December 24th 2021
- Karlie -
December brings a lot of special events for our family. Taylor turned thirty-two and then two days later, Lilah turned sixteen. Never mind the fact that little Alessia had her very first birthday. The two celebrated together, with Lil's friends losing their minds getting to be around our friends and family. They both had an amazing night, and it was really sweet getting to see Lilah have fun with her friends and Antonia, she works so hard in school and pitches in with her siblings now that I can't do as much as I used to, so she deserved to have that night.
"Mom, Nia's here," Lilah calls out as I hear her walking through the house. "Don't forget the bag on the sideboard," I get up, going out into the hallway to meet her. "You look beautiful," I smile as I take in the sight of the teenager, "tell Emily and Tara that we said Merry Christmas, and make sure the three of them get their gifts, okay?" Lilah laughs as she nods, "I will, mom, and I'll make sure that Nia has me home by ten."
I nod as I take the bag and hand it to the teen, "good, text me when you get there and keep us updated, okay?" She nods again, so I kiss her cheek and let her go, "have fun, honey." She laughs as she nods, smiling brightly back at me, "I will, love all three of you." I shake my head as I watch her run to the door, "we love you too, Lil." I run my hand over my bump, the twins moving around under it as I stroke my thumb over the spot where I can feel a little limb.
Taylor and the little ones are out doing some last minute Christmas prep with Auntie Abigail, but I was much too tired and sore to even consider following those two around the mall again today.
We opted out of hosting Christmas here, so Andrea is very kindly hosting us all at her house this year, but with her rocky health - Taylor and Abbie decided they'd do most of the legwork. Abbie usually goes home to her family for the holidays, but this year her parents are away on a cruise or something, so there wasn't even a second of hesitation before the Swifts insisted that she join us.
"Alright, you two," I sigh as I go back to the couch, "we're going to finish the Christmas Eve boxes before mommy and your siblings come home." I probably sound like a crazy person talking to my stomach all the time, but the babies are always with me, so I feel like they need to know what's happening.
I sit back down and check over the carefully planned list that Taylor left for me. I finished Lilah's already and I'm halfway through Rosie's, so I grab the rest of her things and arrange them neatly in the box. This is usually Taylor's kinda thing, but since I'm home and the kids aren't - we figured it was better for me to do it now, especially since the kids are going to need them tonight.
"This time next year, we'll be making these boxes up for you two for your very first Christmas," I smile as I feel a little kick, tying the bow around the box. "You'll be so loved, little ones, we're all so excited to meet you two," I sigh, stroking my bump. I still get really anxious sometimes about the babies and all the things that could still go wrong, but I try my best not to let it overwhelm me, because that's not healthy for anyone.
I set Ro's box under the tree beside Lilah's and then start on Auggie's. It's nice to have a little quiet time, especially knowing that things are going to be so crazy for the next few days. I grab my phone from the coffee table as it rings, answering it when I notice Taylor's name on the caller ID.
"Hey baby," I sit it down once I put it on speaker, and finish folding the Christmas pyjamas that we picked out for Auggie. "How are things going over there? Are you feeling okay?" I laugh gently as I shake my head, "I'm still as good as I was when you called half an hour ago."
I can almost hear her roll her eyes at my response. "I'm sorry, you know I like to check in when I'm not with you," Taylor's voice is slightly apologetic but she's sweet, so I can't be mad at her. "Are you guys going to be much longer? Lil left and I'm nearly done with with boxes, so we're lonely." Taylor laughs as I hold my bump, "we'll be another hour or two. Will you be okay until then?" I sigh dramatically, "I suppose I'll survive."
