Merry Christmas?

Our Christmas miracle: we all made it
to a photo! Even Lamby and Lamby's
toy bath duck.

"We're doing what?!? When?!?" Mary gasped when Joseph mentioned Caesar's census.

Sometimes, Christmas is wondrous. Other times, you give birth in a barn. This year, our Christmas fit somewhere in between these two extremes.

'Twas the weekend before Christmas when the Stomach Virus first made its way into our home. It's unclear whether Elise or I contracted it first (perhaps she simply gorged on a bit too much overripe pear?), but the effects were intense and long-lasting. Matt and I agreed it was the sickest we've been since childhood, or possibly ever. In fact, I was about to enlist a Christmas Emergency plan when Kalina finally woke up happy and energetic from a long nap, and didn't throw up. Whew! Glad that's over!

Working on Christmas dinner?

We set about making final preparations for Grandma, Grandpa Les, Uncle Brian, Uncle Chris and Aunt Laura to arrive. Kalina cleaned her room, and then redecorated it with some spectacular toy formations. Elise helped me vacuum and stacked candles.

And they arrived! Yay! Aunt Laura and Uncle Chris came first, and the girls were overjoyed to have two new  playmates. Stranger-anxious Elise managed a sweet little hug for both of them, even chasing Aunt Laura down at one point to administer the little squeeze. Kalina proudly showed off her basement, and Mommy sneakily cleaned up the "accident" that had happened only moments before our guests' arrival. Kalina hoped they would never leave.

It wouldn't be a Grandma visit
without oodles of storytime!

The next evening brought Grandpa Les, Grandma and Uncle Brian. Joy ensued. In the day that followed, we took a trip to a local nature center, the girls played, people chatted, delicious food was made and eaten, amazing boy and girl bonding outings were enjoyed--it was really starting to feel like Christmas!

Watching the turtles get fed
at the nature center.

But unbeknownst to us, we were harboring a sixth guest this whole time: Stomach Virus had stuck around! Aunt Laura was the first to be stricken, followed a few hours later by Uncle Brian. And the next day was Christmas Eve.

Jolly and somber shared quarters as everyone either suffered or soothed, while also beginning preparations on a Christmas feast. After all, Christmas is really about hope, right? We'd noticed the virus seems to strike at night, and we counted down the hours until the remaining three might succumb. "You probably have at least four hours left, Grandma, what would you like to do with the girls?"

Christmas cookies!

We exchanged some gifts early, in the event that Grandma, Grandpa Les and Uncle Chris might not be with us in the morning, and we skipped church, not wanting to ruin anyone else's Christmas by sharing close quarters. We also made Christmas cookies, artistically decorating each one even though no one had much of an appetite (except, potentially, Santa). We played "musical rooms" for the night so that the sickest people would have easy access to amenities. Kalina gave Lamby a bucket, and put Pink Bear on the pretend doll/animal potty she'd unwrapped. Almost as an afterthought, we did our best to get the girls excited for Christmas Day.

The next morning, Elise bounded out of bed at 6:30 (well, as much as a toddler can bound out of a crib, which is not at all without help, thank goodness). Kalina, who had spent the night in Elise's room and had woken up when Elise did, refused to follow until her clock turned green 15 minutes later (it turns green when she's allowed to get up). And then we all hung out on the hide-a-bed for a while, where Mommy and Daddy had spent the night, being the healthiest of all our guests.

Elise played for a good 10 minutes with
Grandpa and the animals.

Soon, conversation shifted to reindeer. Had they been on our rooftop last night? Neither Daddy nor Mommy could be sure if we'd heard them. Had Kalina? How would we know if Santa had been here? We would've had reindeer on our roof, Kalina pointed out. True. And also, the cookie we left would've been eaten. Had it been? It had! And what else would've happened? Kalina's eyes turned toward the stockings (with a little nudging from me), and in the half-light, we all gazed at the festive reindeer peeking out of the Kalina's, and the soft puppy peeking out of Elise's. How magical!

For a split second, anyway. It's hard to tell which girl dove for hers first--but what amazed me the most was that even without Aunt Nancy's adorable cross-stitched designs, they knew immediately which stocking belonged to each. I'd worried that one animal or the other would be the favorite favorite of both, but that was not the case--Elise only had eyes for the dog, and probably would've scaled the fireplace to claim it had I not whisked it down to her. And Kalina was beyond delighted with her new friend, Rudolph.

A new bathroom set for Lamby!

