In my head, I always figured that moving back to Nebraska would make the holidays a little bit less chaotic. This year as we bounced from house to house for Christmas celebrations I was quickly proven wrong! Christmas came and went in a blur.
Our first Christmas gathering took place on Saturday in Omaha with Matt's Dad. We do a pretty low key Christmas every year--order in pizza from Sam and Louis, open gifts, enjoy each others company. Each year we we attempt the impossible task of taking a whole family picture with the use of a camera timer...its entertaining to say the least. We had a great evening just lounging...that's my kind of Christmas!
Harrison, meet Benson. Benson, meet Harrison.
Next year Harrison will have a partner in crime at Christmas!
Me and my boys. I'm one lucky lady!
Checking out his sister's ornaments on the tree.
The Ritchies...Complete with my "Charley" sweater.
On Christmas Eve, Harrison and I loaded up the car and drove to Harlan for a celebration with the Bogler family. It ended up being a late night with lots of time spent in the car, but it was well worth it to spend the evening with family that I don't get to see very often. There were lots of laughs, LOTS of noise and lots of attention shown to a certain little boy that I know!
This picture cracks me up. There are LOTS of little "Mommies-in-Training" in our family and a baby in the house made them all swarm!
A very big thank you to my sister's friend/co-worker Julie who made these delicious sugar cookies for all of our family Christmas celebrations this year. Everyone LOVED them!
Matt was working/on call all Christmas (booooo) so he had to stick around Lincoln on Christmas Eve. Luckily he has an aunt and uncle that live here in town and they had him over for dinner. Thanks Tom and Deanna! He had to be at work at 3AM on Christmas morning so it was no surprise to find him snuggled up in the living room sound asleep when Harrison and I got back home around midnight.
Christmas morning was spent at home trying to finish up some last minute gifts/wrapping. When Matt got home from work we did our own little gift exchange (more on that in another post) and then loaded back into the car for two more stops in Omaha.
Jumping like a crazy man on Christmas morning
Santa brought him a yummy giraffe!
First up was my mom's house. When you have 4 girls who are all married, 1 who lives out of town and 1 who lives out of state, it starts getting difficult to find a time when we can all make it work to spend the day together. It's sad to say, but I think others in the same situation understand. We showed up at mom's around 2:30 and only had a few hours before we needed to pack up for Christmas #2. We made the most of the time we had and enjoyed every minute of it. I love spending time with my mom, sisters, niece and nephews and always wish that time would slow down a little when we are together! Christmas day was no exception.
Harrison was busy eating so cousin Aubrey helped him open gifts.
When Matt said that he took care of Harrison's gift this year, I should have known that it would be a Packer's Dreamlight. Now Harrison can fall asleep every night staring at the stars and the Packers "G" that illuminate his ceiling!
These two will never agree! GOOOOO PACKERS! BOOOOO VIKINGS!
Christmas wouldn't be complete without a picture of a baby eating a bow.
Next up we headed across town for dinner with Matt's mom. Harrison fell asleep in the car on the way over, so it was the perfect opportunity for the "grown-ups" to sit down and enjoy a delicious meal together...can't go wrong with prime rib and mashed potatoes! Once our bellies were adequately stuffed and Mr. Mad woke up from his nap, we exchanged gifts and again relaxed and enjoyed good company. It was a perfectly perfect end to a pretty hectic day!
Christmas excitement took its toll on this little guy!
A little butterfly watching over our family from her perch on a Christmas palm tree :)
Nothing surprises me with these two yahoos anymore. It's amazing how much entertainment can come from the adhesive strip on the back of a gift card.
Starting him early!
Reverse camera mode on the iPhone provides lots of entertainment. Harrison was fascinated!
So like I said, Christmas 2012 came and went in a whirl wind. It was filled with laughter, a few tears here and there and lots of love. Harrison's first Christmas reminded me so much of the one that we celebrated with Charlotte...and as hard as it was, the similarities were comforting. She was very much a part of our holiday season, much like she is a part of our every day.
Hoping that you all had a very merry Christmas and wishing you all a happy start to 2013!
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