Christmas is Here! (week 262)

"I have been waiting for this day all year", is what I said at 5:15 am on Christmas morning just moments before I tore into my Nintendo Wii. After months of waiting, weeks of preparation (e.g. letters to Santa, baking cookies, and decorating), I secured my place on the "Nice List" and Santa finally came. It was a tremendous response. Among gifts from grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents and friend, Santa left me a new bike, an miniature Cornhole game, and of course my Wii. On Christmas Day, I think that I probably played it for 7 hours straight!

For Christopher it was also a big week. On Christmas Eve, he received his first stitches--9 to be exact--when he stepped off the curb and hit his chin on another curb running perpendicular. We were picking-up bagels from the Bagel Store with Daddy when he made a sudden move to the outside and never looked down. After the initial tears, he didn't really cry again until the doctor started sewing him up almost an hour later. When the doctor came out to see us in the waiting room, he said it was one of the most difficult procedures he has done because Christopher was such a good fighter. He got nine total stitches which sort of freaked me out. He was pretty shaken-up initially when he came out of the exam room. His hair and shirt were drenched with sweat from trying to get out of the Papoose and from fighting with the doctor, nurse and Mommy. Within minutes though, he was back to normal as if nothing ever happened.

On Christmas Eve, we all went to Bayshore for the Candlelight Service. It is my favorite service of the year because they make the church dark and everyone gets a candle to light when we sing Silent Night. This year, we didn't get to sit long because Christopher was too excited to sit still. He was thoroughly impressed with the decorations, lighting, and music...so much so that Mommy and Daddy had to take turns walking him around outside. I was into it though. We sang, lit our candles, and then went out to get Sushi for dinner since we were going to eat a lot on Christmas Day. We each opened one present before going to bed and got new Angels jerseys from my godparents the Sherlunds. Christopher now has a white jersey and I have the red one. We have worn them at least once every day since. Before we went to bed, we put out the cookies, milk, and a drawing of an airplane that I made for Santa. Christopher took his antibiotics for his stitches and we all went to bed reasonably quickly.

Christmas Day started very early. In fact, it was about 5:15 am that everyone got up and started opening presents. It was definitely a sight to be seen, starting with our stockings. Since Christopher has started his "mine" phase in the past two weeks, there was a fight over everything--the Starbucks puppies (Apple Sauce and Snowflake), the light-up snowmen, and the snow globes--even when we had two of each. Christopher wanted to have everything to himself, which led to a lot of chasing, pulling, and screaming. In the end, Christopher got his new piano and microphone which kept him occupied and of course I got my Wii. Thanks to all my friends and family for sending such nice things. Daddy was pretty excited too because he finally got his iPhone and his Kindle Fire...which means that I get to play Angry Birds anytime.

For Christmas dinner, we had our friends the Modicas and the Bowers over to celebrate. It was a great time to share Christmas with friends. The big kids and the adults ate at the big table, while the little kids ate (very quickly) at the tiny kids table. We are definitely running out of space in the Keisler household as everyone is getting bigger but it makes for an intimate gathering to have friends over for the holidays. Merry Christmas to everyone!