Speed Trials

Nico’s first Christmas went pretty well, considering we were dealing with a three-month old and there was A LOT of family to get through. It really does go to show how much a newborn needs a routine. He had some late nights that lead to some real tantrums and his sleep pattern was all over the place. Oh well, it only happens once a year…

Christmas Eve:

We drove down to Almonte to celebrate with Angelo’s family. It was lovely to hang out with his parents, brothers, auntie Mel and cousin Rio.

We ate and opened presents.

Angelo’s dad loved the car model I got him, and I received a wicked Fisheye lens camera from Angelo’s brother Richard. We gave Rio and Nico matching shirts, and Nico received a retro Fisher Price record player. Do you remember playing with this as a kid? I sure do!!

Then at around 5pm we left Almonte and drove back into town to celebrate with my father’s side of the family. This party is always off the charts. Anytime you get 40+ French Canadians together, add food and booze, it’s bound to get rowdy!

My dad plays Santa Claus every year, and this year he got to play Santa to his own grandson. Nico got a Bunnykins set, and my dad gave us two Back Jack chairs, which are so comfortable and perfect for breastfeeding.  We also played a gift exchange game that involves stealing gifts, etc. which is always lots of fun. We stayed there till about 10:30pm – by then Nico was almost delirious from the noise and lack of sleep. He slept really badly that night, waking multiple times throughout the night, but it’s nothing that a good feeding couldn’t fix.

Christmas Day:

We woke up early and headed down the street to my mother’s house for breakfast. It’s a tradition to have a crêpe breakfast before we open presents.

The stockings are THE thing at my mom’s place; they’re always filled with great gifts. My mom gave a huge jolt to my owl collection, as I got an owl necklace, key chain, cup, and statue. I love me some owls!! Everyone was really thoughtful with their gifts, and it was a great morning.

Then we headed off to Angelo’s Nonna’s house for Christmas dinner. Nico was a big hit with all of Angelo’s cousins, and the meal was top notch, as usual. The Tirimasu was especially delicious this year!

We actually cut the night short because Nico was majorly overstimulated after two solid days of visiting. Angelo and I were exhausted too. We crashed hard on Christmas night, after a meek attempt at putting away all our Christmas loot.

Boxing Day:

The day started out really quiet and lovely, and Angelo and I took Nico on a long walk around the neighbourhood. The weather was super mild and sunny, and we fell in love even more with our ‘hood.

Then we headed back to my mom’s house for Christmas dinner. We also watched the World Junior Championship (Canada dominated over Finland).

Throughout all of this, Nico had been suffering through his first cold.  We used a saline nasal spray to help clear his little nose, but still, it made feedings a little trickier. I also got sick (we pretty much share everything) and by Boxing Day I was feeling really achy and bad (and apparently in no mood to take pictures…). So when we hit the pillow on that night, I was more than ready for the holidays to be over.

Today has been all about returning to our routine. Nico had his bath at his regular time, and fell asleep at a more reasonable 9pm. I’m hoping that it’ll take just a few more days for us to kick our cold and get back to our normal selves.