Even though this wasn't the girls' first Christmas it sort of felt like it was because they were just little cuddlebug newborns last year.  We kicked off Christmas Eve day with breakfast in Canton with our college buds.  Lydia and Grace made Christmas Eve memorable by demonstrating their new skill . . . walking!  Grace had been taking a few steps here and there but all of a sudden they both just started toddling all over--in their Christmas jammies (thanks to Aunt Sarah). It was a very picturesque moment. Christmas morning was a fun type of chaos. It is different with kids involved--not different bad--different good. The girls loved all of the paper and boxes. They fought over their new shopping cart within the first  minutes of owning it. It was great. . .

 . . . and then the puking began!  Well, first my Dad wasn't feeling that great and then Megan and Adam had the full blown shabang the day after Christmas.  Ryan and Lydia both bit the dust around the same time. Poor Lydia woke up in a pool of costco pizza and ice cream-- an impressive inaugural vomiting episode. After we cleaned her up, she did it again, right into my Dad's hand.  Ryan was vomiting in tandem, but was able to make it into the appropriate receptacle. It was pure chaos.  I quickly packed up and loaded my puking family members (ryan and Lydia) and the nonpuking members (Grace, myself and the dogs) into our car to head back to Columbus. Lydia rode the whole way with her plastic bib on just in case.  The fun continued when our dogs Bocce and Widget got sick as well!  Grace held out until the night of the 27th, but needed an impromptu bath and sheet change at midnight after her first vomiting episode. Last, but not least, I joined the ranks on the morning of the 28th.

Even with all the illness, we had a great time. We were able to have our own family Christmas at our house in between episodes of vomiting :). We didn't get the girls much since they're much more into boxes and paper, but we did stuff their stockings and they had fun pulling little trinkets out of them.