Stef had all three kids in matching pajamas in front of the Christmas tree while Lena was out Christmas shopping alone. Jude could almost sit up on his own now, but did very well with Brandon and Callie sitting behind him. "Okay, Babies, look at me and smile! This time I want my big guys to both kiss Jude's cheeks." She was trying to take pictures for the Christmas cards that Lena had been pestering her to send out since the beginning of December.
"I want to do something else, Mommy, and Jude does, too. How about if you just take pictures of Callie now and let us go do something else?"
"Well, I am almost done anyway, B. I am going to take a picture of each of you by yourself and then you can go change your clothes. Mama is going to love these pictures. I think we might give her some of these for Christmas. So give me nice smiles."
"Why do we take so many pictures, Mommy?" Callie asked when she was finally done.
"Because, Bug, you are growing up very fast. This is the only Christmas you will be four years old and the first Christmas as a family. We want to remember it forever."
"Oh. Why aren't you in any of the pictures then?"
"I have to take the pictures… Besides, Mama didn't get me any of those cute pajamas like you guys are wearing." Stef said tickling Callie.
"I want to take some." Stef handed Callie her phone with the warning to be careful. Then she went and sat in front of the tree. "Give me nice smiles, this is for Mama…" Callie parroted as she took the pictures.
"Come over here, Bug." Stef said after a few shots. Callie walked over and Stef grabbed her. "Now we're are going to take a few selfies." Stef got the phone and held it at arm's length. They did several different poses before they heard Lena come in.
"Mama!" Callie yelled leaving Stef's lap to greet Lena. "I want you to go sit by the tree with Mommy so I can take pictures of you." Callie said after she got her hug and kiss.
Lena joined Stef and Callie took several more pictures all the time giving them directions like Stef had given to the kids. Jude was still downstairs playing on the floor so Callie got him over there for more pictures. "This is his first Christmas and we want to remember it so we need lots of pictures. Okay, I need both Mommies to kiss Jude's cheeks…"
Eventually Brandon came back downstairs to see what was going on. He hadn't changed clothes yet and he wanted to join back in when he saw everyone having a nice time. Callie took a few of just Brandon with the moms. After a few more pictures Brandon wanted to take some, too. Callie handed him the phone and hopped onto Lena's lap.
When Brandon started losing interest again, Stef called him over with the camera. The family got in as tight possible and Stef took a series group pictures.
After the children were finally in bed, Stef sat down at the computer to look at their pictures. Lena came and sat on her lap to look with her. Many of the pictures Callie and Brandon took were a little fuzzy or were not well-centered, but overall Christmas pictures had been a success. Lena found several that she wanted to order to hang various places around the house and her office. She also found some that would be perfect for the grandparents for gifts. For their Christmas cards, they picked one of the two of them together, the one of the three kids, and one of the group shots Stef took at the end when everyone was laughing.
"This should be our tradition. Taking thousands of pictures with our babies. Letting Callie and Brandon take a few… It is surprising how many genuine smiles they were able to capture." Lena looked back at the pictures on the screen again. "Our babies are so precious." She turned around to kiss Stef.
"Yes, they are beautiful babies, especially in pictures and while they are sleeping… Speaking of, we have a few hours before I have to be at work, our Christmas cards are finally ordered, and all three of our precious babies are asleep… I do believe that my children's mama is even more beautiful than them."
"I do like the way you think, Mrs. Adams Foster." Lena said as she stood up allowing Stef to also stand up. They walked up the stairs hand in hand.
XXXX
The grandparents were going to be arriving on December 23rd and leaving the 26th. They all wanted to spend Christmas with their grandchildren, but they also knew that between meeting Jude and the wedding they had spent a lot of time in California.
Holidays just like birthdays came with their own traditions. Lena had downplayed the whole Santa situation to Callie. She had seen the movies and heard the songs, but knew it was all just a fun game. To Stef and Brandon, Santa was as important as the tree as he brought almost all the presents under it. This year they were settling on a compromise that all three kids would have one Santa gift under the tree. They would also put out milk and cookies. However, Lena refused to emphasize Santa. The kids, fortunately, had really very few memories of past Christmases making it a little easier.
