Christmas has always been a time of great excitement for me but truly being able to sit back and see the excitement in Ry and Cooper have given me, perhaps, the greatest gift of all during this season.  After spending Christmas Eve with family, it was a new Connecticut tradition that started last year that brought a certain peace to the season.  We arrived home from New York early Christmas Day and slept in.  Even through the boy’s excitement of Santa’s impending arrival on Christmas Morning, we were able to see the backside of 0 dark thirty.  We awoke and immediately Ryan began to explain Santa’s arrival to Cooper and coordinate the distribution of gifts.  Cooper, ever the obedient little brother, graciously cooperated with his older brother’s instructions.

From there, we had breakfast and played with our new toys.  Around 11, Coop and I retreated for a nap which lasted most of the afternoon.  The evening brought hot chocolate and Christmas with Diego on TV…bath and bed… and Jenn and I cuddled on the couch.  Those are the boring details of our Christmas Day tradition.  It’s tough knowing that our families are celebrating all across the country and, we miss them terribly, but it’s become a wonderful tradition to set aside the stresses of work, traveling and coordinating plans and have a “Do Nothing” Christmas.