Mele kalikimaka!

Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a wonderful new year!


This was our first year having Christmas at home, and it ended up being really nice! We missed family, but were happy to have seen the Ross clan not so long ago (Thanksgiving, hosted by Chris, Lauren, and baby Allie) and Grandma and Grandpa Ruane (who are now in California) a couple of weeks ago as well. Being home allowed us to sleep in our own beds, open our presents in front of our own tree, avoid another round of jet-lag (!!), and start to create our own traditions. :)


On Friday, we had a holiday party for all of our friends who were still in the neighborhood. It ended up being a ton of fun! We cooked and cleaned like crazy and put on a huge spread, including a ham, sweet potato french fries, my mom's outrageous stuffed mushrooms, hot artichoke & spinach dip, and tons of desserts (poppy seed cake, pecan/raisin tarts, gingerbread, thumb print cookies with guava/liliquoi/apricot/raspberry filling and coconut/ground hazelnut/pecan crusts, fudge). Friends brought more to fill in (veggies, salad, potatoes au gratin, fruit), and the spread ended up being incredible! Alex also made gingerbread dough in advance and helped the kids roll out and bake their own cookies as an activity (they loved it!). I have always wanted to throw our own Christmas party, and this was a great first time doing so!


On Saturday, we took the trains downtown and looked at the Christmas windows at Saks "Land of the Bubble Makers"), Macy's ("Make a Wish"), and Lord and Taylor's ("What is Christmas Made Of?" - my favorite!). When we got back, we went to our neighbor's, Dorota/Andy/Jake's, Polish Christmas Eve party party for a while, and then cut out early so that we could go home, read "A Child's Christmas in Whales", and open stockings! We made it half way through the book before Aidan's eyes started closing, but then cut it short to make sure we got to stockings. Kiana liked the barrettes and Aidan liked his dinosaur brush/comb, but by far the most excitement was because of all of the chocolate, animal crackers, and cookies. :)


Sunday morning the kids actually let us sleep in till 7 am (yay!). Afterward, we opened our one present before breakfast, had a good breakfast (sausage, fruit salad, & potatoes - I never managed to make my family's traditional Christmas strudel), had another round of presents, took a break to go to Church and sing some beautiful carols, and then came home for more presents! It ended up being really nice that we could space things out and enjoy them over time. Aidan especially loved his Thomas waterfall canyon set (the train goes up a set of loops and then can either ride down a waterfall, drive through a waterfall, or ride a collapsing bridge into and through a waterfall!) and Kiana especially loved her dressable Monkey (especially since Aidan played a game with it here he kept hiding its bananas in different colorful pockets!). Sunday afternoon I mostly cooked, and we all ate like royalty again that night (turkey, twice baked potatoes, more of my mom's mushrooms (no leftovers from our party so I had to make them again!), squash, salad, cranberry sauce, & tons of leftover desserts from Friday).


Monday Alex had off because of it being a federal holiday. We all laid low and relaxed. Daddy slept in in the morning, Kiana and I took a 3 hour nap in the afternoon (one of my best presents!!), and even Aidan had a little afternoon nap. It was nice to chill and eat yummy leftovers.


We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! & Best wishes for a happy new year, too!