The tree was easily agreed on. Both mothers believed it was important to have the kids help decorate. They both loved the ornaments the kids made at school. Callie and Brandon both had special ornaments from past years as well. When it was done, it would not be the type of tree featured in a magazine, but it was their tree.
On the evening of the twenty-third, Lena and Dana gathered up Brandon and Callie to make cookies. It was a great tradition in Lena's family to make enough cookies to share a plate with the neighbors as well as snack on throughout the holiday.
"Okay, Babies, you two are going to be our helpers. Grams and I are going to do the measuring and you two are going to do the stirring." Lena said putting a bowl in front of both kids and handing them wooden spoons. The two kids promptly starting sword fighting with the spoons so Lena took the spoons back. "I will give those back when you have something to stir."
When it got time to roll the dough, Lena pulled stools by the counter and gave the kids cookie cutters. She demonstrated for each of them. "You have used these before on play dough and it is really about the same. Just make sure you get it cut all the way through and make sure they don't overlap."
"Like this, Mama?" Callie asked cutting a reindeer right in the middle of the flattened dough.
"Yes, Callie, that was perfect. Now cut another one where it doesn't quite touch your first one." Callie cut another reindeer several inches from the first one. "It probably could have been closer, but it doesn't touch so it will work. Great job."
Brandon in the meantime had used a candy cane cutter and had cut them in all directions often on top of each other. "Be careful there, Brandon. I am going to roll out this dough and let you try again. Remember that they cannot touch." Dana said putting the cookie dough back into a ball to roll out.
The kids wanted to eat the cookies straight out of the oven. "We are going to decorate these cookies, so we can't eat them yet." Lena explained and then she looked at her watch. Baking cookies had taken more time than she thought it would. "Actually, we will decorate them tomorrow morning. Right now it is time for baths and bedtime."
"You aren't going to decorate them after we go to bed, right, Mama?" Callie asked.
"No, of course not. It will give you two something two do while we cook all day, so it will be good anyway. I am just going to get all of your cookies and put them on a cooling rack so they will be just right for you in the morning. Now, Callie, you are up first for your bath. You have the choice of any adult here to help you. Who do you want?"
"I want Mommy."
"Mommy is not one of the adults here. She will home at midnight, but she is not here, now. Try again. You can choose Grams, Grandma, Gramps, or Mama. That goes for you, too, B. You may also choose."
"I want Gramps!" Brandon said with excitement. "Will he give me a bath, Mama? He has never given me a bath before, but I like him lots and it would be fun!"
"Of course he would, go ahead and ask him, but Callie is still first. So, what are you thinking, Baby?"
Callie took a deep breath and tried not to look troubled. She was a bit unclear on the Santa issue but Brandon told her that if she was bad she probably wouldn't get any presents. It wasn't worth the risk. "Grandma. She is kind of like Mommy."
"That sounds perfect. Go find her and get into the bathtub." Lena said watching Callie run off. "Don't feel left out, Mama, I didn't get picked either. I used to be Callie's favorite person."
"Who says I didn't get picked? Jude told me earlier that he wanted me to give him a bath tonight…" Dana joked. "Every parent goes through this. I remember when you were a little girl and you wanted to hold my hand. You wanted to be just like me. Then one day you began to wait by the door for your father to come home from work. I felt like I had lost you just a little. In moments like these, though, I see that you are still my baby. It is okay to be one of her two favorite people. Keep in mind that it has to keep expanding, though. I am now okay with just being one of your six favorite people now with your wife and kids. That's just the way things are. Besides, Callie will come right back to you when she is ready for bed."
XXX
Brandon was up very early on Christmas morning. He had been staying in Callie's room again since Sharon was saying in his. "Hey, Callie! It's Christmas! Let's go open our presents now!"
Callie was still feeling tired and wasn't awake enough to catch Brandon's spirit yet. "Last night Mama said we had to wait for her and Mommy to be up. I don't think it is really morning yet anyway. Go back to sleep, B."
"No, Callie! Get up! We can go wake up Mommies! Then they will be up. Please!" Brandon begged getting Callie's hand and pulling. "We need to go together. If I just go Mommy will send me back to bed. I am sure it is morning look at the light outside!?"
