On The Avenue: Christmas

In case you haven’t heard, I have the flu. I have been a little dramatic on social media about it, self-admittedly. So while I am having an awake-spell, I thought I’d take a few minutes to jot down some quick memories of the best Christmas ever.

I’ve said many times that having a toddler is awesome, but the holidays are the extra icing on the cake. So, without further ado, here are our holiday happenings!

We kicked things off by visiting Santa at the Village at Sandhill. I was a little worried about how things could go with the big man—we got this reaction a few days beforehand during a great-grandaddy visit:

Doster is not a big fan of unfamiliar situations sometimes.

We lucked out and had the whole place to ourselves! That allowed plenty of time for Doster to slowly warm up to ole Kris Kringle.

We escaped meltdown-free and had a fun time playing at the toy store.

We also really enjoyed visiting the Lights Before Christmas at the zoo. We didn’t stay too long due to a looming bedtime but we were there long enough to take in the amazing sights.

Doster is in LOVE with lights right now, so it was especially fun for him. My favorite part of the night happened when James took him out of his stroller and Doster starting dancing his little heart out to the background music. He got high fives from strangers for his sweet moves.

The next big Christmas event was Dawkins Family Christmas which happened the Monday before Christmas this year. During DFC we spend some time with my Dad’s side of the family (he is one of six!). When I was little, it was just a bunch of cousins running around, but now, there are even more little ones since the kids are now parents.

A much better picture this time

Four Generations

The Whole DFC Crew!

Our Immediate Crew

Doster was in a fantastic mood, and was LOVING being around the fam. My dad snuck him extra cookies and he ran around with the big kids. This was the first time I’d ever seen him open a present and really understand what to do. He loved his cars and was playing his little heart out.

The holiday-rockin’ continued on Christmas Eve morning with our annual breakfast at Original Pancake House with James’s parents. It was so much fun this year since Doster actually loves eating. He woofed down scrambled eggs, fruit and French toast. He had fun waving at new people and spending time with GrandD and Pop.

The grands came back to our house to share some gifts before Doster settled in for a long-winter’s nap.

Taking a rest between Christmas Eve activities

One of my favorite pics ever!

We always head to my Dad’s house for Christmas Eve dinner and presents, and Doster HAD A BALL. He really loves his aunt and uncles so much. He was spoiled rotten with gifts and even humored us by sleeping in his pack n play so we could hang out a little longer.

annual sibling couch pic

The next morning was very exciting for James and me. We invited our parents to join us as Doster opened his presents. We thought it would be something fun to share with them and we are so glad that they came!

It was so much fun watching Doster play with his toys and being with our families. My heart was full and happy the whole day!

After naptime we headed to Grammy’s in Irmo for our final stop. Doster seemed to like looking out the window at the dogs more than anything. We were joined by the rest of my family and James’s parents.