It’s all over. All over except for taking the boxes and bags to the curb. The packages are unwrapped, the batteries are installed. Diane has even cleaned “ground zero” and all the toys are mostly put away! But more on Diane later.
It was an amazing morning. Every piece of it. Lily came downstairs around 6:45…maybe it was 7am. She was initially a little upset because Santa not only drank the egg nog we left for him, he also finished the bottle in the fridge. Once I reassured her we could get more at the store, she was fine.
As for Diane, she was up even earlier having successfully got Lily back to sleep at 5am after she woke up with a cough. Then Diane came down and didn’t go back to sleep. In fact, she was the only mother on Christmas morning who will be forever recorded in video and still pictures perfectly dressed in ironed clothes.
Lily spent the morning opening, playing, opening, playing…playing, playing, then opening. There was no real rhyme or reason. No method to her maddness. We broke for breakfast, opened some more. I think the last present was unwrapped close to 11am. Leo was a real trooper – he usually had a handful of paper and could be found drooling on the next package.
Santa decided Lily was good and she was rewarded with a new bike, lots of princess stuff and some great toys. Leo scored a lot of toys (his are all “developmental” at this age!) and some clothes. Everyone was so nice and generous to these two kids.
We spent the day playing with princesses, and riding the new bike. You wouldn’t believe how good this little girl can ride a bike! It’s amazing. It’s almost neglectful how I’ve kept her on her little trike the last couple of months! She was SO ready for a big girl bike!
I can’t begin to describe those first moments this morning. So much work went into it. So much anticipation. So much excitment. I hope, more than anything, that we gave Lily a Christmas that she’ll always remember. She loved everything! It was so much fun.
So, if there is nothing else I can get to tonight as the hour gets late – it’s Thank You – to everyone who did anything for Lily and Leo. In your wildest imagination, this morning was ten times what you think it was. It was that good.
Merry Christmas to you all. We are going to try and get some much needed sleep, despite the fact that we all have a terrible cough.
