A Traditional Calvert Christmas Eve

Traditions are links in the chains that connect generations. At our house we have links to both the Calvert and Bailey sides and are creating some new ones for the future to pick from. Christmas Eve this year was largely about the traditions we have grown to love and look forward to each year.

Tradition #1
Make homemade candy and goodies to deliver to friends and neighbors while caroling.
Delivering treats to friends was something both Chris' family and my family did growing up. The Calverts would make homemade ice cream for their deliveries. The Baileys would put together a sampler of goodies. Our family currently does homemade carmels, pecan brittle and festive oreo cookies.

Cal and Grammy getting the packages ready for delivery

Heading out for our first delivery stop

Tradition #2
Read the Christmas Story from the Bible together
The boys are still young to get a lot from the Luke 2 reading so we read this adorable pop-up Nativity book together.

Tradition #3
Open one gift.
As kids, both Chris and I would do this with our families and we'd always open up the same kind of gift - a nice set of new Christmas pajamas. We've kept the open-one-gift tradition, but from this year forward, it's not PJs! We started a new tradition this year of giving the kids Christmas jammies the day after Thanksgiving so that they can enjoy them for the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Tradition #4
Leave cookies for Santa
We understand Santa's tastes have evolved through the years and he now really enjoys homemade oreo cookies -- the kind we enjoy sharing with our friends and neighbors.

In addition to cookies for Santa, the boys wanted to leave something for Santa's reindeer this year. In fact, Santa's reindeer have been way more interesting to Calahan than Santa himself.

Crewe quality testing the carrots to be left for Santa's reindeer.

Tradition #5, enjoying a homemade candle lit dinner together as a family, was suspended this year due to our deliveries running overtime! Despite visiting the farmer's market early in the morning to pick up fresh greens and vegetables for our dinner, we opted to go out for dinner.

Our Two Sons

Calahan (3 1/2)

Our baby has turned into an outgoing, potty-trained and booster-seat riding little man. He talks in complex sentences, dresses himself and loves to opens doors for girls.

Calahan is independent, social, bright and imaginative. He loves to learn, giggle and is a natural negotiator. He loves to help me in the kitchen and Chris in the yard. Cal is tender-hearted, affectionate and polite. He is my little snuggler and loves to climb in bed next to me in the early morning.

Cal is very much an oldest child -- he has perfectionist tendencies, enjoys bossing others around (including me) and may not always be right, but he's never in doubt! He enjoys preschool three mornings a week and would go every day if he could.

Age three is my favorite age so far. Cal is constantly cracking me up with his commentary on what's going on around him and his imagination. He loves music and has a cute singing voice. I love hearing him belt Jingle Bells and Dominick the Donkey, complete with all the "heys!"

Crewe (2 1/2)

Crewe is loving being the baby of the family. In fact, he generally loves life -- he is constantly smiling and finding a reason to laugh. He entertains himself - sometimes for hours at a time - and exudes a contagious feeling of happiness and goodwill wherever he goes.

Crewe loves to rough-house with Chris and Calahan. He enjoys playing with Cal and older children. He loves music, laughing and doing activities with his hands. His expressive eyes will make anyone's heart melt.

Little "W" (after his great-grandpa) also enjoys food more than anyone else I currently know or have ever met. Crewe is usually the first to start eating and the last to finish. He is the healthiest eater of us all and begs for bananas, tomatoes and asparagus. I guess that's what happens when you are allergic to milk, eggs, soy and nuts! He calls digestive enzymes "candy."

Crewe has been remarkably healthy since we implemented the advice of Dr. Tennant, an innovative medical doctor in Dallas. In fact, a few weeks ago he came down with his first bug in 9 months. What normally would have been a 7-10 day sickness involving a trip to the ER at Phoenix Children's complete with an IV and meds was handled at home without any meds. Crewe was completely back to normal within 48 hours. He has sure come a long way.

Crewe still has his trach and doesn't seem bothered by it at all. He lifts his chin when we need to suction it and agreeably (usually) lets us change the ties each day. His speech is really starting to come along. He is turning into a genuine talker, adding new vocabulary words all of the time.

Therapy is also still a major part of Crewe's life. He has physical therapy twice a week, occupational and speech therapy once a week and a developmental specialist visit weekly. We are blessed to have such outstanding therapists. Watching his motor skills progress is truly exciting.

And there you have it, our boy update!