Call It What You Want To

Chapter 18: Kyler

Christmas Day at the Morgan house has become interesting in the last few years. While Christmas is still, hands down, my favorite holiday ever, it still gets associated with the camera and YouTube channel. The videos that would get recorded on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day were usually some of the very few moments where I wouldn't have to be directed behind the camera because I was genuinely having a great time. I could ignore the camera and mom wouldn't get mad because I'd be watching Declan open up a new dinosaur robot, or Milana and I would be comparing the new oversized sweatshirts we got.

Christmas was no different this year, complete with Milana literally jumping on me at seven in the morning to yell in my face that "Santa came". We both obviously knew about the whole Santa thing, but kept it going for Declan. We'd mess with each other that "Santa" didn't give presents to people who stole expensive shampoo and conditioner from their siblings, or other stupid stuff like that.

"You're a dick," I groaned as she hit my Dexcom just the right way to make it push against my arm the wrong way and hurt a little.

"Rise and shine, pookie!" Lani sang. "Coffee and the camera are downstairs."

"Actually, camera's right here," I heard from the doorway. I rolled a little and glanced past Lani to see my mom standing in the doorway with her camera in hand. I moaned as I heard my mom's YouTube voice pitch up while she jabbered to her camera, "And it looks like Milana took the liberty of waking up Miss Kyler and the rest of the house."

"Uh-uh, Declan woke me up!" Milana defended herself before getting off my bed and leaving to, presumably, go downstairs to meet the rest of my family.

"You tired?" my mom laughed, camera still rolling, while I rubbed my face to try and wake up.

"So tired," I nodded before we got a quick hug in. Mom told me that my coffee was waiting for me downstairs and that I needed to move it because we had a lot of content to film today.

"We've got opening presents, a how-to for the Christmas puppy-chow, Dad's doing a video on assembling some presents, and then a get-ready-with-us for Christmas at Aunt Lauren's today," she reminded me as she started to leave my room. "And put on the pajamas that we all got together so we're matching downstairs, or at least the robe so you're matching me and Dad!"

Once I was alone again, I pushed myself up and out of bed before looking around for the pajamas or robe that we had gotten as a family. I didn't really wanna wear the pajamas because it was long sleeves and flannel pants, and I knew the fireplace was going downstairs. I found the robe and slid it on before going down to the living room to find my Christmas coffee cup on the table.

Mom already had the camera rolling to get shots of Milana and Declan organizing presents for everyone, while I took a seat next to my dad. "You good?" he laughed as I was practically falling back asleep into my mug.

"I am exhausted," I laughed. I was super tired, but not because I was up all night watching Christmas movies or "waiting for Santa" like my siblings. The last present I ordered for Taya and her family came in yesterday, and I stayed up all night making sure they looked perfectly wrapped before going to hide them in the back of my SUV. With hope, I'd still be able to go over to Taya's tonight after we got home from my aunt's house.

"Ooh, wait, Ky, can you and dad do that again? That was cute, I didn't get it!" my mom called like a movie director. So much for the usual "no-direction-needed" on Christmas. After "take two" for our conversation, my mom said that we could start opening our stuff up. We just had to go slow so she could get everyone in the video equally.

One of the very few perks that came with being a YouTube family, was the YouTube family money (I still wouldn't say it's worth it though), and our parents would go all out for Christmas. My parents would just say that they've been slowly buying all year, but I knew they waited until Black Friday so they could get the absolute most amount of stuff or they'd stockpile PR gifts that were sent in to us and then wrap them for Christmas or birthdays. Mom also liked having a ton of stuff under the tree because it made our videos look better. I thought it made us look "flashy" or insinuated that we were spoiled kids, but who listens to me?