This year we had a quiet Christmas. It was just the three of us (6, if you count the fur babies) at home. Gus stayed in PJs all day. We stayed in “lazy clothes” that were only about a half step up from PJs.
Last year we were on the road visiting family mid-relocation. This year we did nothing. It was everything I hoped it would be.
After church on Christmas Eve my husband indulged me by driving downtown to grab a few images of our illuminated main street.
We came home and put the kiddo to bed, then we stayed up to finish baking some cookies and muffins for Christmas day.
We woke up to the electronic sound of a small toy “cat piano” that my husband had slipped into our son’s crib while he was asleep. This is his second Christmas and the first Christmas we have implemented a gift in the room on Christmas morning (a tradition in my husband’s family).
As newer parents it is thrilling when your child finally starts to sleep like a regular person. When you know that they feel safe and independent enough to fall asleep on their own and then wake up to spend some quiet time on their own before calling you, that is a good thing. So knowing our little dude woke up and thought, “Oh, cool. Cat piano! Forget screaming and trying to wake up those two lazy bums, I am just going to play with this thing for a while.” Well, that was a Christmas present in itself.
After retrieving our son, his newly acquired cat piano, and making some coffee we settled into the living room to open presents. Our living room is off limits to our son under normal circumstances and is therefore not really baby proofed. Honestly, Gus’s Christmas could have just been 2 hours of time in that room with moderate supervision and he would have been thrilled. Between playstation controllers, a remote, the buttons on the TV, mom’s plastic cameras, and all the pretty things on the tree, it actually took a bit of effort to convince Gus that opening presents is where it’s at.
My husband, who is terribly support of me but is not really interested in photography, really went above and beyond this year. He gave me a lensbaby system.
I have been eyeing a lensbaby for the better part of the year but could never quite justify the expense. So not only did my get me exactly what I wanted, but the guy actually sat down and did enough research to figure out what the heck he needed to buy. He is kind of a gem like that. Here are a few of the first lensbaby images I snapped on Christmas. There is a bit of a learning curve to this thing, but it is a ton of fun to play around with.
I hope each and every one of you had an equally charming and restful holiday. Have a very happy new year, I can already tell 2014 is going to be a great one!
