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Introduction
Well, here it is already, my last entry for 2002. I can't believe how quickly this year has passed by. I can only hope that time will slow down a bit this year. My little preschooler Amberly will only be this little once and I'd just like to savor these moments for as long as I possibly can.
CHRISTMAS
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Our first Christmas together in our own little house was amazing! Christmas Eve night at 6:20, Amberly told me she was ready for bed because the quicker she fell asleep, the quicker Santa Claus would come. I thought to myself, "No way will she possibly fall asleep this early with all the excitement and anticipation of tomorrow." But then I thought, "Well, if that's what she wants to do, we'll try it." So we went ahead and put the cookies out on the designated plate for Santa Claus and poured him a glass of milk. Then I went ahead and put her pajamas on and put her in bed. By 6:40 she was out like a light! I could not believe it. Jon-Michael and I were totally amazed. That girl proved us wrong! I even contemplated waking her back up for fear that she would wake up at 2:30 in the morning wanting to open presents and refuse to go back asleep, but I let her sleep.
If you remember correctly, in my previous entry, I had said something about how I wanted to get Amberly in bed relatively early and then sit back with Jon-Michael and turn the lights off, light some candles, look at our Christmas tree, and have a glass of wine together. I had really envisioned this romantic Christmas Eve together, but that was not to be. Oh well! My sister called and was frantic that she still had a TON of presents to wrap, and wanted to know if she could come over with my niece and if we could all wrap presents together. I couldn't let her down, so my sister and niece came on over and we wrapped presents until there were no more left! So much for my romantic evening, but I was glad to help out my sister. We had a good time talking, snacking, and watching movies anyway.
Jon-Michael and I got to bed around midnight that night and neither one of us slept too well. We were too excited about Amberly opening her gifts Christmas morning. Amberly, on the other hand, slept all night and proved me wrong once again by sleeping later than we did! At 6:00 Jon-Michael couldn't stand it and had to get out of bed and make some coffee. I laid in bed until about 6:30 and I could no longer stand it either! At about 6:40 we couldn't resist the temptation anymore, so we went and woke up Amberly. As soon as we told her that there was lots of stuff under the tree that Santa Claus had left, she was out of the bed and running! She's normally not so quick to jump out of bed in the mornings either. Before her and Jon-Michael got down the hall, I had the camera ready and waiting. I snapped the greatest picture of the look of shock and amazement on her face when she saw her presents. I got tons of other great pictures too. I can't wait to get those pictures developed. When she grabbed the first present from under the tree, she was almost a little hesitant to open it. She asked me, "Mommy is this from Santa Claus?" I told her it was. Then she said, "Really?!!!" I told her yes again and encouraged her to go ahead and rip open the present. She still wasn't so sure, so I ripped a piece of the paper off for her, and then she went to town on everything after that! She got lots of great stuff. She got a Winnie the Pooh purple digital watch, Nikki the Diva Starz doll she's been wanting with extra clothing and accessories, a Barbie jeep (not the real one that she can ride in, but the small one for her Barbies to ride in), another Barbie, Mega Blocks (those big fat Legos), talking Dora the Explorer doll, Dora the Explorer adventure set, some cooking stuff (all her little fake pots, pans, spatulas, silverware, etc.), a new Dora the Explorer video, and an Elmo's World video. I didn't think my family or Jon-Michael's family would really be going all out on her this year, so we did. But boy was I wrong!
After we opened our stuff, we all got dressed and ready for the day. First we went to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law's house and delivered presents to their kids. Amberly got a talking Boots doll and a talking Swiper doll from them to go with her Dora the Explorer doll. The kids played for a while and Jon-Michael had a cup of coffee and we sat around and talked for a while and then it was time to head to yet another place.
Next we went to my mom and dad's house. We sat around and talked and ate some ham biscuits and then it was time for more presents! By this time I think Amberly was completely overwhelmed, along with Jon-Michael and me too! My parents really went all out this year. They got lots of great stuff for me, Jon-Michael, my sister and her boyfriend, and for Amberly and my niece as well. I couldn't believe how generous they were and it was so appreciated. I never really express to my parents how much I love and appreciate them and how much they help me out and how much they really mean to me. Maybe that will be my New Year's Resolution this year. To really tell people how I feel and how much I love them, before it's too late. You just never know. Anyway, back to the subject, Amberly got tons of stuff from my parents and my sister and her boyfriend. It's all kind of a blur now, I can't remember who gave her what. I know my parents gave her a really nice wooden refrigerator and oven/stove combo. She absolutely loves it. I think that was by far her favorite gift. She's really into cooking! She also got a Crayola marker gift set (with four "magic" coloring books and the "magic" markers to go with it. You know, the ones that are clear and only show up on the special paper, nothing else. Those are great! Especially for those of you with little ones who get the markers all over themselves, furniture, clothing, etc.!), more Barbies, more babydolls, a huge children's storybook with like eight or ten really great stories in it such as Harold and the Purple Crayon, Goodnight Moon, A Baby Sister for Frances, Baby Says, A Pizza for Pete, William's Doll, etc. That came from my sister's boyfriend. I really appreciated the book. We love to read together and every story in there is great. I think we've read nearly every story in there already as of yesterday.
After all that, it still wasn't over! Can you believe it? We then went to my father-in-law's house and pretty much Jon-Michael's entire family was there. Once again, lots of food to eat and lots of people to talk to! We had a great time there as well. Amberly got a little remote control John Deere tractor from her grandaddy. He's a farmer and by the time she was a year old, she had already rode on the tractors and combines with her daddy and grandaddy! She loves her remote control tractor now too. And she got an outfit, another Dora the Explorer video (can you tell my girl loves Dora?!), and a Veggie Tales video. Whew!!!! I think I've included everything. I was just totally overwhelmed by everyone's generosity this year. It was greatly appreciated, but totally unexpected.
AFTER CHRISTMAS
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Since Christmas, we've been playing with toys, toys, and more toys. We've been watching countless videos. And we've been cleaning, cleaning, cleaning! I really should have gotten rid of some of Amberly's toys in her toyroom before Christmas and straightened up the toyroom, but I didn't. Needless to say, yesterday, that was the first thing on my agenda. It took me about two hours, but I packed away old toys, and organized everything in there and even labeled the toyboxes and shelves with where the various toys should go. And no, I'm not normally this organized, but it really needed to be done!
So here we are, already New Year's Eve tomorrow. Jon-Michael and I will be going to a party at my best friend's house. My mom will be keeping Amberly overnight for us, so we'll probably just stay the night at my friend's house. We only live 5 minutes apart, and even though I only intend on having a few drinks, it's better to be safe than sorry. Even though you don't drink and you're being safe driving, you never know what some of these nuts on the road are going to do.
The only other big things to happen over the holidays was that my best friend, who I just mentioned, got engaged on Christmas Eve! I'm so excited for her and just dying to see this beautiful ring of hers tomorrow night. She's been wanting this for a long time and I'm glad to see her so happy.
Also, I just found out today that one of my husband's best friends from high school, his wife is expecting a baby. They've also been wanting this for quite some time now and I'm so happy for them. They'll be really great parents.
I hope everyone has a very fun, safe New Year! Here's to an awesome 2003!
Jenifer & Amberly
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