The First Christmas
Hello once again! And Happy New Year! There are many stories to tell- falling behind is so easy!
Leading up to the big day, we did a thing or two.. First, our good friend Quentin hosted her annual Xmas party on the 19th; a small, casual event with the best assortment of food and drink! And better yet her house is in walking distance of ours! So we bundled up the bear and walked her down.. Second, Mama D and Jackie had an idea around Thanksgiving time to make pajama pants for everyone in the family as their Christmas present.. The fun part was picking out the right (or in some cases, wrong) fabric to give everyone. The hard part was actually making them- 15 pairs of pants in all. They spent the week leading up to Christmas slaving away at them. Of course naM got dragged into the process, too..
More importantly, Iris did get to celebrate her first Christmas with lots of friends and family members. Having spent Thanksgiving and a weekend with folks on naM's side of the family, Christmas was all about Mama D's..
The festivities began on Christmas eve, starting with a visit from our friends the Byrons, just before they left town for three weeks to visit Indianapolis and Paris. We exchanged gifts and let Grace help us open most of them, keeping in mind that Iris will doing the very same thing next Christmas... Ellen made Iris a wonderful soft white blanket! naM got a T-shirt with a picture of Iris ironed on to it! Thanks, guys!
Later that day, Aunt Lorrie came to visit after just flying in from Denver. At last Iris had met all of her aunts and uncles! Lorrie came with Grandpa and Nana Dren, who drove in from Charleston. And then Aunt Jackie arrived. Things were getting pretty hectic, but Iris stayed in a great mood. We hung out and cooked Pad Thai, retiring early.
Christmas morning was magical! Only Jackie had stayed the night; we all had made stockings and gotten gifts for each other which we exchanged lazily on the couch.
The Chipmunks and Dolly Parton with Kenny Rogers played in the background. Iris made some noise after a brief morning nap so we got her up, too, and for good reason- she had presents from everyone! She got clothes, clothes, an ornament with her picture in it, more clothes, teething rings, a blanket..!
After our own little ceremony was through, we were all set to go to uncle Tim's and aunt Pam's for the day. That is, until Iris started to cry. And cry and cry she did!! I had the [Byrons'] van all packed up, then unpacked it, thinking we wouldn't go, then repacked it again after Iris finally feel asleep for 30 minutes solid. After we got there (~40 min drive), Iris continued to sleep in her car seat for a couple of hours- she must have been exhausted! In retrospect, we think she was catching a lot of the stress that we were feeling; trying to get the house prepared for company, wrapping presents, and about to face an on-going feud worthy of Dutch documenting some day..
But the day turned out great, even the weather, and we spent the day like most people, snacking away on sweets and eating a nice dinner. One highlight of the day was the simultaneous opening of everyone's pajama pants to see what material they had (Mama D had pants with nothing but "Jesus Loves Me" written all over it in rainbow colors). Also, the big present at the Dren household was a new go cart, which everyone got to ride on except naM, because the drive belt burnt out before he got the nerve.. And then Jackie and Cousin Jessie sang rousing renditions of several Hillary Duff songs on a new karaoke machine.. All throughout, Iris remained fairly quiet and sleepy, getting passed around each time she woke up..
But the celebration didn't end on Christmas... A few days later Grandma and Grandpa Faulkner came to town. naM had to work the night they arrived in town and missed the gift giving celebration (the 4th in 4 days). We resumed a busy social schedule, spending time with everyone in town, going back and forth to Tim's several times, hosting people overnight, etc., etc. It was a great time.
One day, we took everyone out to get the best eating experience Augusta has to offer: soul food at Hot Foods by Calvin. Iris was in an especially good mood!
And just as the Christmas fever was starting to settle down, up came the push for the New Year...
To be continued...
Leading up to the big day, we did a thing or two.. First, our good friend Quentin hosted her annual Xmas party on the 19th; a small, casual event with the best assortment of food and drink! And better yet her house is in walking distance of ours! So we bundled up the bear and walked her down.. Second, Mama D and Jackie had an idea around Thanksgiving time to make pajama pants for everyone in the family as their Christmas present.. The fun part was picking out the right (or in some cases, wrong) fabric to give everyone. The hard part was actually making them- 15 pairs of pants in all. They spent the week leading up to Christmas slaving away at them. Of course naM got dragged into the process, too..
More importantly, Iris did get to celebrate her first Christmas with lots of friends and family members. Having spent Thanksgiving and a weekend with folks on naM's side of the family, Christmas was all about Mama D's..
The festivities began on Christmas eve, starting with a visit from our friends the Byrons, just before they left town for three weeks to visit Indianapolis and Paris. We exchanged gifts and let Grace help us open most of them, keeping in mind that Iris will doing the very same thing next Christmas... Ellen made Iris a wonderful soft white blanket! naM got a T-shirt with a picture of Iris ironed on to it! Thanks, guys!Later that day, Aunt Lorrie came to visit after just flying in from Denver. At last Iris had met all of her aunts and uncles! Lorrie came with Grandpa and Nana Dren, who drove in from Charleston. And then Aunt Jackie arrived. Things were getting pretty hectic, but Iris stayed in a great mood. We hung out and cooked Pad Thai, retiring early.
Christmas morning was magical! Only Jackie had stayed the night; we all had made stockings and gotten gifts for each other which we exchanged lazily on the couch.
The Chipmunks and Dolly Parton with Kenny Rogers played in the background. Iris made some noise after a brief morning nap so we got her up, too, and for good reason- she had presents from everyone! She got clothes, clothes, an ornament with her picture in it, more clothes, teething rings, a blanket..!After our own little ceremony was through, we were all set to go to uncle Tim's and aunt Pam's for the day. That is, until Iris started to cry. And cry and cry she did!! I had the [Byrons'] van all packed up, then unpacked it, thinking we wouldn't go, then repacked it again after Iris finally feel asleep for 30 minutes solid. After we got there (~40 min drive), Iris continued to sleep in her car seat for a couple of hours- she must have been exhausted! In retrospect, we think she was catching a lot of the stress that we were feeling; trying to get the house prepared for company, wrapping presents, and about to face an on-going feud worthy of Dutch documenting some day..
But the day turned out great, even the weather, and we spent the day like most people, snacking away on sweets and eating a nice dinner. One highlight of the day was the simultaneous opening of everyone's pajama pants to see what material they had (Mama D had pants with nothing but "Jesus Loves Me" written all over it in rainbow colors). Also, the big present at the Dren household was a new go cart, which everyone got to ride on except naM, because the drive belt burnt out before he got the nerve.. And then Jackie and Cousin Jessie sang rousing renditions of several Hillary Duff songs on a new karaoke machine.. All throughout, Iris remained fairly quiet and sleepy, getting passed around each time she woke up..But the celebration didn't end on Christmas... A few days later Grandma and Grandpa Faulkner came to town. naM had to work the night they arrived in town and missed the gift giving celebration (the 4th in 4 days). We resumed a busy social schedule, spending time with everyone in town, going back and forth to Tim's several times, hosting people overnight, etc., etc. It was a great time.
One day, we took everyone out to get the best eating experience Augusta has to offer: soul food at Hot Foods by Calvin. Iris was in an especially good mood!And just as the Christmas fever was starting to settle down, up came the push for the New Year...
To be continued...
posted by naM modnaR at 11:39 AM
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