The Daily Hailey

Dekker is officially old enough to notice his surroundings! I know, he was somewhat old enough last year, but so much more this year! So we decided to actually make our family Christmas into a bit of an event.

I personally had a bit of a rough night, and we had eaten a really good/bad supper around 11:15pm the night before, so I woke up feeling like garbage. However, we got the kids up and made croissants for breakfast. Dekker wasn’t really himself over breakfast but we went with it anyway. It was Christmas!

We wanted to do presents right after breakfast, so we pushed all the toys in the living room aside and put Dekkers presents in a pile. And the kid just lost it. He wanted nothing to do with presents. So we pulled out his story Bible and read the Christmas story while he wandered around the tree a little and got a book or two. We sure weren’t going to force him to scream for new stuff! So we started to crack them open. Instead of saving the best for last, we started with it to ensure that he’d stick around to see the rest. He got a ramp that came with 18 Hot Wheels cars! He wouldn’t tear the paper, but as soon as we took it off, he quietly said “Oh, zoom.” And then he pointed. “Zoom!!” We opened the box so he could play with the cars while we did the rest of the presents. Of course, being Dekker, he wanted things tidy. The cars came packaged all in one piece of plastic with pockets punched out for each car. He would ask us to pull one out for him, examine it, put it back, and ask for a new one. His own kind of fun. Dekker also got the Cars movie, a book about Christmas, drumsticks, and one of those “Pillow Pet” things that is basically just a flattened stuffed animal. His is a puppy. Laela’s gifts all just got stuffed into one box because its not as if she’s going to open them. She got three sweater dresses, a puffy vest, a couple of hair clips, and bandana bibs off of Etsy. I got Brady a shirt, a zippo, a magazine subscription, and a hoodie with his company logo embroidered on it. And, in case you missed it on Facebook and I haven’t texted you to brag about it yet, Brady bought me mukluks 😀

Dekker likes them too.

We’ve waterproofed them twice already and I wore them out this evening. But we’ll get there soon.

Dekker was in a rough state after gifts, so we all went downstairs and set up his ramp and played with his cars. He lasted maybe a half hour before we put him down for a nap. He was furious for about ten seconds and then was silent. He didn’t have a super long nap but it sure helped!

While Dekker slept, Brady and I rested. We both felt a bit crummy from the night before, so we watched some tv online and lay in bed. We tried to map out our evening plans on Google maps but somehow, the app kept crashing and we kept losing all the addresses, so we gave up and figured we’d just fly by the seat of our pants.

Dekker woke up in time for a painfully early supper around 4:00. We all dressed up just a little, ate a bit, and headed to Saskatoon for a very special treat. We went to Moxie’s for their famous white chocolate brownie. I’m not one who really prefers ice cream with my cake but that brownie is sooo moist and delicious and doesn’t make everything crumby and yucky. However, Moxie’s doesn’t exactly present themselves as “family friendly.” I was relieved to see high chairs when we got there, so clearly we were not the first family to come through there with little ones. One of the hosts actually had an amazing tip for us! Everyone with babies, listen up! He came to our table with a high chair (similar to the Wendy’s ones, wooden without any real backrest), turned it upside down, and Laela’s car seat fit into it perfectly!

So we could all sit around out table together 🙂 It was wonderful. We ordered one big brownie to share, Brady got a coffee, and I got something desserty that I’m still unsure what was in it. But it was good!

As we were ordering, our waitress mentioned that kids meals usually come with “volcano” desserts, and asked if Dekker would like one. Before we could even answer, she said “It would be completely free of charge.” Yay free stuff!

Everything came at one. Turned out the volcano is ice cream on a stand that is steaming from dry ice. Dekker shied away from it immediately, but as it started to die down, he seemed a bit more interested in it. And then when he saw the ice cream, he was much more interested!

Taking this picture lasted about four seconds before Dekker was pointing at the bite. It was a big hit, and the brownie was a big hit for Brady and I, of course. We only had one loud meltdown, when Dekker got a bit of ice cream on his pants 🙂 My little neat freak. I love him.

