Merry Christmas to All

Santa came! For the second year in a row, we decided not to travel for the Christmas holiday, but instead spent it at home as a family of 3. Ryan definitely "got it" this year, he was so excited about Santa coming and was very clear on what he wanted - a Guitar, a Drum and a Piano, and "Toy Story EVERYTHING!" Luckily Santa listened - there was a guitar, drum and piano, along with plenty of Toy story toys and even a fishbowl with 2 fishes - promptly named Thomas and Henry by Ryan. As he came down the stairs, he was very calm, checking out the tree and noting that "Santa left a lot of presents." He started slowly, then getting into it, and as he finished opening each gift he would say "let's see what else. Let's open another one!" We snacked on the traditional Christmas morning breakfast food - my mom's recipe for coffee cake, made by me (Thanks mom!) When the gifts had all been opened, we sat down to breakfast of Gingerbread pancakes and bacon, then drank coffee while we watched Ryan play with his new toys. We stayed in our Pjs until late afternoon, then ate a wonderful dinner of lasagna, garlic bread and broccoli and watched Toy Story 3. We skyped with all the relatives we were not able to see in person, and Ryan showed them each and every gift he received through the webcam :) After the last few weeks have been especially tough and emotional, filling the day with new traditions was just what I needed. I reflected quickly internally on Christmas breakfasts past at my Nana's house, and how much she loved the holiday and having everyone together. Than I raised my mimosa to my Nana and her memory, wiped away my tears and broke into a smile as I watched Ryan strumming on his new guitar. Again, she would be so proud of her little musical great grandson :)