"Ornaments! Ornaments!"
"Would you three hold on for just a minute?"
Hilary had huffed that pleading request, for she was busy trying to drag the box full of ornaments across the living room floor. Unfortunately for her, it was filled to the brim with smaller boxes, and despite her strong upper body, was a bit too heavy to pull on her own.
"Need a little help there, Hil?"
The wife rolled her eyes up and glared at the handsome man who was now standing next to her. He was in charge of the second box, but unlike her, he was actually carrying it in his arms.
"Maybe just a little," Hilary bit sarcastically.
"Well, I don't want you giving yourself a hernia," Tyson chuckled, placing his box down in front of the three children who instantly dove in. "Come on, I'll get it."
Hilary grunted and finally released the box, staring it down as though her gaze could set it on fire. Laughing to himself, Tyson bent down and picked up the box, carrying it over to where the original one had been placed. Standing back up to his full height, Tyson surveyed his three children and sighed, a playful smirk accompanying it.
"Well, I'd tell you guys to get started, but it looks like you're already on that!"
The first boxes Tyler and Christy pulled out were matching. The ornaments themselves were quite similar as well: a pair of tiny white porcelain booties. The main difference between the two, however, was that Tyler's were accented by light blue, while Christy's was accentuated with light pink.
"Aw, those are your first Christmas ornaments!" Hilary cooed, sitting down in front of the boxes and reaching out to examine the trinkets. "Those are two of my favorites."
"I've always wondered why we had these in the first place," Christy murmured.
"Yeah, haven't you always told us I was supposed to be born on New Year's Eve?" Tyler added.
"You were," Hilary confirmed. "But, obviously, that didn't happen. You got impatient just like your father. I guess you decided you wanted to celebrate Christmas with us."
"That's why we have this ornament."
Tyler looked up at his father, who was holding a silver, heart shaped ornament in his hand. Hanging from a pure white ribbon, the ornament frame surrounded a black and white image of what Tyler and Christy recognized to be a sonogram.
"Your mom bought this and insisted we hang it up on the tree so you could be with us at Christmas," Tyson elucidated, smirking the entire time. "Little did we know you'd be here already."
"But we still put up both," Hilary finished with a giggle. "It's like a family tradition!"
At this, Tyler scowled. "Does that really have to go on the tree?"
"Of course. It's adorable!" Hilary crooned.
"It's embarrassing," Tyler refuted.
"Come on, Tyler," Tyson chuckled, hanging the silver heart up on one of the Christmas tree's branches. "Lots of families have ornaments like this! It's not embarrassing."
"Just give it up," Christy sighed, nudging her younger brother's back. "They're not gonna leave it in the box."
As the uncomfortable Tyler and Christy got up to hang their first ornaments on the tree, Haley looked between her parents and pouted.
"Mommy, Daddy, whewe's mine?" Haley demanded.
"Where's your what?" Tyson tried.
"My baby ownament!" Haley cried. "Do I has one?"
"Oh, of course you do, sprinkle!" Hilary giggled. "Come on, we'll find it."
She pulled the little girl into her lap, digging through the big box full of ornaments in search of Haley's first ornament. Eventually, the matriarch stumbled upon a small white box, which she knew by heart contained Haley's first Christmas ornament.
"Let's see what it looks like," Hilary entertained her daughter, opening up the box and pulling out the ornament that was inside with a gasp. "Oh, Haley, look how cute it is!"
The little brunette in her lap reached up and delicately touched the light pink teddy that was hanging from a white satin ribbon. "Teddi!"
"Yeah, it looks like Teddi," Hilary giggled. "Daddy and I thought it was so cute, since you've always had Teddi by your side. You like it?"
"Yes, Mommy!" Haley chirped, earning another laugh from her mother. "I wanna put it on the twee, Mommy."
"Do you?" Hilary crooned.
"Yes."
Smiling, Hilary handed the ornament off to her youngest child and urged her to, "be careful, okay? Don't drop it."
"I won't," Haley whined, taking the ornament and getting to her feet, scurrying over to the tree. "I'm caweful."
