Friday, December 24, 2010

....Twas the Night before Christmas.....

....we set off to do something Christmassy today......after discussing many options on how to spend Christmas Eve day, the four of us set out to Central Park to visit Santa who would be there for any final requests......we made it 2 blocks in twenty minutes.....everyone was cold and needed another blanket, another zip, a mitten adjustment, another snap to seal little necks from the gusty winds.....and it's a good thing that Baby Gap is two blocks away because we made a pit stop for some heavier hats to shield little ears from the frigid temperatures.....





.....and heavier hats meant happier girls....

......but strolling back out to the wind and heading due west, Stefan and I looked at each other and decided to bag the entire Santa in the park idea.....we were cold too......so we agreed to warm ourselves up with some summertime treats from the Shake Shack instead...... 



......nothing screams summer like hamburgers and hotdogs.....and you can't help but feel like it's not so cold out when we are visiting our summertime lunch hotspot in December.....

.....and Callie was the entertainment for the patrons because she kept screaming, hot dog, pleeeaaase at the top of her lungs the entire time we were waiting for our food to appear......


.....and boy was she happy to see her hotdog....



......Elsie, on the other hand, was more thrilled about the candy cane custard we bribed her with to finish her lunch.....


.....besides, we wanted to stick with the Christmassy theme despite ditching Santa....



.....and as Stefan and I kept speaking of Christmas, we realized we still had some stocking stuffers to purchase.....so we took the girls with us to fill up on our share of playdoh, stickers, candy canes, small bath toys and Christmas socks.....

.....and Elsie loved running around the city like a big girl.....dodging tall people as she and her Daddy weaved in and out of last minute shopping crowds in the hustle and bustle of the city that knows how to embrace retail splurging at Christmas......




......and with Christmas Eve church service at 4pm, we burrowed back home to rest the weary shopping feet and spend some time focusing on the true meaning of Christmas.....





.....we sang our Christmas carols, listened to the miraculous birth story, hugged many friends and wished all a Merry Christmas.....and it was joyous.....

.....and then it was time to burrow home again to read other stories, begin new traditions, enjoy the wonder through a child's perspective that also add to the magic of Christmas......






.....and tomorrow can't get here fast enough....

.....Merry Christmas....

.....savoring every minute of this beautiful season......