinks, and talking, we woke up Len and headed home to prep for Santa. The next morning we were almost allowed to sleep in. The new sleeping in is 8:00! We headed down the stairs and had for our little family Christmas Christmas. Matt and I often go overboard for each other... this year was no difference. He got me a Google Home, a Spyder jacket, a Caribou card, and underarmour unmentionables. I got him a cordless Dyson that he's been talking about adding to our family for quite some time. Eleanor got a set of crocheted fruit that she dug right into... includes cucumbers, oranges, lemon, beet, radish, eggs, etc. Her favorite of the set is the carrot. 

From there, we bundled up and headed out to the farm for the day. It was a

wonderful morning and great day. Matt and Dad finished chores before we took turn opening presents. Eleanor's favorite part of the whole ordeal was using Grandma's presents as a standing base. Alaina also got Eleanor her first pony - I'm not sure who was more excited; Eleanor or Alaina. Afterward, we sat down for a prime rib dinner. This was a bit different than we've done in the past but it was a nice meal to share with the family. Due to the storm moving in, Alaina took off a bit early. We waited for Eleanor to wake up and took off. Due to getting home earlier than normal, we spent some time setting up or playing with our presents... from the vacuum to the Google Home.

Due to the storm, Matt went in to plow snow at the airport. We got 12.5" in Bismarck and left Eleanor and I to watch Matt attempt to find places in the yard to put snow from the deck, driveway, roof, and sidewalks.

The neighborhood was pretty quiet aside from buzz of snowblowers all attempting to free our driveways. Eleanor and I stayed warm inside and supervised the snow removal. Matt was pretty busy all day from working the night before, clearing our own house, handling social media, and catching up on some needed sleep.

Best meal: I like the relaxed pace of the Christmas Dinner... was nice to take some time. And the left over sandwiches the next day was a nice add too.

ALR comes around the corner of nursery room
ALR gasps: What are you doing?
EER falls... crying begins
ALR picks her up.
EER cries so hard that it becomes soundless.
MJR comes into the room: What happened? You guys were just sitting in the rocking chair?
ALR sniffles: She fell in her crib, bumped her face and smashed her head.
MJR: Okay, that's why she is crying, why are you crying?

While opening presents at Grace's on Christmas Eve
MJR opens his presents, looks at ALR: Your family just gets me.
ALR: What a relief.