A Wilson Christmas

This was our first time officially celebrating Christmas in three years. I mean actually putting up a tree, decor, and engaging in normal behavior, mostly. I'd say it was different for sure. I still didn't find myself looking forward to the day like I did before Andrew was born. It seemed still a little suffocating, even having Benjamin here to celebrate with. Maybe it's because Benjamin is still too young to understand the whole hoopla over presents and Santa and all that jazz. It's not like he thought it was any different of a day than a normal Tuesday, so it didn't require us to be Disney Parents (happy! shiny! perfect!). We did find some joy in the day, mostly Skyping with both sets of grandparents and Benjamin's Aunt Samantha. I spent much of the day in the kitchen, as usual, creating and distracting myself from the holidays. We're pretty sure Benjamin is teething again, so the day was a loud one.

Dad's bibs from his first Christmas! 

Hanging out by the tree with Mom.
Our tree in the formal living room may be a staple every year. It's different than ever before, and close to Andrew.

Stocking surprise: bubbles! Of which he promptly bit through, making a hole in the plastic and spewing bubble liquid everywhere.

Benjamin was up at 6:30 along with boys and girls everywhere! Except, he didn't care much for presents.
We thought we'd have at least another year to sleep in on 12/25, but such was not our luck.
Dad was preparing B's first Lego Duplo set by spelling out his name in blocks: B-E-N-J-A-M-I-N
Andrew's stocking is in the background. I love having it there.
A rocking moose bought nearly 12 months ago in anticipation of a little boy we really hoped would be coming home with us. We feel so lucky.

A little Skype action with family.
Andrew love. Candles lit from remembrance service we attended Saturday for Andrew and other loved ones missing all around the world.

Cooking: Homemade tamales for the first time. Cheese, grilled onion, green chili, chicken (1/2). Should've added some oil, but otherwise delicious.

Finished product.
Margaritas are green and therefore festive, right?
Yes, that is more cabbage. This time, dressing is: 1 part oil, 3 parts lemon juice, salt, pepper-- marinade.
Also, a recent creation using my Blendtec blender: green poblano rice. Can use any food processor, though.
A homemade Christmas feast. Benjamin ate pea soup. Green peas = also festive.

• Received some wonderful news this morning that another loss family welcomed a new baby into the world on Christmas day. Been on pins and needles for them for months now. Congrats, M. 
• I love that it's halfway to the weekend, which means Ray will be home with us for more days soon.
• We seriously contemplated taking down Christmas last night. Still not terribly comfortable with all this.
• Is it sad I'm already itching for spring?
• I Amazon ordered B a JJ Cole BundleMe bunting bag for his stroller so on those more bearable days (not today), we can go out for some walks. I never did use the carseat BundleMe because I was too afraid it was unsafe.
• Pea soup in the crock pot right now. B loves it so much that I have been meaning to freeze a bunch of it to have on hand for a quick meal.
• All those collages I've been using? Caroline got me hooked on PicMonkey. I don't have to edit photos anymore! Just stick them in collages and... done! Much smaller file sizes.
• I have a present ready for our UPS guy and can't wait for him to deliver my Amazon order so I can give it to him. He visits our house way more than I'm willing to admit, always asks about Benjamin, and hauls all of our large/heavy packages into our foyer for me.
• I don't even know who our postal carrier is. They change like the wind around here.
• Already birthday planning for February! Just the thought that I have a child that was conceived, born, is growing, is learning... and will be turning a whole year makes me want to cry. For so long, this was all I dreamed. No other gift would do. 

Hoping you all had celebratory moments during the holiday season.