Christmas 2010

This year the Tortora Christmas had some up's and down's. We started off Christmas Eve feeling pretty good. But when Guiliana woke up from her nap she looked like she didn't feel well. She had "sick" eyes and so I knew she was fighting something. She still seemed to be in good spirits for the most part so we decided to do our traditional "decorating cookies for Santa". Grandma, Grandpa, Guiliana, and I all decorated the cookies. Guiliana helped me make them the night before and since she helped me more this year we stuck to the traditional round cookies instead of the cut-outs. Great Grandma and Grandpa cooked a super yummy traditional Italian meal with the "7 fishes". They cooked everything and brought it over to my house so Fran and I didn't have to do anything (We have hosted Christmas Eve now the last 3 years so it has become a tradition). It was so nice and thoughtful of them. As the evening went on she developed a bit of a fever and around 8pm asked to go to bed. Over night, she battled a slight fever but woke up feeling decent. She was excited about the fact that Santa left her gifts.
So, there was ONE gift in particular that I was super excited about (except the step-stool that I made). Back in the beginning of November we bought her a Disney Princess bike with training Wheels. When asked what she wanted for Christmas from Santa that is what she kept asking for. Then in the beginning of December in school the teacher asked all of the kids what they wanted from Santa. Guiliana proceeded to say "a pink Barbie car". This was news to me!! She owns ONE Barbie and I didn't even think she was interested in Barbies. Well, as the weeks went on it seemed like this Barbie car was becoming a pretty big deal and the bike was just a phase. I knew that the Barbie cars that you can drive can be pretty pricey so we weren't going to her one and just stick with the bike. WELL... the day before Christmas Eve I ran out to Fry's Marketplace to grab a few things on my lunch hour and there it was... A PINK BARBIE BEETLE CAR that she could drive. And better yet... It was on sale for $60 cheaper than the regular price! It was practically a steal!! I ended up leaving without it and going back to work. All I could think about was how much she would just LOVE this car and I had to get it! I ended up asking my boss if I could leave just to get this present for her as I told her how important this was. Needless to say... I got the car and trying to fit the box in my little car was a nightmare. I ended up getting it in my car but knew that I would blow the surprise once I picked her up from school later that day. So, before leaving work I ended up having to take the car out of the box and shoving it into my trunk. (I am writing all of this so one day Guiliana can look back and read what we went through to make Christmas a special for her :) )
So, Christmas morning took a little while to get under way since she wasn't feeling 100%. But once she started opening her gifts she started to get more excited. At first she didn't seem that interested in the barbie car and I have to admit I was a little disappointed. But once we decided to take her outside to ride it, she LOVED it and was super excited.
After all of the gift opening she was pretty pooped out. She made out very well from Mommy, daddy, and Santa: Barbie Beetle, Cottage house she can color on and play in, baby dolls, Princess shoes, Princess dolls, tea party set, play-dough, moon dough, TONS of new art supplies, a pink princess dress, PJ's, a BELLE doll with a blanket, a Tinkerbell Table, a princess popcorn tin, and a Sleeping Beauty dress-up outfit, not to mention a stocking full of goodies.
After she regained some more strength with a quick power nap it was time to go to Grandma and grandpa's for gifts and food. They of course spoiled her too!!! They got her a princess book, a purple tutu, a remote control barbie corvette, a "little mommy" set which includes a cradle, stroller, and highchair for her babies, some leap frog DVD's, a ladybug nightlight that projects stars and the moon on her ceiling to promote sleep (this was more for me!), a Jessie from Toy story Doll that talks, and they surprised us and her with a playhouse for their yard (which Daddy had to put together).
We also all chipped in and got her Disney on Ice tickets for a show in January. Then from Uncle Chris he bought her butterfly princess wings and a matching pink tutu! It is adorable and Gules wants to wear her wings all the time. Grandma Angie got her a Dora the Explorer guitar which since she loves Music and dancing she is loving!
Christmas this year was VERY low key!!! The past few years Fran and I cook everything and we always have so many people over. This year we decided to just keep it the immediate family and to have our Christmas catered. Greg and I even went over in our PJ's!!! I liked the simplicity of this Christmas especially since Guilana was not feeling well. I am so grateful to our Family for the wonderful generosity! Guiliana is one LOVED and extremely spoiled little girl. I am grateful she has so much family around her that loves her so much. That is so important to me since it's something I wasn't blessed with growing up.
We had a VERY Merry Christmas and looking forward to a Healthy and Happy New Year!!