After about five days straight of Christmas celebrations in one form another, I think it’s safe to say that Christmas has finally come to an end. And it was a good one!
The boys had Christmas parties at preschool and daycare last week, where they both lucked out with some really fun, new toys.
Christmas Eve was a very low key day. As some of you may or may not remember, we lost my wonderful father-in-law last year on Christmas Eve. So with it being the one year anniversary of his passing, the mood was a bit somber and emotional, but we managed to make the best of it.
My mother-in-law came over for the evening and to stay the night, and Jay made a delicious dinner of an herb-crusted beef roast, oven roasted potatoes, and green beans.
After dinner, we all hung out and started getting Lucas really excited for Santa’s arrival.
We put out milk and cookies for Santa, and then we made sure to spread the “reindeer food” that he made at preschool out in the backyard.
Just seeing how happy he was and the look of excitement in his eyes was, hands down, the best part of the holiday. It really is true what they say – Christmas is just so incredibly special when you get to experience it with your children. <3
Once both of the boys were in bed, Jay and I worked on getting all of the presents out for the morning while enjoying a couple amazingly delicious glasses of homemade coquito from one of my co-workers (I asked if she’d share her recipe but it’s a family secret…so if anyone has a recipe they love, PLEASE SHARE!! It’s SO good!).
Fast-forward to a good night’s sleep by all and it was Christmas morning!
My parents were over early enough so that they were there by the time Lucas was up, which I loved, because that’s what my grandparents always did with us growing up.
Checking out his letter from Santa, thanking him for the milk and cookies!
When we’d ask Lucas what he wanted for Christmas, his response was always “cars, trucks, and monster trucks!” so he certainly made out well in that department. Such a happy camper!
And he was also loving his new bike, which wound up being driven around the house for a good portion of the day.
As you can see. 
A little later in the morning, we took a break from presents to enjoy my favorite Christmas breakfast (recipes for the French toast and egg casserole can be found HERE!).
And then rest of the morning/afternoon/evening was spent playing with toys, relaxing, and hanging out with family at our house.
My parents couldn’t resist bringing over one of their presents that got for Lucas, which was this bowling alley. Lucas absolutely LOVES going “bowlin’ bowlin’” with my parents and, as you can see, this little bowling alley is just as big of a hit.
Despite the fact that Lucas started coming down with a cold on Christmas, it really was SUCH a great morning! I just love these boys of mine <3
A little later in the afternoon, we also had a very casual late lunch/early dinner. I decided I didn’t feel like doing a full, sit-down meal (which everyone agreed was a good idea) so we all snacked a bit on homemade rye bread dip, garbage bread, veggies, Chex mix, and some absolutely DELICIOUS sliders!
Have you guys seen these on Pinterest at all yet?? I made these Italian Pesto Sliders, these Hawaiian Ham and Cheese Sliders (FYI, only do about 1/4 cup butter, not 3/4!!), and also these Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Meatballs…all of which were SO good.
It was absolutely a day filled with delicious carbs and sweets, and I have no regrets. But man, is my stomach off and in need of some balance right now!
On Monday, we celebrated Christmas one last time over at my parents’ house.
Lucas woke up feeling a little under the weather, so we weren’t really sure what the day was going to bring, but we all still managed to have a great day.
Even this little guy, who decided he only wanted to nap while nursing all day long.
Five days of Christmas celebrations is tiring stuff, I feel ya, bud!
The day was filled with lots of presents, lots of smiles, and lots of fun.
Especially since Nan Nan and Papa got Lucas a dart gun set which wound up being the hit of the day.
The videos we took are too funny!
And now, here we are! Christmas celebrations have come to an end, the abundance of sweets are starting to work their way out of the house, the house is in need of some re-organizing in a BAD way, and I’m getting ready to get things back to normal.
That is, once this awful cold that’s been making its way through the house comes to an end. My poor Lucas…I don’t think I’ve ever seen him as sick as he is right now. I’m really hoping that some extra sleep tonight (if he can get it through all the coughing…) will help him feel a little bit better tomorrow. There’s nothing worse than a sick kiddo, you know?
But overall, we had a really, really great Christmas over here, and I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday, too!
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