We had a great Christmas and very much enjoying sharing it with Juliet. I must say that the older I get the more I love the Christmas season, but the faster the entire month of December seems to fly by. I remember as a child feeling like the days just dragged on until Christmas Eve and now it seems like the 24th sneaks up on me ... and I'm unprepared and stressed more than I'd like to be.
As far as fun festive activities, Juliet went to pick out her first Christmas tree (we got a real tree this year), saw her aunts dance in the Nutcracker (Di was Sugar Plum Fairy and Deb was Chinese), and got to experience the fun of opening presents - not once - but twice :) We celebrated Christmas Santa style with my family on the weekend before Christmas, staying over at my family's and enjoying presents on Sunday morning.
It was a Schulte Christmas (we switch from year to year), so we traveled to Nebraska and South Dakota this year to see Dominic's family. We trekked up to Nebraska on Christmas Eve, leaving at 3:30 am after Juliet woke up to eat in the night (more about J's night waking another time). This plan worked pretty well as she slept until 8 am, but the roads were bad in Kansas so poor Dominic was driving 40-45 mph on icy roads. We made it there around lunch time and enjoyed a great Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Schulte, Aunt Allie and Annie, and cousin Paxton. This was the first time Juliet met her only cousin Paxton (2.5 years) and it was so fun to see them interact. Between Juliet watching his every move and Paxton being confused why Joo-ee-ette puts everything in her mouth, the little ones kept us entertained. On the 26th we piled into 2 cars and drove up to South Dakota (5.5 more hours) to spend some time with the extended family. This was Juliet's first trip to the land of snow and ice and it was a real treat getting to introduce her to all the great grandparents and tons of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Both Grandma and Grandpa Schulte have 7 siblings so there are lots of people at family gatherings, e.g. having 47 family members over for dinner is considered normal for them!
While some of Dominic's family would probably disagree, I was quite pleased with how well Juliet handled all the travel, being away from everything familiar, and all the new faces. Sure, she had some clingy moments, but she also had her fair share of great moments too, enjoying time with family she'd never met and family she doesn't get to see very often - relationships that I look forward to watching her build over the years to come. I was proud of her and proud of me as well - it's not easy for mom to be away from home for a week either :)
We headed back to Lincoln for a few days and then back to Tulsa on New Years Day. Overall, the trip was a success and I have to say I look forward to headed up north again sometime in the coming months. Yes, I hate the travel - I probably always will - but the Schulte and Turbak clans couldn't be more wonderful. Warm and welcoming, genuine and kind, full of love and lots of laughs. I've only been around for a little over 7 years, but it feels like they've been family forever. Looking around at the huge families and the way they interact, it's definitely insane and hilarious, yet their commitment to their family is admirable and perfect at the same time. Makes me want to have a big family :)
So, that was Juliet's first Christmas.
Random tidbits. First, clothes pins come in handy when traveling with a baby. No need for plastic sun shade - just make one using a blanket. And secondly, pack every book you own when you are going on a long car trip as you don't want to have to read any one particular book more than 100 times :)
PICTURES: She looks so little in these pictures!
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| J's First Christmas - Scheuerman |
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| J's First Christmas - Schulte |
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