Christmas At Home

Did I say I was going to post once a week?? I don't know where the time goes but a month has passed and I've posted nothing. I'll blame it on December being an extra busy month and we'll just see what happens in January.

This year was the first year I did Christmas at my house and it was GREAT! All my life until 1997 my parents did Christmas. My grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins would sleep over Christmas Eve after a big dinner and we'd all open presents together. The kids slept in the livingroom with the tree and it was always so much fun. My mom left us in 1997 and after that my aunt, cousin and sister would take turns hosting the holidays. No more sleep overs until this year. My brother even came up with his family for Christmas and that just made things extra special. Everyone brought something for dinner and stayed the night. Opening presents with Serena was extra special since she was able to understand better this year. She got sick Christmas Eve and had a 102 degree temp and slept most of the day in my bed. Poor baby.

Serena woke up for a bit when my brother, SIL, and nephew got to the house. She loves my nephew Alex and he's so good with her.

Christmas Eve before bed and after some Tylenol Serena was a little happier.

Christmas Day Serena was still a little out of it. She opened her presents but was quiet through most of it. She loved the tea set that Santa Claus brought her more than anything I think. The piano seems to be a favorite too.

More Tylenol brought her spirits back to usual and I had my happy girl back again.

The day after Christmas my nephew got the stomach virus that's been going around. I had it 2 weeks ago, luckily Serena managed to escape that awful 3 days. Here they both are resting. My poor nephew had it for the drive back to North Carolina but he was feeling a little better by then. The day after Christmas my dads partner got sick too. She was sick for 3 days and after my brother got home to N.C. he was sick too. It was still a great time for all of us.

Serena was up and down alot with how she was feeling. She had a fever for 4 days and the highest I saw her temp was 103 degrees. The Motrin and Tylenol really made such a difference in how she felt. She has never been this sick before. I took the week off between Christmas and New Years. I was going to send her to daycare for 2 of those days so I could catch up on cleaning from the holidays but she got sick so I stayed home and took care of her instead.

After Serenas fever went away she was very congested. She was very grumpy so I was very understanding of her mood swings and grumpiness. Well, after a week I think she started milking it. I would never think a 2 year old, well, 2 1/2 year old would do this but I know she was. Her behavior around New Years was bad. She became very bossy and everything was no no no. This is not typically Serena. We had a "stand off" the other day. She refused to say she was sorry for throwing things like toys, shoes, her binky when she is mad, which was often the last few days. She got a time out which I don't normally have to do with her and she just refused to apologize. I just knew, knew this was an important moment as far as letting her know the boundaries around here. She stood her ground for about 10 minutes. Finally she gave in. I don't know if she meant she was sorry or she just gave in. After that I had my angel back for the rest of the day. I know this is small potatos compared to the teenage years but this was the toughest time I ever had with her. I'm glad she was better today.

Serena and her Christmas stash. Someone said it was a very girly Christmas for her. She loves to play with her babies, and make tea. My cousin bought her a wooden fruit set that she can "cut" with a wooden knife. The pieces of fruit are held together with velcro. She loves to cut up the pieces and pass them out to everyone. She's a peach!!

This is just before bed and she's not usually happy about bedtime.

Even though a few people were sick, everyone enjoyed the holidays. Having everyone at my house really made the holidays great for me and my family. I feel very fortunate for all the family, love, and memories I have in my life and Serena is the icing on the cake, everyday. I truly am blessed.