Santa Was Here

Unfortunately for Mommy and Daddy, we were awake at a very early 5:15am on Christmas morning. Nona had beautifully wrapped presents under her tree since before we arrived, so when I went downstairs I didn't see the additional presents that Santa left for us. But then I saw my stocking overflowing with gifts, so I knew it must have been jolly old St. Nick. Santa WAS here!

I asked Santa for a ball, a new DogBunny, and a "plant hat," all of which I received!

Aiyana had fewer requests than me this year. Besides, she was happy with the pack of Wet Wipes Santa left in her stocking.

 After opening gifts from Santa, we patiently waited for Ysabella and Anthony to come over. Then we headed downstairs to the "kids" tree, where we opened all our presents from our family.

Bunk beds for our dolls were a great idea, except for the part where Aiyana repeatedly climbed onto the top bunk. We might be looking at another black eye soon.

 Ysabella and I got matching pink, digital cameras. They were a hit until I wanted to take pictures of Ysabella, and she didn't want me to take pictures of her. There were at least a few disagreements about this, and perhaps one meltdown.

 After waiting all day, Mommy finally got a picture of me and Aiyana in our matching dresses, but only after bribing me with chocolate.

Then Aiyana helped set up the tripod for the family shots.

 

I think I like Christmas. A LOT. 

And Mommy and Daddy discovered that there are A LOT of little holiday details to consider when you have kids as curious as me and Aiyana. But they pulled off a successful Christmas, and these two curious kids couldn't have been merrier.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

xo

The Night Before Christmas

After nine hours of driving at 35mph through rain, snow, sleet, and wind, we're back in Brooklyn. We're happy to be home, but it's always hard to leave our family.

Mommy spent thirty-four Christmases in upstate New York, with several feet of snow. We only got a few flurries in Virginia this year, but it was still exciting. I just had to get outside and feel the snow on my tongue.

Then we got all prettied up and spent the evening at our cousins' house.

 Anthony and Aiyana did some (un)decorating of the tree.

Aunt Kelley was excited to get a picture with two of her nieces. Little did she know, Ysabella had her fingers up her nose, and I had my thumb in my mouth (as usual.)

We got a slightly better picture of all the Nicastro girls (+ Anthony.)

The Nicastro boys had a bit more success--a great picture of three generations of Italian men with identical, slicked-back hair.

And right before heading back to Nona's to wait for Santa, we managed to get a quick picture of the four grandchildren in their pajamas.

 

By the time we got back to Nona and Poppy's house, Aiyana and I were fast asleep, so Mommy was sure to leave Santa and his reindeer a snack on our behalf.

The Days Before Christmas

We've been in Virginia with Mommy's family since late Friday night. We're so busy having fun with our cousins, that we haven't taken many photos. But here's a taste of what we've been up to in the last few days.

A quiet Moment with Poppy.

The freezing temps didn't keep the NYC kids indoors.

Uncle Cory's basement is like an amusement park.

Aiyana loves her big cousin Anthony.

Aiyana looks adorable, even with bad hair and a black eye.

The first of many photos in front of Nona's tree.

When did my little sister become such a ham?

Pizza-making-party at Uncle Cory and Aunt Kacey's house.

A Day With Best Friends

Mommy and her best friend, Jenny, have shared dreams of being pregnant together, raising kids in Brooklyn together, and opening a cafe together. Sadly, Jenny doesn't live in Brooklyn anymore, so having the three daughters together for a whole day was quite a treat for our mommies.

Now that the babies are getting older, the five month gap between Aiyana and Leda feels smaller, and they're taking a real interest in one another.

Aiyana is hardly a baby anymore, so I got my baby fix from Leda.

Mommy and Jenny hoped that one day they'd have little girls that would grow up to be the best of friends, just like them. And if Mommy and Jenny never get around to opening up a cafe together, then maybe their adorable daughters will. 

(Hey, a girl can dream.)

The Feelings Game

I'm getting really good at using my words to describe how I feel. "I'm not ready to talk yet." OR "Wait. I forgot to tell you something. I just can't sleep in my bed by myself."

And I use words to ask for what I want, "How about just one Dora video after breakfast, MOM." OR "Actually, I have a good idea. How about just cheddar cheese, and no vegetables?"

And now I'm getting good at using my face to show how I feel. When Mommy asked me to show some of my faces to the camera, these were my best impressions.

Sad face.

Surprised face.

Angry face.

Happy face.

Bring On The Holiday Traditions

This has been the most fun Christmas yet. Ok. So this is only my third holiday season so far (and I don't remember my first two) but still, I'm having such a great time learning Mommy's traditions and creating some new Doron family traditions.

Mommy has always done a lot of baking around the holidays, and this year she had two little helpers.

I'd never built a gingerbread house, and neither had Mommy and Daddy. So this was a new tradition for all of us Dorons and one we plan to carry on each year.

The first house came with a broken roof, so we used it as "practice."

Daddy picked up another one on his way home, and this time we were able to put a roof over our gingerbread family's heads. 

I love my finished product, but I was most excited about putting the peppermint curtains on the windows (and eating lots of gumdrops in between.)

Perhaps the most fun tradition for me right now is Santa. I couldn't wait to write him a letter.

Although I forgot to mention that I would like a new DogBunny, so we told hm in person when we ran into him at a German beer garden. Only in Brooklyn, right?