Merry & Bright - and Christmas Jammies!

Better late than never, right?

We had a lovely (if mildly crazy) holiday this year – we were at my parents’ house with my sister, brother, and grandfather (as well as my parents and Connor the dog), which made for a full house – especially at a time of year when “outside” doesn’t act as the additional rooms in quite the same way.

But it worked – we had a great time.
We sat down for dinner the night we arrived only to discover that Anika, Shannon and I had managed to fully Embrace The Stripes.

We are awesome. Obviously. Also, and apropos of nothing, I ALMOST bought the sweater Shannon is wearing when I was in Boston and then I didn’t. And now I am sad. (But it is great on her).

Sam has met my grandfather before, a couple of times, but when you are two the frame of reference for things you remember are pretty short. Nevertheless he decided Grandad was just fine pretty quickly – and ended up seeking him out and asking to snuggle with him and read “tories!”

The slippers, by the way, are Sam’s current favourite thing. I bought them in a moment of weakness at the grocery store while I was trying to entertain the kids until Anika’s prescription was ready – best $4 I ever spent. He insists on wearing them, even inside his sleep sack at night. It’s pretty funny – and also, don’t try to tell him they are penguin slippers. They are DUCKS thankyouverymuch.

Christmas Eve I surprised the kids with one of the few things I managed to make this Christmas – Christmas jammies (made from Melly’s Holiday Pajamas).

These are really lovely – the instructions are pretty simple to follow and the kids LOVED them. They fit them beautifully – I made them each a size down (based on age) – so Sam’s are 18 months and Anika’s are a 5. But they fit them both perfectly. I worried that Ani’s are maybe a touch short but after seeing them on her non-stop for the last 2 weeks I really think they are perfect. They might not last next year but that’s ok!

The piping is definitely my favourite part of these pjs – I messed it up a little around the collar in one place (grrrr) – I just couldn’t quite figure out how to pull it out of the way and have it join neatly. But I’ll try again – this pattern is definitely a keeper.

I find the fabric for Sam’s pjs absolutely hilarious. He was with me when we were picking out flannel and for some reason FIXATED on this Christmas colored OWL fabric. Those are tons and tons of tiny little owls. He, of course, is convinced that they are penguins – but whatever; he loves them. (And I do mean LOVES). I had like 8 other choices all picked out for him – “Hey Sam, polar bears!” – but no deal. The owl/penguins were what he wanted. I think he looks from a distance like he’s wearing a smoking jacket or something – it’s pretty adorable.

This next picture would be the part where my father told Anika she could be the official ice-cream tester for Christmas dinner.

Nuff said I think.

And of course there was the obligatory reading of the Night Before Christmas and the Polar Express with Gran before bed.

Next year I’ll make Gran some matching jammies too.

It was a special Christmas for sure – the kids are at really fun ages.

I’ll leave you with one last shot – Sammo, finally old enough to not be in bed by the time we are eating Christmas dinner. He got to join the party and was SO proud of himself it was ridiculous. Note Junior Asparagus perched carefully beside his bowl, watching him eat.

Hope you all had wonderful holidays too!

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