This year the three of us were able to spend Christmas in Shreveport with Grandad. It was a nice, relaxing weekend, and we had a great time getting to visit with everyone who was in town for the holiday. We made it into town after Maya’s nap on Friday, and spent the rest of the evening lounging around, and welcoming a very special guest: Santa! He made a surprise visit to see Maya before he headed out to deliver presents to all the boys and girls. She got to sit in his lap one last time.
Maya got to open a few presents Christmas Eve, too, including a “Night Before Christmas” book and a fun, new towel and washcloth before she took her bath.
The next morning we all went to church, where we got to see Gramp, Brian and June. Maya and I spent most of the service out in the entryway, but she did pretty well sitting still for the first 15 minutes of the service, at least!
The rest of the day we spent opening gifts together and eating lots of food. Bob came over later in the evening, so we all had a nice evening with him.
Sunday, Gramp and Bob joined us for lunch, and Jeff’s longtime friend Dave stopped by for a visit too. He took some of the wonderful photos of Maya, especially the one of Maya and Gramp, which we really will treasure. Such a great photo of them both, smiling and having a good time together. (I’m going to post Dave’s photos in a separate slide show because there are several great ones!)
We ended the weekend with the big Crane family Christmas over at Sandi’s house. And like always when we get to attend, it was a wonderful time. Lots and lots of great food, family and conversation. There was a huge group, and we’re so happy we got to be a part of it. Maya also had a blast, and stayed out until 9:30! Her latest night out yet! (Jason figured she fared so well, he took her to our friend’s house until 9:00 on New Year’s Eve, so she’s turned into a regular night owl thanks to the Crane Christmas.)
It was so fun to watch her play with Camryn and Caroline and happily be passed from one person to the next. All the excitement definitely kept her happy and awake. (Her fun, new toys helped a little, too!) We almost thought she could make it later, but we wanted to avoid a complete meltdown! We were having so much fun we let everyone else take the photos, so we’ll have to get our hands on some of those one of these days to put up. The late night made for an easy drive home the next day because she was so tired she slept much longer than she usually does in the car.
All in all, a great second Christmas for Maya in Shreveport.
One Comment
Thanks so much for making the trip to Shreveport for Maya's second Christmas. It was so much fun celebrating the holiday with you.
Maya, you are a real doll and so good too. And we were so happy Santa stopped by to visit so we could tell him too. That's the trick to keep getting a bunch of presents from him. I'm sure he will be back next year.
And thanks too for posting all the great photos. Maya is so cute; what great memories we will all have.
I love all 3 of you.
Grandad