The only light Callie noted was a street light. Brandon's excitement was starting to get to her, though. "If I go, we have to be super quiet. I don't want to wake anyone else." Dana and Stuart had determined that they could sleep on an air mattress on Jude's floor and Sharon was in Brandon's room. That way they would all be there first thing on Christmas morning.
"We can be quiet." Callie got up with him and they quiet crept down the hallway. Callie raised her hand to knock. "If we knock we might wake the others up." Brandon whispered. Instead they quietly opened the door.
Stef and Lena were curled up together sleeping rather soundly. Stef didn't even wake up when the door opened or when the kids climbed up on either side of the moms. However, when Callie started rooting her way between her mothers, both woke up quickly. Brandon being right in Lena's face didn't really help her waking up process. She screamed a little. "Brandon, you scared me!" Lena squinted at a clock. "It is two o'clock in the morning, Babies! What are you doing in here?"
"It is Christmas, Mama!" Brandon declared. "We need to go downstairs and open our presents."
Stef gave Callie a little more space and found that she was already back asleep. "It is still nighttime, B. Go back to bed."
"You said we could open presents in the morning. Mama said it was morning. Get up!" Brandon said very loudly.
"I didn't mean to say it was morning… When the clock says five it is early morning. When the clock says two it is night." Brandon looked disappointed. "Mommy, Callie, and I really want to sleep a little bit more. Since Callie already went back to sleep, you may stay in here with all of us tonight. How does that sound?"
"I want to sleep next to you, Mama." Brandon said. Lena moved over a little to make room for him between her and Callie. "I want this to be our tradition, Mama."
Sharon, Dana, and Stuart were all gathered downstairs sipping coffee by five-thirty. Jude was sitting on Dana's lap playing with his toes. "What sort of kids are not up by this time on Christmas morning?" Sharon wondered aloud.
"Maybe kids that we kept up until almost ten last night?" Stuart suggested laughing a little.
"I guess… I have never known either one of them to sleep through the whole night. Did you guys peek in their room this morning?" Sharon asked.
"I did. They weren't in there so I assumed we would be getting up to them already up unwrapping presents. Now I am guessing they somehow gained access to sleep with their moms." Dana said with an eyebrow raise.
"I am sure you are right. B would sleep in there every night if he could. We should make breakfast... Loudly! The smell of bacon can wake Stef from the deepest sleep. I, for one, am ready to get to the present opening part of the day."
Sharon went and got some bacon out as well as a skillet. Stuart got out some eggs to scramble and Dana made more coffee. True to Sharon's word, everyone was downstairs within a few minutes of the bacon smells wafting in the air. Dana set the food and plates on the table.
Callie and Brandon looked between the table and the tree. "I am not every hungry, Mommy. I think I want to open my presents instead of eat breakfast." Callie said with Brandon agreeing.
"Well, Babies, I do believe your presents can wait. Your food needs to be eaten right now. So, right now you need to sit down and eat what your grandparents made for you. Besides, Grandpa said he was coming over and he isn't here yet."
"We could call him and make sure he is on his way…" Brandon suggested.
Lena put a hand on both children's shoulders and guided them to the table. "Mommy's right. We should eat first. Then you can have more time to play with your new things without being interrupted."
Brandon resigned himself to eating while Callie started to balk a little as she did sometimes during meals. The adults around her continued talking and she thought no one was watching, so she slipped off her chair. Stef caught her around the waist and gently put her back in her chair. "Callie." Stef whispered in her ear so quietly that no one else could hear. "I am not giving you another warning to eat without giving you a time out."
Callie picked up her fork and moved the eggs around a bit before receiving a look from Lena. She quickly took a bite of her food. Brandon was now nearly finished. Callie was concerned he would get to open presents without her so she ate a little more quickly.
As the adults were finishing up, someone knocked at the door. Stuart went to answer it and greeted Frank. "He's here, is it time now?" Brandon asked fairly hopping excitedly around the kitchen.
