On Christmas morning, I woke early to put the "Erik Estrada" (i.e., strata) into the oven. In one of our first Christmases together as a married couple, I happened to make this for Mike, and now it has become a part of our beloved holiday routine on Christmas morning.
As the strata baked, we opened presents!
Rose was thrilled with her mermaid doll from Santa, and also enjoyed the personalized princess book we got her.
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| Quick hot cocoa break, then back to playing! |
After breakfast she promptly changed into her princess dress from Great Grandma and Great Grandpa, and began to play with her biggie beads from Trula. (Thanks for the idea, Ryan!)
We spent all day hanging around our house, watching the fire, playing games, and eating delicious food. It was wonderfully relaxing, but not the "traditional" Christmas we're used to: a quick breakfast and gift opening at home, followed by a big Christmas Day celebration at Mary and Mike's, followed by the chaotic-but-endearing Fleischhacker family gathering on Christmas evening. Perhaps this break with tradition was what got me thinking so much about tradition in the first place! I felt torn between enjoying the quiet time with just our family of three, and really missing the things that I hadn't realized had become beloved tradition for us with Mike's mom's side of the family. The distance to Hayward (WI) certainly upended our routines this year! Hopefully we can find a new solution that works for everyone next year.
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