First Christmas

So I keep waiting for that inevitable holiday blues to start...the period of time when I'm sick of decorations, family, sitting in the house, and am just ready to get back to the routine. However, I think that I can safely say that the days of longing for work to start back are officially over. Anson and I are throughly enjoying our new routine: wake up at 6, get in bed with mom and dad, sleep till 8, and play ALL day! Tuesday is going to be a rough day for me- that I'm sure of! But enough about that, recap of the holidays:

Holidays 2009 officially began at 1:15 on Friday, December 18. I gave my last final and high tailed it outta there! I had mixed feelings about what the night was to hold--it was mine and Ben's five year anniversary, and he had reserved a room at the Ocean Lodge. Of course, I was very excited about that, but it meant my first night away from my other man....BIG DEAL for mom. Luckily we are blessed with two sets of amazing grandparents and Grandma Jo Jo and Papa were certainly up to entertaining Anson for the night. I surprised myself by letting go of the worry and had a great time with Ben. We had dinner at Nazarro's and he gave me a stunning pair of topaz and diamond earrings. It was really nice to have some time just to focus on the two of us- and surprisingly- both Anson and I were OK! Of course I woke at 5 the next morning and wanted to rush to get Anson!

The next week was a blur of food, family, friends, presents, and anticipation. We did manage to host our annual Soiree--something I was not too keen on at the time. But I have to hand it to my friends- they were fanastically understanding and we all had a great, if shortened time. Anson stayed with Grandma and Grandpa G until about 9:30 and then made an appearance at the party. He was showered with gifts by his godparents- a bop penguin and some *cough, hideous, cough* UGA apparel. But I will keep my feelings about that to myself!

Christmas Eve was definitely different this year. Normally we go to midnight mass, which is my favorite part of Christmas. Obviously that wasn't going to be an option this year, so we went to the five o'clock service. It was very nice and Anson even behaved up until communion, but I really did miss the magic of midnight mass. There's simply something special that is only present at midnight in church on Christmas. Although it was nice to be in bed by 9! Here are some pics before church:

After church we had dinner at mom and dad's house and then got in bed to start an annual tradition--reading The Night Before Christmas and the Christmas story from Luke.

Ben was the most excited for Christmas morning in our family. He woke up hourly and then decided to wake us all at 5:30. Even Anson was mad and went back to sleep by 7. Here we are ready for presents!

Anson was showered with many gifts- clothes and toys mostly. His favorite toy is the pop-n-pals. My favorite new toy is the Wii! I love playing Mario and working out on the wii fit. I'm really excited to have this now as I'm not able to get to the gym much anymore. Christmas day was a whirlwind of presents at both grandparents houses, lunch at Aunt Joy's, and dinner at grandma and grandpa G's. Lunch was the traditional fried turkey, dressing, and all the fixings. Dinner was filets and lobster tails. Yum! Anson was mad that the best he got was sweet potatoes.

For New Year's Eve Ben had to shoot the party at the Jekyll Island Club hotel, so we got a room and stayed the night. We stayed in the Sans Souci, which is the green cottage to the right of the main hotel. The room was so beautiful--I love to imagine that I'm one of the old money folks who used to summer there. I told Ben I think I could get used to the wealthy lifestyle. We ate dinner at the Rah Bar, which I must say, has the absolute best seafood I've ever had. Sorry St. Simons, but Jekyll has you way beat. Their shrimp taste like they have been cooked in sugar. They are so sweet and delicious! My favorite part of the evening was when we took a nighttime stroll on an impromptu ghost hunt. We definitely had some orb action through the camera at the Hollybourne cottage. I'm such a sucker for history and anything old...I'm just fascinated with the whole place.

So as for the new things Anson is doing....well he's learned how to get around. He's army crawling all over the place. This, of course, means I never get to sit down anymore! He gets up on all fours and rocks away, but he still hasn't learned how to take off. He sits up well now and can ride in the buggy at the store, which is very nice for me! He's very, very vocal and gets in talking and shouting moods. He will just shout for hours- not mad or anything- he just likes to hear his voice. Last night he was doing a call and response with me and Ben- his version of Hi! He's into EVERYTHING. Literally. It's no longer enjoyable to take him to a restaurant. I spend the entire time moving anything reachable out of his vicinity. He's also extremely persistent when he wants something. I've read that this is a sign of intelligence, so I'm going to just view it as a positive. He still loves, loves his thumb and really loves to tear up paper. I'm watching him destroy my new Rachael Ray magazine right now.

This certainly has been the best Christmas we've ever had. Ben and I both find ourselves just sitting and marveling at all the blessings in our lives. We don't take it foregranted for one minute. We hope you and yours have a blessed 2010.