I see your smiling face, Like I never seen before
Even though I love you madly, It seems I love you more
The little cards you give me will touch my heart for sure
All these things and more, baby
That's what Christmas means to me, my love
"Higher, Daddy," Jamie called down to his father as was sitting on his shoulders. "I can't reach the branch I want." He patted his father's head impatiently as he awaited a response.
Nathan laughed at his son. "Jamie, you're already on my shoulders. Just put it on the branch you can reach," he told his son, as he moved in closer to the tree, hoping to pacify his son with that answer.
"C'mon, dad," Jamie said, not satisfied with his answer. "What, you can't do it?" He asked, hoping to push his dad into getting his way. A skill he had practically mastered courtesy of his Aunt Brooke.
It worked. "I can do it," Nathan said, now feeling the need to prove his son wrong. "Come here you little monster," he said, lifting his son off his shoulders and higher above his head.
In his father's strong arms Jamie leaned into the fresh tree, breathing in its natural scent. He loved that smell, when it filled the house he always knew that it was getting close to the time Santa would come and visit. Finally he was high enough that with his arms fully extended above his head he could reach his desired branch. He hung the basketball ornament and then called down to his father, "Done."
Nathan lowered his son down, relieved that that was over. Even though he was back in shape and well on his way to reclaiming his entire dream through basketball, it still made him uncomfortable holding Jamie up above his head. If the boy would have leaned too far in, well he didn't want to think about it. Plus he was getting kind of heavy.
"Glad you got to hang it on the spot you wanted," he said, and fluffed his son's soft hair.
"D—ad," Jamie whined and backed out from under his father's huge hand. "Don't mess up my do. I worked hard on this," he told him, looking into the darkened television, trying to fluff it back up.
"Well excuse me, Ryan Seacrest," Nathan laughed, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I didn't know the bed-head look required so much work."
"Ryan Sea-who?" Jamie asked, as he quizzically looked at his father.
"Don't worry about it," Nathan told him, waving him off. "Where is your mom, anyway?" He asked, changing the subject. "I thought she was going to help us with these decorations," He added looking at all the boxes of Christmas décor yet to be delved into. All that they had done was fix the tree in the tree stand and pull out all the ornaments.
"I don't know," Jamie shrugged his shoulders, "I think she had to go check on Anna Kate," he explained knowingly. Ever since he had become a big brother he just seemed to have a more grown up air about him, even though he's not even seven.
"Yeah, okay," Nathan answered, beginning to hang some garland around the French doors that lead out back. "Jamie just mark my words, this is how it's going to be the rest of your life. Don't think that when you get older things are going to change. Girls are always going to tell you something they want to do and want you to help with, but in the end, you'll be the one left doing their chore," he explained as if he was teaching his son some huge life lesson.
"What was that, Husband?" Haley asked as she came into the room with Anna Kate on her hip. She kissed the little girl on her soft cheek and then handed her off to her father, whom she had been reaching for since she spotted him.
Nathan took the little girl who cooed with delight, and patted his chest with excitement. "Nothing beautiful wife," he said as he kissed Haley on the cheek.
"He said girls will make you do all the stuff if they don't want to do it," Jamie rephrased what his dad told him in the way he had understood it. All the while Nathan was signaling for him to stop from behind Haley's back, repeatedly doing a movement that looked like he was slicing his throat.
"Is that right?" Haley asked, as she looked from her son to her husband, and raised her eyebrow when she noticed him standing there so innocently.
Nathan quickly stopped moving and threw his hands in his pockets, hoping his actions had been caught. He shrugged his shoulders and let out a chuckle. "I don't know where he gets some of his ideas," he laughed to his wife. "Big brother is so silly, right Annie?" Nathan asked the baby who giggled in his arms.
"Oh, don't take your Daddy's side, sweetness," Haley persuaded as she picked up an ornament from the coffee table.
"Momma," Jamie called to his mom as she hung the glass snowflake she'd selected on the tree. "Can I help Annie hang her first ornament on the tree?"
She kneeled down to her son's level. "I think that would be a wonderful idea," she said with pride filled eyes. She loved watching Jamie as a big brother. He had always been good with other children, but with Anna Kate, it was just amazing to see how much her little boy had change in the last year.
Nathan set the baby down and she instinctively waddled over to her brother, she had only begun walking about a month ago and was still pretty unsteady. But Jamie was gentle with her and helped her place her tiny hands on the coffee table for support.
"Which ornament do you want to hang up, Annie?" He asked, as he turned to look at his baby sister's smiling face. "You gotta make it a good one because this is your first ever Christmas and your first ever ornament to hang on your first ever tree," he explained as if the little girl understood.
Haley moved back into her husband and he wrapped his strong arms around her waist. As he did she leaned her head back into him. They cherished moments like this, just being together and seeing the bonding between their two children. It was priceless.
As they watched Jamie point to the different ornaments laid out before him and his sister, amazed that the little girl was allowing him to do so without having to touch one of them, Nathan kissed his wife's forehead. "I cannot believe Anna Kate is almost a year old," he commented.
"I know," Haley said, almost in disbelief herself. "This time last year she was still on Jamie's wish list," she laughed remembering their last Christmas together.
