Last Christmas

 There is something just magical about Christmas. 

There is something magical about not the day, but about the spirit and love throughout the holiday.  This past Christmas was super special.  I had a "bonus kid" this time.  

Kiddo's fiance joined us for Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning and participated in our festivities and traditions.  Not just those 2 big days, but the whole season, his waking moments were all here. 

Kiddo's baby sister joined us for a week.

Due to company policy, I ended up out of work 4 days while I waited on covid test, even though I knew it wasn't covid, so I got to spend all that time with the kids.  

Fiance and baby sis helped us make ornaments this year.  Us girls did the normal ornaments.  Fiance did this super cute truck that was our centerpiece between the plants this year.  Such kids!!!

They basically had a few Christmas's wrapped in one.  Of course there was Christmas Eve and Day.  Christmas Eve we opened gifts from each other.  Christmas Day we opened Santa gifts.  While baby sis was here they had another Christmas and then fiances bday was Black Friday and their year anniversary dating and our familiversary also, they had another day of opening a couple gifts. 

Dust Bunny's first gift opened was a Sanford and Son dvd, hence the joke with the truck he painted as his ornament.

to put things in perspective, Dust Bunny and the girls all 3 have similar backgrounds, with a little less than they should have had in their early childhoods.  All neglected and/or abused.  It was so fun to spoil this boy with my girls.  I loved showing him our traditions, spoiling him and letting Santa visit like he should have had at 4 and 5 and 6, etc.

It's such a pleasure to give at Christmas and any time and I loved it so much.  He was stunned and amazed at his "loot".  He spoiled me a little bit too.  

Good kids and such fun.

But why am I talking Christmas this time of year? Because Easter is coming up Sunday and if the kids are super sweet, who knows? Maybe the Easter Bunny will visit.  

My Baby Valentine

Hubs has always had a tradition of getting kiddo flowers for Valentine's Day and we always get her chocolate and something else too.

This year I added to it.

I read an idea on lastmom.com about putting post it's with things that we like about our daughter on her door each day in February.  That doesn't really work for us since her door stays open and she has a jewelry hanger hanging on her door, but I adapted it my way and every day added one more thing I like about our daughter on a piece of paper.

Honestly, I didn't think she was getting into it.

Very minimal feedback and seemed to just lay there and I added to it each day.

Today, however, I caught her with the paper reading it to Arlo and laughing and smiling about the things we like.

I guess that was a win.

Glad I didn't give up on it thinking it was useless.

and yeah, as typical for us, we may have went a tad overboard.  Her love language is gifts and words of affirmations.