Let the holidays begin!

Today was my first day of holiday vacation. I don't go back to work until January 5th, but I'm pretty sure that I'm not actually on vacation. Just to be clear, once you have a baby, vacation isn't the same anymore. It doesn't mean you can go to bed late, and wake up late, and it definitely does not mean that you can just get wasted every (or any) night. There's a whole lot more responsibility in your life now, which means that vacation as you know it has changed.

Don't get me wrong though, it's not necessarily a bad change (as long as you don't like to sleep and you don't like to drink). I spent all day with Kaylani, which is now the 3rd day in a row. That's something I haven't been able to do for 3 straight days since my 1 week of paternity leave. Sure the first part of it involved her first shots (wasn't as bad as I thought, but still sad to see her cry during and after it), and the second part was spent making sure she was comfortable (which includes holding her to sleep and rocking her all the time instead of trying to put her down), but it was a lot of fun for me. After all, I got to spend my 3rd straight day with her.

Tomorrow will be the 4th straight day, and to make things even better, tomorrow is Tam Family Christmas #1! My brother, my sister-in-law, and Kaylani's 2 cousins are here. My parents are here. And Mommy's parents are here too, which means we get to open presents 2 days early! It also means we have a full house including 2 newborns, a 2.5 year old, and 8 adults, but hey, if that doesn't scream "holidays" to you, then I don't know what would.

Speaking of family, I've got to finish putting Kaylani to sleep (up past bedtime also screams "holiday") and then go pick up Mommy's parents at the airport. Tomorrow will be a packed day, but just like when I was a kid, it's hard to sleep the day before "Christmas", no matter which one it is.

So for now, good night, and Happy Tam Family Christmas Eve #1 to you all!