The Boys' 1st Christmas

This post is a couple of weeks late, but the boys have been going through a major sleep regression, so it's a win if I can have a few moments to myself before they wake up each morning!  

"Babies' First Christmas" was so nice.  Andy's mom and stepdad came into town for the whole week of Christmas, and it was great to spend that time with them.  The last time they saw the boys was back in August, and of course we all know how much babies change each month.  The boys were happy and playful (as usual), so it was a fun visit.  We all went to ZooLights with my brother, sister, and mom on Monday before Christmas, which is a big beautiful light display the Phoenix Zoo puts on each year.  Apparently zoos across the country do it, too!  It was fun.  Probably something we'll not revisit until the boys are older, but I've been dying to check it out, so I'm glad we went.

We all went up to Paradise Valley on Christmas Eve and stayed a couple nights at my parents' house so we could all be together on Christmas morning.  My grandparents are in town for an extended winter stay, and my older sister was able to come in town for a couple days.  She brought a friend who couldn't get home to NY for the holiday, so we had a full house!  

Of course, the boys are so little, it wasn't a big deal for them.  We got them a few (I thought few, but when all was said and done, they got a lot of toys) new toys, and they got a couple bigger toys from Grammy and Poppy (Andy's parents).  Other than that they got lots of pajamas (yay!), outfits, and books.  I love children's books, so even though they're not into stories yet, I'm all about stocking their library.  

I'm so glad we got to spend their first Christmas with so much family around.  It's just a sweet memory that I know we'll all have for years to come.  They did well and didn't seem too overwhelmed by all of the people or all of the gifts.  (Because there was definitely an explosion of packages under the 12-foot tree!)  I'm kind of hyper-vigilant about overstimulation with them... maybe it's because I don't like to be overstimulated myself!  Ha.  Or just that I like to prevent meltdowns if possible and if they are avoidable.  For the boys' sakes. 

Here are some pictures I got from the few days:

Grammy and Poppy's arrival!  

Then we quickly packed up the cars and headed to ZooLights!

                 

                     

Andy Claus driving up all of our gifts to my parents' house!

 Babies' first bites of orange--Zachary loved it!  Benji made lots of funny faces but overall enjoyed it.

And can we just talk about these sweater vests?

Getting our sillies out before bedtime!

Family Photo

B+Z and their great-grandparents, Nanny and Bo!

I snuck out to take this pic when all was quiet in the house.  There's just something "magical" about the Christmas tree and presents on Christmas Eve.

 Beautiful quilted stockings made by my talented mother!

Christmas morning!

Xmas morning selfie! 

 This is the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Puppy and Friends Learning Table that we got the boys, and it has been a hit with them... and I know even more so when they can pull themselves up and down by themselves.

                         

Zachary is obsessed with opening and closing this laptop.  I realized yesterday that there are 2 knobs in the plastic that prevents the laptop from closing flush to itself, which then prevents little fingers from getting crushed.  So smart!

Benji and Auntie C!

                

Baby's First Christmas booty!