One more day! (pictures!)

Tomorrow's Christmas Eve!!! Even though it's technically Jeremiah's second Christmas, I feel more like it is his first. Last year he was merely three weeks old and spent most of the day sleeping. Now he's bright eyed and bushy tailed, very curious about all the packages I have piled behind the television! (quick side note- he learned how to say BOY on Saturday and has been saying it constantly. Bless his heart!) I still have much left to do- finish wrapping Louis's presents; frost a batch of peppermint meltaway cookies (and make the frosting for them); and clean my house. Oh, and (pout) buy Louis's main present. The item on top of his wish list (a watch from Beach Bums) turns out to be nearly four times the amount that either of us thought it would be. He thought their higher-end watches were around $150, so I was going to get him a gift certificate for that amount so he could choose the one he wants himself. (He's just wayyy too picky). However, their regular watches, ones that look like you could have purchased them at JC Penny's for way less, START at that amount, and go on up to nearly $500. That's what I get for waiting to get his present the day before Christmas Eve! I think I"m going to end up purchasing him a Visa Gift Card for the original amount we were budgeting on so that he can choose another watch elsewhere. There's no way I want to brave the mall. I've had enough of driving around HALF AN HOUR trying to find a space- Saturday at the Cerritos mall to have lunch with Anna, and then today at the Quad (a shopping center in Whittier, not even a mall!). I'm going to run out to Ralphs tomorrow to pick it up.

So here is what our holiday is going to look like:
Christmas Eve:
*I have a Starbucks date at 11:00 with my wonderful elementary school best friend, Ashmi! I rarely see her anymore since she is attending medical school in San Francisco. I am thrilled to see her and have a (very quick) catch up
*3:30ish- off to my parent's house. Dropping off Christmas presents for the next day (so our car won't be loaded down!), having a late lunch/early supper of cold cut sandwiches and potato salad, and watching "Santa and the Three Bears." It was a TV special that I grew up watching and absolutely adore. I found it on DVD on Amazon for just 89 cents! The quality is about the same as it was when it premired back in the 80's but I still love it
*7:00- Christmas Eve service at Louis's old church, Calvary Chapel La Habra. I'm praying that Jeremiah will be okay! I'll have to bring lots of cheerios
*Immediately following the service- Christmas Eve at my mother in law's. Homemade tamales, rice and beans, plus the gift exchange. Their main Christmas celebration is Christmas Eve. we usually get home around midnight or later, but I'm PRAYING that we will get done earlier!

CHRISTMAS DAY:
*Wake up, open presents, eat breakfast
*10:30: Meet at my mom's house for our final Christmas morning with my brother. His fiancee's family primarily celebrates Christmas in the morning, so it's our last year with him for that part of the day. The end of an era.... anyway we will be opening presents, and then...
*1:00ish- off to my Grandpa Harry's house. Our first Christmas without my grandmother. Last year on Christmas Eve, my grandfather nearly died and had to be rushed off to the hospital. He wasn't around for Christmas day and it was very sad and lonely without him... but at least he was still alive! Anyway, gifts and a Honeybaked Ham lunch will take place. And meeting my Aunt Nancy's latest guide dog puppy in training!
*5:00ish: Christmas Dinner at my Grandma Sally's. This is a veeeeeeery crazy celebration because all (30ish?) of us are over there. When we walk in the door people are literally throwing presents at us to open and dinner usually comes out of the oven right we walk in. Chaos, but I love it!

It will be a miracle if I don't die from exhaustion come Friday. But I have to keep remembering that we dont' know how many more years of running around on Christmas day we will have. My grandparents are the glue that holds the extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins) together. When they are gone, it's almost certain that everyone will be with their own little families on the holidays. We have to treasure it while it lasts.

Anyway, on Saturday my cousin Paul held his annual Christmas party at his Huntington Harbor house, complete with a tour of the Christmas lights while riding his boat. The harbor is literally in his back yard, and all of the people who's houses are like that decorate the back of their house with lots of lights and decorations. It's beautiful. It was Jeremiah's first time on a boat... we bundled him up cozy in his new leather jacket and the mandatory life vest. Here he is with Daddy and Grandpa David on the dock, getting ready to hop on the boat. See how happy he is? He thought it was fun! This lasted for about 10 minutes.

Here Jeremiah is sitting on Great Grandma Sally's lap, on the boat. Starting to think... hey I don't like this very much! It's cold outside, it's way past my bedtime, I haven't had a nap all day and I can barely move! Anyway, if my computer weren't taking especially long tonight to upload pictures on here, I would include a few more. We ended up going inside the inner part of the boat, where the restroom, stove, bathroom and bed are with Jeremiah so we could de-layer him. We played with him on the big bed, letting him crawl around while we listened to the new Britney Spears album (Louis's favorite) on his cell phone. He conked out around 5 minutes before the tour was over. My poor baby!

Anyway, I best be off to do what I need to finish up. Merry Christmas, everybody!