Best.Christmas.Ever.

Although this was the first Christmas in my entire life that I was away from my family(no Oplatek for me this year), it was nice to be able to celebrate in our home. I loved that Christian was able to open his gifts (ok, that Chuck and I could open his gifts while he ate the paper) under our tree. It was so special to us. I missed my family terribly, but it helped that we were leaving 2 days after Christmas to see them.

It's hard to describe the anticipation I had leading up to this Christmas. I felt like I was 5 years old, only this time, I wasn't asking Santa for Cabbage Patch Dolls. I've been dreaming of our first Christmas with Christian since the day he was born. I was anxiously preparing for the holiday by learning how to sign "Silent Night" (it is MY FAVORITE CAROL)so I could sing it to him at the Christmas Eve Mass. I even learned a whole slew of Christmas signs, thanks to this amazing book I found at DeafResources.com.

All I wanted for Christmas this year was more repetitive consonants. AND BOY DID WE GET THEM! Christian has been saying "Ma-Ma" more and more these days, and since his last hearing aid adjustment on December 21st, his babbling has increased. It just amazes me what 4db can do for this kid! Christian surprised us all this past week while we were home in Rock City with some very clear, and VERY PURPOSEFUL BA-BAs! Sure, I loved my amazing professional make-up case, my comfy UGG Boots (sorry Natalie, I caved), my FoodSaver, and my kick-a$$ new digital camera. But hearing him say "Ba-Ba" while signing "Milk" and reaching for the bottle, that is THE BEST GIFT EVER!

I created a little video montage of some our favorite Christmas memories below. Be sure to disable the Blog Music first (scroll all the way down to the bottom).