Hi friends! Anyone else out there just now emerging from a cloud of sugar, pajamas, stockings, carbs and holiday fun? Ryan, Chase, Sadie and I are actually still in Jacksonville with plans to return to North Carolina later this week and I cannot say how nice it has been to have some uninterrupted time with family.
The week wasn’t exactly a smooth and seamless one – I was still recovering from the flu, my mom and brother-in-law were sick and Chase had croup at the beginning of the week – but thankfully everyone seemed mostly healthy by Christmas morning. Is it just me or did it seem like everybody was sick over the past two weeks!? Phew. I really hope you are all feeling healthy and had a wonderful time celebrating the holiday season with your loved ones!
Christmas Eve
Our Christmas Eve was relatively low key and began with an early morning church service followed by plenty of time on the beach in the afternoon.
After showering and relaxing at my parents’ place for a bit, we leashed Sadie and Kona up for a big family walk before dinner and made our way to the annual Deck the Chairs event.
Every year forty lifeguard chairs are sponsored by local business and decorated by regional artists and they’re always incredibly impressive! A decent crowd wandered around the event and we enjoyed checking out the festivities before walking back home and digging into a big turkey dinner with all of the fixings.
Of course Christmas Eve wouldn’t be complete in our house without exchanging Christmas pajamas and we all opened our new pajamas and watched Christmas Vacation together before bed.
Christmas
Christmas morning began bright and early! Chase was on a steroid for a few days to treat croup and it made him completely crazy (ridiculously high energy and zero desire to take a nap or go to sleep at night), so we’ve had our hands full with an overly excited and overly-tired-but-won’t-give-into-sleep toddler. Though there have been a few days where he has been a bit of a challenge, thankfully he seemed more like himself on Christmas Day.
This felt like the first Christmas where Chase understood what was happening and even though he averaged opening about one present every two hours, he loved playing with his gifts from our family and Santa.
He was beyond thrilled to find the giant stuffed giraffe he fell in love with at the grocery store under the Christmas tree (we had to go back and get it after so many of you swore it would be a hit) and he also could not have loved the PlasmaCar he received from my parents any more.
We spent a large part of our Christmas in our pajamas, eating monkey bread and cheesepuff casserole and sipping on hot apple cider and it felt so good to just relax and hang out with my favorite people. Ryan and I also managed to sneak away for a long walk with Sadie in the late afternoon and it felt like such a treat to be alone with our favorite furry lady!
Dinner was a fantastic feast of prime rib, twice-baked potatoes and green beans followed by pie, ice cream and whipped cream chocolate cookie stacks and I was shocked when I woke up with even the slightest appetite this morning. Ooph!
We rounded out our Christmas celebration with sparklers on my parents’ balcony before bed and everyone crashed hard by 10 p.m.
It was a very Merry Christmas!
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Awe! I love that Chase got that giraffe! I’m also super impressed that you got it there without him seeing it!
Oh man- the Croup is the worst! I hope Chase is feeling better and the steroids are helping. I swear getting my son to take them was the worst part!
Sounds like you guys managed to have a fun Christmas despite so many people being side before hand. I’m hoping everyone is feeling more like themselves now!
Merry Christmas to you all, Julie! Glad you decided to get that giraffe… he’ll never forget it! ?
Can you please tell us more about this cheese puff casserole in a future post? 🙂 glad you guys are feeling better!!
Everyone is sick this time of year! My boyfriend got sick as we boarded the flight to my parents house for the holidays. Poor guy spent the whole flight blowing his nose and wiping his watery eyes. I hope everyone is feeling better for you guys!
Sounds like a wonderful Christmas 🙂
I’m so sorry you all were sick, but glad you are on the mend! Sounds like you had a fantastic Christmas despite all of the sicknesses. I am SO happy to see Chase with that giant giraffe!! I knew it would be a big hit!! 😉 Merry Christmas to you and your family, Julie! I hope you enjoy the rest of your time in Jacksonville! Xoxo
Sounds like you all had a wonderful Christmas, I hope everyone is feeling better now! Have to ask – who won the pickle ornament?
Looks like a fun Christmas!! Glad everyone is feeling healthy again and hope it stays that way for you! How cute is chase and his giraffe!
Merry Christmas to you and your family Julie! I’m glad to hear everyone is feeling better—being sick around the holidays is never fun. Continue to soak in all the family and beach time this week! We’ve got snow and temps in the teens here in MO! Brrrr!
Your Christmas looked incredible!! I’ve been following you forever and have always loved the pajama tradition you do on Christmas Eve – I’ve been trying to start it in my own family!! Happy Holidays 🙂
Glad you had a Merry Christmas and everyone is feeling better. I dressed both my boys in the same Christmas jammies as Chase. He’s adorable!!
Looks like a wonderful Christmas! It sure was fun watching my daughter, though she was the opposite of Chase on the opening…..she excitedly opened all her presents (and then ours too). I do feel like everyone is sick. We were all on amoxicillin for strep. But luckily all was well by Christmas Day. Enjoy the rest of your time with family!
What a wonderful holiday! I am glad Chase is feeling better, my little one had Croup earlier in the year and it was awful.
ohh the steroids! Our little guy just had croup and those made him so crazy and sleepless too. I was just glad he stayed out of the hospital. I was in the hospital for a few days with croup when I was 18 months old. Glad yours stayed out too! Happy Holidays!
Everyone was/still is sick at our house too! It sounds like you had a great christmas. My son is just a few months older than chase and he also seemed to really understand the whole concept of Christmas this year. He actually still thinks it’s Christmas because all the lights and our tree is still up haha.
Sickness is definitely going around. So glad you all managed to still have a merry christmas! I am loving that giraffe 🙂
Happy Christmas! Happy to hear everyone is on the mend. It feels like everyone I know was sick or had sick kids for the holiday. Did you ever end up sharing the Cheese puff Casserole recipe on the blog? I’m dying to know what’s in it and what it tastes like!
i STILL need to share it! it was actually on my blog calendar to share two weeks ago and then the stupid flu took over and i wasn’t able to get around to it. i really need to share it because we love it so much!!
So sorry to hear so many of your were sick! My daughter and I have a cold ourselves. Kind of puts a damper on things but we still managed to have a wonderful Christmas. 🙂 The picture of your dad and Chase melts my heart! Loved the picture of Chase and the giraffe. Totally makes it worth it for even that one picture! 🙂 Your Christmas with your family sounds perfect! Hope you’re all well soon!
Sounds like you had a merry Christmas with family! I love the giraffe!! I bet it was a huge hit with Chase..was Sadie scared of it! I feel like my vizsla is always scared of new things at first. (The other day we were on a walk and there was a trashcan on the side of the road…she gave it a VERY wide berth haha)
Hope you have safe travels back to NC!
sadie actually totally ignored it! i was kind of surprised!!
Love that stuffed giraffe!! My step son is 3, and he would be so afraid of it! Love the Christmas pj tradition!
Hi?. I am an avid reader of your blog and think you have the most adorable family. I love all your recipes and want to thank you for all your hard work!!
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The company will allow children to be part of a health study and recieve their gummies absolutely free with an adult order.
If you are interested in any additional info let me Know! Thanks again for everything you give to your blog!
The sickness was unreal this holiday season! I had strep throat in the days before Christmas that now turned into a head cold & my hubby now has either a sinus infection or the flu. My uncle & 2 cousins were sick & my brother in law had pink eye, with colds for his 2 kiddos!! I hope you all recover soon, being sick during the holidays is the worst!