The littler girl could barely be bothered to show interest in the rest of her stocking presents--she'd received what she wanted most, and Puppy now shares the spot in Elise's heart previously held only by Pink Bear. And, admittedly, the bath toys and plastic bowls could hardly be considered competition. Once we got to the collection of wind-up toys at the bottom, however, we were all enchanted. The caterpillar really inched, after all, and the mouse hopped, the chick scurried and the butterfly flapped.

The 3 1/2-year-old was on her fourth Christmas, and eagerly destroyed her stocking. No paper was left unwrapped as she deftly uncovered her own set of bath toys, and a bath brush for Lamby as well as a headband. She knew the routine.

Notice Santa's empty cookie plate!

We then merrily counted family members as they arrived downstairs: Grandma made it through the night still standing! And here's Aunt Laura, back on her feet! And then Uncle Chris, and even Uncle Brian! But alas, it was not all good news: Stomach Virus had claimed Grandpa Les, albeit in a somewhat gentler form that mostly left him extremely drowsy and in need of a very long winter's nap.

But hope endured, and after a breakfast of hot cocoa and bacon (among other things), we managed to scrounge together for not only a family picture, but also presents under the tree. Even Grandpa Les made it! We may have hurried a bit through our unwrapping to make sure no one dropped off before we were done, and, in fact, Elise and Matt still have a couple waiting for them.

For some reason Elise wasn't
too happy about this picture.

The tree held lots of treasures for Kalina and Elise (and the rest of us!), and all were a big hit, with the possible exception of the toy I'd sewn for Kalina (which I'm sure will grow on her!). Elise was enthralled by a ball track toy, while Kalina gave Lamby multiple baths in her new bathroom set (maybe now Lamby will smell a bit better?). Kalina also learned to play Jingle Bells on a toy piano/songbook from her musician aunt and uncle (who better to teach her?), and both girls zoomed back and forth through a new tunnel. Of course, Elise tried to get at Kalina's new toys whenever she could, and Kalina returned the favor. Unfortunately, in these instances the mood swayed a bit from the otherwise prevalent Christmas goodwill. Kalina had also made gifts for everyone, and the pride in her eyes as they were unwrapped was worth every bit of the, "Oops, let's not paint that!" involved in creating them. There were also a few presents for Lamby that consisted purely of scraps and trash with a bow and a label on them (how sweet!!).

Unwrap, play, unwrap, play,
repeat!

A light lunch led to a light naptime, which led to a lot of video game bonding among the guys, which was followed by our Christmas meal. Nine places were set; seven were filled, one of which was by someone eating mostly soda crackers; two were still not up to attending any area so laden with food. The five weary adults and two picky children did our best to do justice to the feast. Kalina mostly ate the almonds that were supposed to accompany a green bean dish (which turned into a green pea dish after I found I'd forgotten to stock up on the main ingredient), while Elise managed some sweet potato and a soda cracker. I let Kalina choose a Christmas cookie afterward so that it'd still feel like Christmas.

The afternoon slowly turned into evening, and we sadly said goodbye to Uncle Chris and Aunt Laura, albeit happy that both were healthy enough to make it to their next destination. We all then halfheartedly played with Christmas toys until Kalina requested to be put down for an early bedtime, stalled only a bit by some gentle playtime in her room.

But wait! Christmas presents weren't the only thing Uncle Chris took home with him--on a rather disastrous trip home that rivaled any flight we've ever complained about, due in part to flight problems and a labyrinthine airport parking lot, Uncle Chris also ended up coming down with Stomach Virus.

Christmas dinner! Ironic that one of
the reasons we got a big dining room
table was for this holiday.

As of this writing, Grandma is the only escapee. But will the virus strike its final victim tonight? And what of Grandpa Tom, Uncle Tom, Angela, Uncle David and Aunt Debbie, who will be visiting in the next few days? We await their fate, but can't wait to welcome them.

Meanwhile, we've spent the interim setting our washing machine to "hot" and Lysoling the bejeebers out of the house.

Not to mention playing with/negotiating over Christmas toys, as both girls found they could enjoy the other's presents almost as much as their own--so much, even, that taking turns was virtually impossible unless heavily refereed by one weary parent or the other.

It's a Girl-Lamb! The head of a
3-year-old and the feet of a lamb!
(See the tunnel?)

And yet, although we'll always be remembering it as the "Stomach Virus Christmas," we can't say it was a bad one, especially as seen from the girls' perspective. From games to stories to cooking (or "cooking," in Elise's case) to jumping on Grandpa's stomach until Daddy came to rescue him, it was truly a holiday punctuated with wonderful moments.

Merry Christmas after all!