Christmas III.

Our crazy Christmas Eve dinner at Mom and Shane's consisted of crab dip (Mom), spaghetti (me), steak (James), some kind of yummy pear and feta salad (Shane), and pasta salad and cheesecake (Josh). Oliver went to bed early, but I missed him when Mom was getting ready to read the Christmas story from Luke (James argued that she ought to read from Mark instead). Josh went to get Oliver, and I held him, asleep, as Mom read. Josh easily took him back to bed after that. We watched Christmas Vacation and sampled the Italian cream cake Shane had made. I took a bath before bed, and Josh sat with me as he has for years now.

We woke Oliver at 7:30, and I nursed him. He was wearing a blue fleece outfit with polar bears and penguins on it. I wore a black shirt and my hot pink and black snowflake pants. Josh was wearing red plaid pajama pants and a green First Union T-shirt. We went downstairs, and Shane took Oliver to wake up James.

Oliver grinned when Mom showed him his first present. Josh and I were excited too about the play mat with hanging toys and a mirror. Oliver also got soft blocks and sea creature toys. Josh and I gave him a treasury of children's literature. We both wrote to him inside the cover. We're going to make a Christmas tradition of giving him a book for his library--fairy tales, mythology, poetry, classics. Mom cried when Josh and I read our inscriptions.

Josh and I gave each other books, too--favorite authors, childhood favorites. I gave him a poster based on our favorite episode of Doctor Who ("Silence in the Library"). He gave me a beautiful Potter Style Bronte-themed journal. When I get a new journal, I try to remember to write inside the cover about where I bought it or who gave it to me and when. He wrote in it for me: "Given to Becky, from her husband, Josh, the gift of a space to dream-- Christmas 2011." Yes, I love him.

Josh got comfortable casual clothes. Most of his wardrobe is fancy teacher clothing, so he needed stay-at-home dad clothes. I got a gorgeous light blue cardigan with rhinestones around the color, a cream T-shirt with a rhinestone and sequin snowflake, purple jewelry, and a sleek green wallet. My fat, metallic purple one is nearly worn out, and though I've looked for flat wallets, I could never find one that was pretty and that I could figure out how to open.

We gave Mom and Shane photo gifts and mint chocolate soap. Shane got nutcrackers--he has quite a collection--and a guitar. Mom got purses and an aquamarine ring.

We had sausage in croissant rolls (Mom had found Morningstar sausage for Josh) and eggs for breakfast. Then, we got ready for church. This would be Oliver's first church service, and it would be at the church I attended from ages twelve to nineteen.

Josh wore a black suit with a light blue shirt. I wore my new blue cardigan and a sparkly navy cuff bracelet. Mom looked sassy in tall gray boots and a rhinestone-glittered cardigan I gave her for a recent birthday or Mother's Day. We gave Oliver a bath and dressed him in a red Christmas fleece outfit.

At church, it was strange and nice to see the youth minister who had tried to include me when I was twelve, had long hair in my face, and was completely socially inept and miserable and show him my baby. I also saw two girls, grown up now, whom I used to babysit.

After church, I changed into a green velour suit and wine purple T-shirt and nursed Oliver again. We gathered in the living room again, with another huge fire, to open stockings. Many starts and stops followed as Oliver was tired. Most of my gifts to Mom were stocking stuffers. My favorites were a silky purple top, a gold and rhinestone rabbit necklace, and gray pajamas with lace and lavender bows. My stocking brimmed with gorgeous journals and headbands. Oliver's was full of toys and fleece outfits (the only baby clothing Josh and I really bother with--warm, easy, and cute). I especially like the plastic rings that we now use to attach toys to everything.

Lunch was ham, pasta salad, macaroni and cheese, Caesar salad, and deviled eggs. We took turns entertaining O with his play mat or by showing him the Christmas decorations. He's so observant.

Josh and I spent most of the evening taking care of an upset baby. When he went to sleep, we sat in the bathroom talking for a while, both of us haggard and tired of being in a dark room. We re-emerged, and I had an odd comfort food dinner of chips and crab dip, Caesar salad, and pumpkin pie with Cool Whip.

Though Josh and I were tired, we stayed up to watch the Doctor Who Christmas special about tree spirits and a courageous mother. That one action made us feel like people, like ourselves as a couple, and like our seventh Christmas had come.

Oliver won't remember his first Christmas, but we will, and it's our Christmas too.