Just to be safe, Hilary got up and followed the little girl to the tree. She watched on with a careful eye as the toddler reached out and placed the ornament on one of the tree's lowest branches, causing it to droop down with the weight.
"I did it!" Haley announced proudly, turning around and beaming at her mother.
"Oh…yes you did, sweetheart!" Hilary cheered, masterfully masking the fact that she knew the ornament looked ridiculous there. "Good job!"
As Haley skipped back over to the box, Tyson strode over to Hilary and whispered in her ear, "I'll move it later."
"Bless your soul," Hilary sighed, gently patting Tyson's upper arm.
"Uh oh!"
That squeaky cry, along with the muffled sound of crashing, caused Tyson and Hilary to whip around. Upon seeing Haley's legs sticking up from the box, they both gasped and ran over to the scene. From behind the tree, where they had been busy hiding the ornament they were so embarrassed by, Tyler and Christy peered out and choked back laughter at the sight. Tyson quickly reached into the box and pulled Haley out, setting her right side up as she shook her head back and forth.
"Haley, are you okay?" Tyson nearly whimpered.
"Yeah!" Haley giggled, clapping her hands together just once. "Dat was scawy, Daddy."
"Well, that's because you're a crazy kid," Tyson sighed, putting the girl back on the floor and straightening her outfit.
"Haley, am I gonna have to keep my eye on you?" Hilary drawled. "Keep you out of trouble?"
"I dunno," Haley murmured, shrugging her shoulders.
Hilary breathed out noisily and shook her head. "Sometimes I'm afraid I have to go out and buy one of those baby leashes."
"Oh my God, we are never putting our kid on a leash," Tyson muttered, kneeling down next to the box to try and fish out another ornament. "Those people are just insane."
"Well, we're the ones who just found our daughter upside down in a box," Hilary murmured, casually checking out her fingernails.
"I'm still not putting her on a leash," Tyson huffed. Still digging through the box, his eyes widened while a smile soon joined it, fully confusing his wife. "Hil, I found our favorite ornament."
"Our favorite?" Hilary repeated. "How can that be? The one with the Christy and Tyler's sonogram is already on the tree."
Tyson smirked at his wife. "Really? You're going to pretend you don't love this ornament?"
"I love all of our ornaments," Hilary argued. "Don't be dumb."
"Yeah, but this one is extra special," Tyson pressed, standing back up and holding it out towards Hilary. "Remember?"
Hilary glanced up at Tyson from the ornament and playfully shook her head. "How could I not?"
It was a white porcelain frame, strung up by a silver ribbon and bedecked by tiny diamonds. In the middle of the frame was one of Tyson and Hilary's wedding photos, a tiny version of it, which displayed the couple dressed regally and smiling happily, their faces glowing with sheer joy.
"It's so cute," Hilary crooned, her eyes sparkling.
"You were so beautiful in that dress," Tyson breathed, running his thumb over Hilary's image. "Like a princess."
"Aw, Tyson," Hilary cooed. "You're one to talk! Look at how handsome you were in your tux! And with your hair all neat and brushed!"
"It's amazing that was the one day I got it to stay down," Tyson chuckled. "Kinda' like fate!"
Hilary purred softly and wrapped her arms around Tyson's neck, tilting her head to the side and attempting to press their lips together.
"Come on, guys."
"Yeah, do we have to ruin decorating the tree, too?"
"Ick!"
The couple smirked and looked down at their three children, who were staring at the two with near pleading eyes.
"Sorry, guys," Tyson sheepishly apologized, handing the wedding ornament off to Hilary before bending down and scooping Haley up to kiss her head. "Just reminiscing is all."
"Get wemy-scenting latew," Haley scolded, leading her father to raise a bewildered eyebrow. "Mowe twee!"
"Ah, you want to put more ornaments on the tree!" Tyson chuckled. "Well, that can be arranged, little pumpkin."
He knelt down beside the box once again, digging through it with his left arm while holding Haley back with his right to keep her out of anymore trouble. The toddler, sensing she wasn't going anywhere, stuck her fingers in her mouth and looked over her shoulder, watching her mother as the doctor hung the wedding ornament up on the tree.
"Oh, Haley, look what I found!"
