Arabella’s First Christmas (12/25/18)

Arabella hasn’t slept much since coming to PA. At home (in her dark, silent room) she sleeps about 12 hours a night, plus takes two naps during the day. At my parents house, her crib is in the main living area, which is not only bright and noisy but also filled with activity. As soon as the first person wakes up in the morning, Arabella is up too ready to play. And naps? We’re lucky if she tosses around in silence for a half hour. SO, it wasn’t surprising when she was up before 8 on Christmas despite having been up until midnight.

We got ourselves together then let her open her presents. She was exhausted and not very smiley, but she did seem to enjoy the new toys. We got her to tear at the paper a bit, but we mostly had to open the gifts for her. Santa brought her a sit/stand walker, a toy cell phone, toy remote and a spinning wheel that resembles the one on The Price Is Right. She also got one of those too-adorable to not buy baby chairs from Pottery Barn Kids. Unfortunately, it was damaged and has to be returned so we didn’t get the adorable photos I was envisioning when buying it. After opening the mountain of gifts from my parents (old habits die hard) we ate a quick Christmas breakfast of quiche and fruit and hopped on the road to Philly.

We have come to enjoy our Christmas Day trek across the state. It’s our “down time” amid all the chaos of the holiday. We stop at Starbucks.. Baxter gets a puppucino.. and we take in the beautiful Pennsylvania scenery.

We arrived in Philly right around dinner time. Arabella got to see her Grandma Camille and meet her Aunt Keri, Uncle Scott and cousins Emmie and Vinnie for the first time. We also got to see Jarmon’s Uncle Billy and Aunt Shelly. Arabella got another haul of Christmas gifts including an activity center the requires her to stand- she loves it! We drank lots of wine, ate some holiday treats and enjoyed the evening. A memorable and action-packed first Christmas for Arabella.