Christmas

As I look back though my pictures I feel like such a bad parent. Matt and I were so caught up in the holiday and Zachary that we didn’t take any pictures of the main event. All we have are video. We had a great time and Zachary was a very good boy because Santa brought him a lot. Our Christmas is always an event that lasts at least three days. By the end we are exhausted as I describe it you may begin to understand.
It all starts on Christmas Eve. That is when we get up at around six in the morning to get ready and head to Lapeer to celebrate Christmas with my family. We get ourselves ready and then pack the car with gifts and everything we will need to survive the long day. We usually get to my parents around 10 and bring bagels for everyone for breakfast. We then open presents around noon. I was so proud of Zachary. He was so good at opening gifts. Not only did he open all of his he even helped others open theirs, if they asked. He was so into it we were surprised. We knew that he would be more active than last year but we did not expect it to go as well as it did, considering the first toy he got at his birthday distracted him from opening anything else. My parents gave him a kitchen which he loves and there are times we cannot tear him away from it. At around six my dad did dinner for my family along with friends and family that can make it. We played games and exchanged more gifts and we left around 10:30. Zach did not nap or fall asleep until we got into the car. When we got home we unpack the car, put Zach to bed, and got things ready for Santa, and Matt and I finally got to sleep around one.
Christmas Day Zach woke up around seven. After eating breakfast, Zach went to open his presents. This opening did not go as well as the day before. We had to take some breaks and he quit with four presents left. He got a lot of clothes from Santa because he needed a new wardrobe so we didn’t fault him for not being as interested as the day before. Last year’s winter clothes did not fit. After getting ready, and packing the car again we headed to Monroe for Christmas with Matt’s family. I thought my family had spoiled Zach this Christmas until we had gotten to Matt’s Mom and Dad’s. They really went all out and bought him so many toys. It was too bad that Zach was not really interested in opening anything. He opened things with some encouragement but we had to help him a lot. They got him an art easel that I thought he was going to be too young for but he loves to color and draw on it in our basement. We had a wonderful time but again we did not end up going to bed before midnight.
On the 26th we woke up and tried to clean up the mess that had accumulated in our kitchen. The previous nights the presents just got dropped into the kitchen and they stayed there. However, we still had places to be. We got ready and headed back to Lapeer at noon for the Peplinski Family Christmas party. We always have a blast with my family and this year did not disappoint. We opened presents (Zachary would not even look at his.) and played Little Horse Big Horse, which my grandmother invented with her friends. We let Zachary go home with my parents early so that he could sleep because he didn’t nap for the third day in the row. However, when we went to pick him up after ten he had just fallen asleep a few minutes earlier. My parents are just too interesting and fun for him to sleep.
As we went to get Zach out of his bed in the morning he looked at us sadly and asked,” Presents?” Matt and I could not help but laugh because we have never seen a kid look so happy to hear the word, “No.”