Haley turned her head back around and blinked at the object her father was holding. It was a figurine of a little dark cocoa haired girl, outfitted in a pink leotard, tutu, and ballet slippers.
"Ballewina!" Haley cheered, her face lighting up.
"I wonder whose this could be?" Tyson hummed playfully.
"Mine!" Haley cried, holding her little hands out towards the ornament. "I want, Daddy!"
"Whoa, whoa, hold up, baby girl!" Tyson chortled, holding the ballerina high above his head so the toddler couldn't reach it. "I think this ballerina belongs on a certain part of the tree, don't you?"
At this, Haley tilted her head. "No."
"Ah, come on, Haley!" Tyson prodded. "Don't you think she'd look perfect up by the star?"
The little girl turned around and gazed up at the twinkling star that sat atop the tree. Auburn eyes widening, she rapidly nodded her head, excited by the prospect of having her ballerina ornament hung so close to the star.
"I can't weach dat!" Haley gasped, realization suddenly hitting her.
"Well, that's what I'm here for!" Tyson crowed, handing the ornament off to Haley before picking her up and holding her by the sides. She giggled the entire time as he carried her over to the tree and then hoisted her up closer to the star, urging her, "put up the ballerina, pumpkin!"
Sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, Haley reached out and slipped the ballerina's pink ribbon over one of the spiky green branches. "I did it, Daddy!"
Tyson lowered the toddler and kissed her cheek, which absolutely delighted the little girl in his hands. "You did awesome, sweetie. I'm proud of you!"
"Hey, check it out!"
Tyson turned around and found his son standing by the box of ornaments, holding up a glass ball that was painted in the muddled colors of red, blue, green, and black.
"I remember when I made this!" Tyler chuckled. "I thought it was the coolest thing ever."
"It looks like someone bled all over it," Christy snidely commented, earning a glare from her brother.
"Not nice, Christy," Hilary sighed before smiling at Tyler. "I think it's precious, honey."
Tyler smirked and glanced back over at Christy. "At least Mom likes it."
"Mom likes everything you do," Christy huffed. "That's her job."
"Christy!" Hilary warned.
The older girl tried to look apologetic, but it was very obvious that she was choking back laughter. Sighing, Hilary shuffled closer to the ornament box and mused, "You know, I'm pretty sure you made ornaments just like that, Christy."
Instantly, the girl's face turned red. "Uh…no I didn't…"
"I remember watching you and baby Tyler make them together when you were little," Hilary refuted, shifting through the sea of ornament boxes. "You would sit at the kitchen table, after I put down a bunch of newspaper, and you'd paint your brother all afternoon long. And then I'd spend all evening washing the paint off of him…out of your hands, too."
Towards the bottom of the box, Hilary pulled out a package wrapped in faded white tissue paper. Unwrapping it, Hilary smiled upon seeing what was inside. Ever curious, Tyler leaned over and snuck a look as well, snickering once he saw it.
"Nice, Christy," he muttered under his breath.
Resting atop the old tissue paper was a glass ball, just like Tyler's, but instead splattered with sky blue, mint green, and white paint.
"Aw, look how cute!" Hilary crooned, picking up the ornament and holding it out towards her flustered daughter.
"Come on, Mom, knock it off!" Christy begged, her cheeks turning an impressive red.
"You have to put this up on the tree right near Tyler's!" Hilary continued. "It's so sweet!"
Christy groaned and buried her face in her hands, desolately shaking it. Her amused little brother slung his arm over her shoulders and chuckled, gently rocking her back and forth.
"I'm gonna hang my bloody ornament up," Tyler informed his mortified sister. "Want to put your snotty one up with me?"
"Shut it!" Christy groaned from behind her hands.
"Oh, just put it up, Christy," Hilary beckoned playfully. "We still have two whole boxes of ornaments to get through!"
Christy finally picked her head up and smirked sarcastically at her mother. "Oh, joy."
Still saluting, Haley began to march towards the box, looking quite a bit like the wooden soldiers Hilary was so fond of.
"Looks like we'll have to find a new ornament," Hilary hummed, shaking her head. "It can commemorate Haley's first corruption."