Nathan also laughed at the memories, "I still cannot believe the way he asked every Santa at every mall we visited to bring his sister to him early so she could get some presents."
"What can you say, the boy definitely loves Christmas," Haley smiled, as she took another look at her children before turning around so she was face to face with her husband.
"He's just like his mom," Nathan added, kissing his wife on the mouth. He started to deepen the kiss but was quickly interrupted.
"Hkk-hmm," Jamie cleared his throat. "Don't worry Annie, you just gotta try and get used to it. But they kiss—a lot," he explained to his little sister, trying to whisper in her ear but speaking in a tone that his parents were still able to hear.
Haley giggled then tried to cover it up by clearing her throat. "What is it Baby?" She asked, now devoting her full attention to her gorgeous children.
"Annie picked the ornament she wants to hang," Jamie announced, gesturing to his little sister and what she held in her hands.
Haley walked over towards her kids and bent down to see which ornament her daughter was holding. It was the one she and Nathan had gotten their first Christmas together. It had two penguins in scarves kissing with their names underneath.
"Look which one it is Nathan," Haley called to her husband as she also turned around to signal him to move closer.
Nathan walked over and also dropped down so that he was on eye-level with his entire family. "Wow, that's an old one, Annie. You sure she didn't have any help picking this out?" He asked turning to his son and locking eyes with him.
Jamie quickly averted his eyes to the ground and shrugged his shoulders. "Nope, I think it's just a coinstem," he said, nodding his head to make his story more believable.
"A coincidence?" Nathan asked through his laughter at his son's mistake.
"Yeah, that's what I said, a coinstem," Jamie reiterated, seeing nothing wrong with his pronunciation of the word.
"Well that's some coincidence," Haley smiled up at her son. "Because, you know, this was your first ornament to hang on the tree when you were a baby. And every year since then you have been the one to hang it up."
"I know," Jamie plainly acknowledged. "I told Annie all that but I also told her now since she is the baby, maybe she should be the one to hang the penguin ornament from now on."
Haley wrapped her little boy in a hug. "Well that is a very sweet thing to do, Jamie. I know how much you loved hanging that ornament."
He hugged his mother back and then pulled away. "Yeah, well, I just want her to love Christmas as much as me and get to do special things at Christmas just like I do."
In the mean time, Nathan had taken Annie into his arms and they were sitting in the floor. The little girl was waving the ornament happily around in the air as she laughed at the silly faces her father made at her.
"You ready to hang that ornament?" Nathan finally asked when Haley had quit talking to their son.
"We are," Jamie nodded as he pulled his little sister out of his father's lap. "I think she should put it on a low branch, since she's little and she might want to move it later, like when we're not here" he explained.
"I think that sounds logical," Nathan answered his son who quickly turned back to his little sister and then moved towards the tree.
Jamie raised her tiny hand to one of the pine tree's lower limbs. "Now you put this part on the branch, just like this," he said, as he helped her position it and then pulled her little hand back.
Haley and Nathan immediately began to clap their hands. And Jamie did the same thing. "See Annie, you did it," Jamie told her. And with this the little girl turned around and began to clap her hands as well.
"Alright, since you are now a master at tree decoration and you have an apprentice in training," Haley told he son, pointing at him and his sister with her arm. "I am going to go start making some Christmas cookies for us to munch on while we finish all these decorations."
Jamie smiled and nodded, but then his expression quickly turned quizzical. "Is this another one of those you not wanting to do things?" He asked his mom, truly trying to understand what his father had told him earlier.
Haley laughed and put her hands on her hips. If it wasn't so cute the way he hung on his father's every word then she would have gotten offended.
Before she could speak, Nathan piped up. "That's my boy," he winked at Haley, and she couldn't help but smile back at him.
Then Nathan scooped up both Jamie and Anna Kate and spun them around to the tune of the Christmas music that had been bopping in the background. He began talking with them about what they had asked Santa for and if they thought they were on the naughty or nice list
Haley watched for a moment, taking in the sight before her. She really was a lucky girl. Christmas was always one of her favorite times of year and it looked as if the same was going to ring true with her family.
As she was starting to walk away towards the kitchen Jamie called out, "Hey Momma, do you think Santa is gonna bring what you asked for this year?"
She stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, her features beaming with joy. "Santa's already brought me everything I could ever want," she answered, as she gazed at all of her family's faces one by one, finally settling on Nathan.
He looked into her warm brown eyes and mouthed, "Me too," before he turned back to playing with his children and she headed into the kitchen.
I feel like running wild as reaches and a little child
Greet you 'neath the mistletoe, I kiss you once and then some more
And wish you a Merry Christmas, baby
And happiness, happiness in the new year
That's what Christmas means to me, my love
So the song's not the greatest for the story but i really wanted to include a Christmas song with it, especially since it is what inspired me to write this!(Oh, it's "What Christmas Means to Me", I like the Jessica SImpson version but feel free to choose whichever you like to set the mood....haha) I know I do not usually focus on Naley so Ihope I did them justice! Feel free to let me know what you reall think of it! I just couldn't resist the family Christmas fic...sorry I am a bit of a Christmas freak! I hope you all enjoy reading this...I really liked writting it!
Audra