Our little family does pretty well with Christmas. We usually celebrate Christmas Eve with Jim & Nancy and then head to Marshall on Christmas Day to see the Herrmann clan. This year was no different - well, except the whole having a baby thing. :-)
In sticking with tradition, Steve and I had our Christmas on the 23rd just the two of us. We go out to dinner and have some quality time before everything begins. Lucky for us, Jim and Nancy were more than happy to watch the boys as we enjoyed our evening out. Steve and I find it very important for the two of us to find time to be together without the babe. We love our son (and puppy) very much but we also love each other and need time to ourselves periodically. Our evening was fabulous as always and before we knew it, we were picking up Frank and Kirby and making our way home.
It is crazy to think that last year at Christmas is when we found out we were pregnant! And now, our little man is here with us and is such a joy. Life is amazing.
Christmas Eve, Jim and Nancy came over for a little breakfast and then we made our way to church. Christmas services are some of my favorite services and I am glad we were able to bring Frank to his first. He did very well! No screaming, just needed to be up and moving toward the end of the service. I can't say he was the best when we got home. He finally fell asleep (and he was tired) but then we got home and he woke up. We tired to open a few gifts with him but that was short lived. He made it two gifts and was done. Needless to say, I spent some time getting him down for a nap. The rest of our day was great! Wonderful food, great family, and just a nice relaxing day. Once Jim and Nancy left for the night, we quickly packed all of us since we were driving to Marshall in the morning.
Christmas Day, we loaded up the truck and made the drive to Marshall; the drive was uneventful (just a little blowing snow). We arrived in Marshall in time to enjoy some yummy soups from Mama Herrmann's Kitchen. My grandma (Frankie's Great Grandma) was there and she was overjoyed to meet her 14th great-grandchild! The next few days were filled with catching up with my brothers and sister-in-laws, snuggling up our nieces and nephew, sharing Frankie with my Grandma and my parents, and enjoying all the delicious food that Mom prepared. The days went quickly but not so much the nights. As you can tell, the house was full and we were trying to sleep train our baby...probably not our wisest moment but we had been working on it for a few days already and it had been going alright. Of course, he didn't want to cooperate in a different house, crib, etc. I mean, he did just fine but neither Steve or I got much sleep since we didn't want to wake the entire house. Despite the sleepness nights (for us) it was a great few days and we were bummed it went so quickly. Christmas with my family is always a little crazy since the house tends to be busy with people and I wouldn't have it any other way. Spending time with all my nieces and nephew is wonderful. When Frank gets older, I have a feeling that between Sophie and Madison & Ava, he will have his fair share of dress-up and doll time since they just love him.
One quick story, Frank is a pretty content baby; he goes to about anyone and is usually pretty chill. However, we learned quickly over Christmas that he doesn't like it when his cousins cry. While in Marshall, Madison & Ava began to cry and Frankie quickly began to cry as well! This happened a few times. Including a time when he was sleeping and woke up crying when he heard his cousins crying! Everyone thought it was pretty funny and Steve & I couldn't believe our little man was so in touch with his emotions and the emotions of his cousins. :-)
What a great Christmas! We are extremely blessed to have such wonderful holiday traditions with both sides of our family. For being so little, the babe brought home some awesome gifts. And, since it is like 1.5 months after Christmas, I can tell you that many have already gotten lots of use!
Merry Christmas!
Here are a few photos [compliments of Barrett] of Frankie at the Singer Family Celebration. Usually sometime before or after the holidays, the Singer side of the family all gather together to celebrate the season. Each year the gathering grows as families grow and it was fun to introduce the tradition to Frank.
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| I love this moment |
There weren't many photos from Christmas Eve but we managed to capture a few:
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| Being helpful opening his gifts Mere moments after this photo we had a melt down |
Last but not least, photos of the Herrmann family Christmas:
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| Ava was not impressed that I was taking a photo of her |
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| Frank opening gifts with Dad |
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| Matt tackling two kids which is the norm at his hosue |
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| Sophie & Grandma |
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| Twin cuties |
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| Princess Sophie |
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| Getting all bundled up to play in the snow They looked like marshmallows |
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| This is how we do meals at the Herrmann house |
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| My Grandma & Frank [LOVE] |
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| Final family photo from Frank's first Christmas and he is snoozing through it |
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