We didn’t doddle long before heading to the front to pay our bill. Brady was paying and holding Dekker, and I noticed the two hostesses eyeing Dekker up, whispering to each other how cute he was. I’m assuming they were talking about Dekker. Hmmm… I switched gears to speak to the man who Brady was paying, as he inquired about our evening plans. But soon noticed the two hostesses again, leaning over the counter to peek at Laela in her car seat, again saying to each other how sweet she was. None of this was for my benefit, by the way. They never looked my way. As I left, I saw one girl lean into the other and say “I want kids.” I like that kids stand out that way. God has done great things in our family.

We loaded the kids up in the car, delivered our last Christmas present for a friend, and then began our adventure around the SE end of the city, looking at the Christmas lights. We went from address to address, pointing out the houses to Dekker, hearing his “Oh, wow!”s all along the way. We got a bit lost here and there, and some of the addresses weren’t as impressive as we had hoped, but I’m glad we went. It was fun, and easy going. We listened to Glee Christmas music quietly, and chatted amongst ourselves. Our last stop was going to be the Forrestry Farm, but that line was ridiculous so we opted out.

It was around that point where I realized just how carsick I was. Bad. Sooo nauseous. Supper had been really early, so we decided to fill the car, and then stop in at a Tim’s for something light to eat. We pulled into the Costco station before realizing Brady didn’t have his debit card on him. I had used it the other day, and he no longer had it, yet I always give it back. So for the moment, we just shrugged it off and figured we’d fill up somewhere else on credit this time. No big deal. Then we got to Tim’s and as we were about to get out, we realized that again, we didn’t have debit, and we don’t use Mastercard. Baaah! But Laela was wailing, desperately needing to eat. In that moment, I went into my jacket pocket for my phone and came out with Brady’s debit card. Go me. So we piled into Tims and grabbed a table. Brady went to change Dekker while I made Laela a bottle.

No formula in the diaper bag. None. I swear, Laela knew it, because she was not impressed AT ALL. Brady brought Dekker out from the change room and I told him our predicament. The decision was to get home as fast as we could. So Brady hauled the kids back into the car and went to fill it while I grabbed some food for us. Muffins for the boys, coffee for Brady, and soup for me. And yes, now I know that Tims takes Visa now. Bite me. (Tims won’t do it for you, but ask for a cup with your soup, so you can eat it on the road!) When we were finally all back together in the car, on the highway, Brady recounted those ten-ish minutes we were apart. Two bawling children in the backseat of the car, crying sooo loudly that he chose to stand out in the freezing cold while the car filled rather than sit inside with them wailing away. Sometimes a person has to laugh. Dekker recovered once he had some food in his mouth, but Laela was unconvinced. I didn’t blame her. So, as has worked for both of our children now, I switched from Christmas music to Marianas Trench, and she was sound asleep. Quite the family I have.

We all made it home in one piece. Brady changed Laela while I got Dekker ready for bed. Believe it or not, Dekker is getting too tall and skinny for his jeans! So he wears a belt now, which makes him look WAY too grown up! So I couldn’t NOT record it for you guys!

I lay him on his change table with his cup full of muffin chunks, and of course, he dumped them all over himself, resulting in big tears and frustration. I collected them from beside his beck and in his hair and tried to put them back in his cup. Mid-wail, he snatched one from me and shoved it in his mouth. And continued crying. It was hilarious. Brady and I pretty much lost it 🙂 So he lay there and I gave him the rest of his muffin chunks. He finished them as I was finishing up his diaper. We got him in his jammies and put him to bed with his new pillow. He went right down, no questions asked.

Now we’re in our room, still feeding our bottomless pit of a daughter. I’m amazed she’s not bigger. But she is eating and eating and burping and burping. Such a good girl!

It wasn’t our smoothest evening ever, but it certainly was memorable! We had a really great family Christmas day, and I think we’re all pretty wiped out. I’m looking forward to a good sleep tonight, and a somewhat low key day tomorrow. We have a few things to do but nothing too crazy at all. Just rest, and prepare for next week! This is just the beginning of Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!