From Thanksgiving until mid-January, we are crazy crazy busy.Thanksgiving, Luc's birthday, Luc's birthday party all right before December starts.
This year, as if we weren't busy enough, we added some other things onto our to-do list.
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Decorating Our Tree
The day after Thanksgiving we put up our tree. If we didn't do it then, I really don't know when else we would have time. Like with the outdoor lights, they're still not up- don't know when that'll happen this year...
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Christmas Card Picture Outtakes
Before you see the picture-perfect Christmas card we sent out, this is a real behind-the-scenes of what taking pictures with kids entails. It's not picture perfect. It takes a really long time. And in order to get that great one or two to actually use, you have to take about 100 that get deleted.Picking of the nose:
Aria decided a bright yellow flashlight was a great prop:
No one sitting/laying still:
Aria inspecting her belly button with said flashlight:
Luc getting slapped in the face for laughing at Aria:
Daddy blinking, Luc making a funny face, Aria not looking:
The winning photos in our Christmas Card (looks like a perfect, easy shoot, right?):
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New York City, December 2-4
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Saturday morning we had breakfast at my aunt & uncle's house since they weren't coming into the city with us. We took the hour train ride to Penn Station. We walked to see the Macy's windows, which I thought were a huge disappointment. The story windows were boring and the other side had no theme or continuity at all. The kids seemed unimpressed as well.
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| Not cool, Mommy. What were you thinking? |
Off to get some waffles from a truck run by native Belgians- which Frederic was ecstatic to find. He's been following them on Facebook for a few years now.
Then we walked to Bryant Park where they had little shops, the ice rink (where Luc saw his first Zamboni), and their own tree- decorated in red, white, and blue.
Afterwards we decided to head to Rockefeller since it was going to start getting dark soon. The crowds were insane! But it was worth it. Luc couldn't believe how big it was. Aria wanted to touch it and then kept insisting we take the tree home. hahaha! After almost getting split up trying to leave, we just headed back to the train station, via Times Square which lit up the kids' eyes, to get the kids some food before heading back to Long Island. I think the kids enjoyed the train rides more than anything else that day.
Of course Aria wanted to touch everything that was lite up in NY. And asked with every lighted thing we passed. She also loved the Empire State building that was lite up blue that night.
They passed out in the car ride home from the train station and slept all night.
The next morning we had a big breakfast compliments of Chef Matt. After Jackie left for an appointment, we smushed into the car to go to my grandparent's graves. I knew I would regret not visiting if we didn't go since it's only 30 minutes from my cousin's house. And I had yet to go there and see my grandma's headstone since she passed 2.5 years ago. We found it, and stood in the cold wind. Luc got too cold, so Frederic took him back to the car. Aria nearly broke my heart in two. I squatted down to clean off the dead leaves that were stuck around my grandma's headstone. When I stood up, Aria laid down in front of it, on her belly. And started gracefully outlining all the letters and numbers on the headstone. And talking quietly. My grandma passed away when I was 13 weeks pregnant with Aria. And I've always felt that she became Aria's guardian angel. Aria just seemed so at ease and calm laying there. Like she knew who was there and her connection to her.
Aria, entertaining herself on the drive home to Maryland:
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School Christmas Program, December 9th
It was so nice to see Luc healthy and singing along during his Christmas program at school this year. Last year he was so sick, he was out of school a lot and he made it to the program, but was just getting over the flu and looked so sickly on stage.And once again, he refuses to the arm/hand motions that go along with the song.
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Voltaggio Christmas Party, December 10th
My parents hosted their annual Christmas party. Lots of family from different states made it to Maryland. It was so great seeing everyone and spending time together. It was fun to watch our kids play together too.
After we eat dinner, we bundled up the kids and took them outside to walk around the two courts and see the Christmas lights up on people's houses. Aria was the most excited screaming "Lights!! Lights!!" "Look, guys!"
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| Cousins, the next generation. |
Matt and Jackie stayed over our house Saturday night, and we stayed up til 2am talking. Most of that was sitting on beach chairs in the garage smoking cigars and drinking- the After Party. Aria was up at 3:30am (since she didn't fall asleep for the night until almost 11pm). So I got about 2 hours total of sleep that night.
Sunday morning we went back to my parent's house where Matt and Jackie were riding back to NY with my aunt and uncle. We had a big breakfast. The plan was to go back home as I needed to go grocery shopping and we were hoping to get our outdoor Christmas lights up. But Luc started playing a game with Frederic and Aria got cranky. So we put her up for a nap and I took a nap on the couch. We ended up staying for dinner.
With the cold weather coming in and the kids not going outside to play any, I can already see the pent up energy exploding in other ways. There's a lot of No and Time Outs at the moment. sigh. Yay, winter...
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Voltaggio Christmas Tree Decorating, December 18th
This weekend was just as full.We woke up Saturday to find everything covered in ice outside.
Thankfully the ice began to melt by lunchtime and we went to Frederic's parent's house for dinner. After we ate we followed my father in law in his car to see some crazy-decorated houses nearby. Their neighborhoods got more freezing rain than we did Friday night, so it was still very slippery on the roads. Unfortunately, these crazy houses are on busy streets so we couldn't pull off and take any pictures, and the kids had to see them from their car seats.
Our own street is pretty decorated and I kept feeling bad because we still hadn't gotten a chance to put up our own lights. Sunday morning, Frederic decided he would do it. Of course, just as he starts (Luc outside with him helping), it starts to rain. But since we were having a freak weather day and the temperature was 60 degrees, they stayed and got the job done. Luckily the rain stopped after I put Aria down for a nap and could help do the final touches.
After Aria woke up, we went to my parent's house for our annual tree decorating and dinner.
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| Luc taking a selfie with Aria and Cali. |
And if the weekend was exciting enough and tiresome...Sunday evening at home Frederic's stomach started to hurt. We thought it was just gas from some of the food we ate this weekend. We went to bed. 11:30pm the pain woke Frederic up from his sleep. He was complaining and I could see he was in a lot of pain. I looked up appendicitis and freaked him out enough that he could have that, that we decided to go to the hospital. I reluctantly called my mom around 11:45pm. I hated having to wake her and ask her to come watch the kids, but I didn't know what else to do and I didn't want to drag the kids with us in the middle of the night. We got to ER at around midnight. When Frederic was in triage, he told the nurse the pain just sitting down was a 3, but an 8 when standing/walking. So since the pain wasn't severe, we waited in the waiting room. And waited. And waited. Then around 2am-something, Frederic's pain sitting became an 8 and we got moved up the list to be seen by the PA. IV fluids, a CT scan, and another hour later, we learned he had diverticulitis. Two antibiotics in IV form, and another hour and half later, plus some percocet, and we were discharged.
Just as we walked in the door at 6am, Aria wakes up. Another night with no sleep...I honestly wonder how I function at all with the little sleep I've been getting the last two years.
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Since my mother-in-law is having surgery on her hand on the 23rd, we're hosting Christmas Eve dinner with them. There's a lot of prep work to do on Friday, plus wrapping presents, cleaning, etc etc.
Christmas is always one of my favorite times of the year. I still look on Christmas and gain a feeling of excitement, family, and love. Surprisingly, I also feel peace. Unfortunately, we, I, get so wrapped up (pun intended) in decorating, finding the perfect gifts, shopping, and everything else we did this month, that I'm left feeling exhausted. And yet I still don't wish for Christmas to be over. I dread the morning after Christmas when all the music fades, lights are turned off, excitement worn off, and clean up gleaming to be done.
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