"When you have both properly greeted Grandpa we will do the whole present thing." Stef said surprised and somewhat excited to see her son so hyper. Brandon gave Frank a quick hug as a greeting. When Callie wasn't moving fast enough, he also dragged her over.
Frank picked up the little girl as was their thing. "Good morning, Grandpa Frank." Callie said wrapping her arms around his neck. "I need to be with B now because Mommy said we could open presents next and we have been waiting since before it was really morning."
Callie and Brandon would have love to have just ripped through the paper of every present under the tree, but the adults demanded a little bit of order. Stef and Lena sorted the presents from them to the kids out of the presents under the tree. They both sat on the floor with the three kids and let them open everything. Jude even tried to rip paper off even though he didn't seem to understand the presents inside preferring to try to eat the paper scraps. The kids set their clothing to the side and both brought a toy over to Stef.
"Mommy, I need my dinosaurs out of their box! And then I want…"
"No, Mommy, first I need my Jude's bed put together. He needs a place to sleep… "
"Hmmm, Mama, I hear two kids demanding my attention, but I have not heard any kids say thank you, did I miss it?" Stef asked Lena looking back toward the two big kids.
Brandon caught on first and he crawled onto Stef's lap. "Thank you, Mommy!" He then got off of her lap and got onto Lena's. "Thank you, Mama!" Callie watched him get kisses from both of the moms and then went over and followed his lead.
"You are welcome, Babies! I love it when you are polite. I think there are more things for you to open before we free any of your toys from their boxes." Stef stood up and helped Lena up. "Dad, do you want to go next?"
"Um, sure, Sport. What do I need to do?" Frank asked looking around.
"All you need to do is sit down with the kids and give them their presents from you. We would like the kids to know who each present is from and we want to take some pictures." Stef said pulling a chair into the middle of the room for her dad.
Lena handed Frank the presents from him and he handed them to the children. Frank got all three kids Padres clothing. Callie wanted to put on her new Padres dress immediately, but was slowed down again. As she fluffed out the dress, a piece of paper fell out. She was unconcerned. "I also got Brandon and Callie tickets to go to a game with me." Stef went to pick up the paper and search for Brandon's. "Don't worry, I did not wrap the actual tickets."
"Did you hear that Callie? We get to go to a game with Grandpa! He will let us eat hotdogs and nachos! Thank you, Grandpa!"
"I have never been to Padres game, but I do like nachos. I want cotton candy also! Thank you, Grandpa Frank."
Lena noted that the kids were more excited by the foods they could never have than they were with actually going to a game. One evening of bad nutrition wouldn't kill them… Spending extra time with Frank would mean they were both out of the house for a little while.
The kids both thanked their grandpa and they repeated the process with Sharon since Dana insisted on going last. Sharon got Callie a baby bathtub just the right size for her Jude and a robe that looked like a lady bug complete with a hood with antenna. "Now you can give your Jude baths when you take a bath and you will have a nice, fluffy robe to wear while you dry off." Callie put the robe on and thanked her grandma. Brandon also put on his new robe that looked like a lion. He thanked Sharon for it and the boat bath toy. Jude looked happy enough with his bath seat and his dinosaur robe.
Dana then sat down with the kids while Stuart brought over a large package for each of the kids. Brandon opened an adjustable basketball goal and wanted Stuart to open it immediately. Callie got a play kitchen with some food and dishes. "I can make food for my Jude just like Mama!"
As the kids were finishing off, Stef opened the back door and wheeled in two bikes with training wheels and helmets. "It looks like Santa also left some things… I think this one is for Brandon and this one is for Callie." The kids rushed over Stef to climb onto their bikes. "Whoa, I think these are outside toys, Babies! I think we need to wait until you are dressed and we are outside before trying them out."
Lena then helped hand out the gifts to the adults. Stef wanted the kids involved in the rest of the festivities so she scooped up the kids and handed them out to "help" unwrap. All of the grandparents agreed their favorite gift was their framed collage pictures of the family that were all different. Callie and Brandon were excited to show which pictures they took themselves.
After all the paper was cleared, Callie climbed onto Stef's lap. "Mommy, I really liked my presents. This was the best Christmas ever. I just really wished that I got a sister…"