Christmas 2014

The staircase helped to hook me on our current house. When I walked down the stairs during a visit to Mackenzie Court as a prospective buyer in 2008, I pictured our children using them on Christmas morning. With all the "head" that's involved with a home purchase, the stairs spoke to my heart. That was three years before Graham's birth.

I found myself thinking about that initial visit to our home again this Christmas. Graham couldn't wait to come down the stairs after Erica told him that Santa had stopped at the house. We went down first and captured Graham's delight in photos (above) and video (below). His conclusion after seeing the two gifts on his list for Santa: "I must have been a good boy this year." 

I still love that staircase.

Graham also delighted in discovering a Minion in his stocking. It carried special meaning as he sent one to a child in Africa earlier in the month as part of Operation Christmas Child. He hated to part with that Minion - indeed we wondered if he would after taking  it to bed with him and playing with it constantly after we purchased it to fill our shoebox as part of the program. In a truly touching moment, he eventually put it in the shoebox himself and said goodbye as he sent it off to an anonymous little boy who needed it more.

Overall, Christmas was quiet and largely relaxing after I overcame my "some assembly required" frustration with Graham's new soccer game. Thank goodness for super glue. We incorporated kielbasa into breakfast, as per Taylor family tradition. We also watched a Christmas movie together and had popcorn and hot chocolate, all at Graham's suggestion. We finished our day with a drive around town to see some of the area's top light (and music) displays.

Music was a big part of our Christmas season, from my efforts to learn Charlie Brown songs on the piano to the tunes from our wonderful Christmas village. Graham played with the village constantly and all in all managed to do only minimal damage to it. I'll always cherish the memories of the many evenings I returned home from work to the sounds of Christmas music filling our home as dim lighting provided the perfectly serene background for the decorations and light strands.

Graham loved reading his "Charlie Brown Christmas" book and sang "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" with great regularity. That was heart warming, but still stands behind the memory of the occasions when he stopped and started reciting Linus' lines from the story: "And lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them ...."

Doesn't anyone know the true meaning of Christmas? Thanks to my family, I feel like I do.

Breakfast With Santa

I'm not sure which was the more unlikely occurrence on Saturday morning. Was it the perfectly timed (but not at all forecast) snowfall as we drove to Chapel Hill for Breakfast With Santa? Or was it the fact that we were actually running on time - ahead of schedule even - for an event? Perhaps the two were related and the winter precipitation served to indicate that a certain subterranean location was indeed freezing over. 

Regardless, the flurries that fell added to an already festive spirit. Graham, born with a song in his heart and a tune that he carries to this day, sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" from the back seat. Santa was coming to town; as an added bonus, a full buffet was in place at The Carolina Inn to celebrate his arrival. Food, face painting, a magician, and the guest of honor made for a fun start to the day. Can't you tell from the picture below?

Truth be told, Graham was all smiles when he met one-on-one with the right jolly old elf and shared his desire for said elf to deliver Shipwreck Falls and Slinky Dog in the coming week. His affectation turned pouty, however, when his sister joined the conversation. She gave Santa enough of a shrieking earful to make him consider detouring his reindeer around Mackenzie Court on Christmas night in order to avoid a repeat performance.

Everyone was all smiles again once we gathered around Santa as a family.

So what does a family do with all the found time that remains when you've dressed and started your day so early? For the Taylors, it meant stopping at some favorite shops in Chapel Hill before heading over to Caribou Coffee for Ho Ho Mochas. The kids allowed us - and our fellow coffee shop patrons - an unusual stretch of serenity. Graham's reward was a piece of a dessert from a customer seated nearby. It's entirely consistent with our parenting dictum, "Don't take candy from strangers … but desserts are okay."

Later that evening, we built a ginger bread house to conclude our cheerful day. Graham loved the ginger bread homes that were on display at the Carolina Inn and wanted to make one of our own. In the process, I gained a much greater appreciation for the quality of the cookie craftsmanship we saw earlier in the day.

Lunches with Daddy

There are lots of perks to being a stay-at-home mom; the one we experienced today was being able to meet Matt for a middle-of-the-workweek lunch. Based on the smiles alone, I'd say the kids enjoy seeing daddy for lunch as much as I do.

Awesome Dads...

Good dads play baseball. Awesome dads play "robot baseball" with trash can helmets. 

Easy Riders

Lots of traffic in the bonus room this afternoon.

Climb Every Mountain

Graham was proud of himself, and deservedly so, for being brave and trying the rock climbing wall at the Chick Fil-A holiday party. We were impressed and proud of his effort.

Where's Aubrey?

Someone is very fond of playing peek-a-boo these days. So cute!

Morning Snuggles

Morning snuggles with this little guy: my happy place. (His sister was still asleep, but for the record, I love morning snuggles with her as well.)