2018 ended with a bang, fireworks and all! The last couple of months of the year were busy for us as they are for so many and I was so fortunate to have the last couple of weeks off for the holidays. Natalie was home with me for the majority of that time, so she got to be my little helper in the kitchen. I think it’s safe to say that she likes baking with mommy.
This year was a lot of fun, since Natalie is old enough to really enjoy all the things that go along with Christmas – Santa, lights, presents, stockings (my personal fav!) She got to see Santa THREE times this year. And she didn’t cry once!!! I guess that makes up for her not seeing him at all her first two Christmases, eh?
I was also able to start a Christmas Eve tradition this year, tha I hope to continue for – Well, forever, really!
I had originally wanted to have her open a gift on Christmas Eve that would contain a pair of Christmas jammies, a movie and a book, but then a friend gave me a great idea to make a family Christmas basket to also include snacks and drinks for all of us to enjoy while watching said movie. You guys – I was SO excited when I put this all together. And we ALL got new jammies. Matching jammies!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas has forever been my favorite Christmas, so I decided to try that one this first year. I made some Grinch snack mix to go along with it, too. As I expected, my little one – who has ZERO interest in TV as it is, couldn’t have cared less about the movie, but she was ALL ABOUT her new mug, apple cider, and Grinch mix! I just can’t get over how cute she was with that little mug.
Oh, and I can’t forget about the amazing Charcuterie Board I made for our Christmas Eve snacky dinner. It was a big hit all around. I just wish I’d had a bigger board to make it on!!
After putting the kiddo to bed, I dragged all the presents out of the guest room and put them under the tree, put together her toy organizer and learning tower – complete with big bows – and sent myself to bed so I could get up before her and start breakfast, before the present-opening extravaganza began.
It was the most fun Christmas I’ve had in a very long time. Watching her – how excited she was about all her gifts, was the best. She’s just so much fun at this age. When she isn’t being a tiny tyrant, of course 😉
But, the year didn’t end without a few hiccups. I got not one, but TWO flat tires in the last 2 weeks of the year, AND I managed to lock myself out of the house and the car – with purse, phone, and keys all inside – along with my buckled in toddler. Queue a few minutes of panic until I was able to find a neighbor home that let me call J to come home from work (only a few minutes away) and let me in the house to get my spare car key. Thankfully Nat was pretty calm during the entire ordeal, and it was cold outside, so no risk of the car getting hot during the time it took us to get her out.
Aside from that, I had two days where I was supposed to be home alone – kid at daycare, hubby at work – where I could finally get a couple of house projects completed. Ha. I did get one full day, but halfway through the second, I got a call to come pick up the kid. Her cough was causing her to cough so hard she threw up a couple of times. I guess that day’s project will wait until the next time I am home alone for a full day. Which will be…next Christmas, maybe?!? ARg.
We ended the year at a family member’s house, with barbecue and fireworks. I was nervous to give Nat a sparkler (those things can burn you!) but they had some of the extra long ones, and she really loved it. I worried the loudness of the big fireworks would scare her, but she loved those, too! She did say it was loud and asked me to cover her ears a couple of times, but she kept watching and never cried. My big girl. Sigh. And here it is, 2019 already. The time really does go by so quickly.
I hope you all had a wonderful end to 2018 and that 2019 is the most amazing year yet!!
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