December 2019

December, as always, is a busy one.  This year, the majority of tour time was spent with basketball practices and games and Santa sightings.  Mom spent some time in the hospital for an inpatient chemo treatment which left her weak for a good chunk of the month.  The kids were good about letting her heal, but it was difficult to see their Lola struggle.  Luckily she regained her energy in time for the holidays, though!

Xavier's patron saint's feast day!  We celebrated with extra prayers and a pokemon cupcake.

Feast of St. Nick!  He forgot to put treats in their shoes they left out by their bedroom,
but he sneakily snuck into the garage instead!

Santa visit at a gingerbread party.  X had requested a multiplication book.

Their results of the gingerbread party!

The Franklin Christmas parade.

Visit with Santa at our church St. Nick breakfast.

Lissie's first basketball victory!

Dicken's Christmas Festival

Xavier ended his Fall Basketball Season - can't wait for the Winter session next month!

They insisted that I keep the tradition alive: matching homemade PJs to wear on Christmas Eve!

The season of giving - helping me donate some items for the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Holiday House

Donating leftovers from school parties to Nashville Rescue Mission

Our "big" family experience was a trip to Cincinnati to visit with old friends.  We had so much fun catching up with friends who just moved back from a stint in Germany, learning how to play gaga ball, and then checking out the zoo lights with some other friends who moved from Nashville to Cincy in tow, as well.  Unfortunately, I could see that Xavier was slowly fading....only to spike a huge fever overnight which cut our visit short.   We quickly stopped at Xavier University for his obligatory picture before heading back home with a pitstop to the pediatrician who confirmed a case of the flu.  Since we are actively always trying to keep mom as healthy as possible, we decided to dose up on Tamiflu and get a hotel close to home to get the contagious germy germs out of the way and for Xavier to heal up in time for Christmas.  Thankfully with Tamiflu and our previously administered flu shots, he was up and at them in just a few days and we had a wonderful family Christmas.

We stayed at an awesome hotel that had a fabulous pool!

Can't go to Cincy without a visit to IKEA!

Our friends had leftover snow!

Despite not seeing each other for a couple of years, they hit it off again right off the bat!

So many children!

Mesmerized by the zoo lights!

Skyline Chili -  yum!

Obligatory Xavier shot

Confirmed flu - poor kid.

After our unexpected hotel stay, we only had one more day to get ready for the Christmas festivities.  The bulk of the cooking fell on me this year, as mom hasn't felt up for doing much in the kitchen.  Luckily Lissie was a willing helper in the kitchen!

Dessert made!

On Christmas Eve, we made our gingerbread village and cookies for Santa.  We opted to not go to Christmas Eve Mass (although Justin did play the violin at our church service) as we wanted to go as a family when Xavier was totally fever-free.

Health mask didn't stop him!

Our feast of lasagna, ham, salmon, and calamari. 

Santa came!

A school set for her American Girl doll!

New kindles!

Christmas Dinner: Brussels sproutes, prime rib, daddy's mac and cheese, and leftover ham and salmon

We didn't have time earlier in the month to do our surprise Christmas light adventure, so we did it on Christmas!  

After the Christmas festivities, we continued to enjoy our break with Xavier's half birthday, Lolo's birthday, a trip to the zoo, bike rides, and a trip to the Frist Art Museum.  Thank goodness for a mild winter so far!

Xavier's half birthday!  Working through his multiplication book that he requested from Santa.

We didn't see the Zooluminations at night, but they were still super cool during the day!

Happy birthday, Lolo!

I wanted to check out the Eric Carle exhibit at the Frist since I'm going on a field trip in February, and they were willing helpers!

Helping make the New Year's ginataan with Lola.

 Despite our "busy-ness," December was full of lots of family memories.  And for that, of course, I'm always grateful.  It was a great last month of the year!