Christmas 2013 Recap!

Okay, I cannot believe I am so late on this! Please forgive me!

Christmas 2013, we took our longest vacation as a family since Hazel arrived. If I'm honest I believe it was our only vacation since Hazel arrived but whatever.

We went home to Canada (home for me anyways!). It had been over 3.5 years since I had been home to visit my family and much had changed for all of us in that time frame so I was very excited to go!

Hazel came with us (of course) and as always she travels like a rockstar, she pretty much slept the entire 9.5 hour drive. The boys did great with the car ride too.

I knew Christmas was going to be tough on JJ. The last time we were home, he had just turned two and was not yet diagnosed with Autism. I was worried because the last time was the first time that JJ had eloped from us, we were at my dad's place. We were staying with Dad again, but I was stressed.

Christmas always means lots of family, lots of visits, lots of new people for my children to meet. We had planned very minimal visiting other than family. We saw three groups of friends and one group we visited after the kids had gone to bed. My biggest fear was though was the day after Christmas.

Every year, since I can even remember, we have had a big family Christmas for my mom's side of the family. We gather at my Grandma's house and there are usually 20+ people there. With cousins getting married and having children, we keep growing! This year I think we had 22 people and many little ones. I was really concerned about how JJ would handle the noise and commotion. Josh and I made the hard decision to have Hazel work the entire time we were there and keep JJ tethered to her. This was hard because I knew the other kids would be running around and playing, I really wanted JJ to be able to join them in that, but JJ gets overstimulated very quickly and cannot easily pull himself out of it. We decided to head it off before it became a problem.

I also knew this was going to be an issue for my extended family. We have lots of dog lovers in my family, including a family who had a Golden for many years. I knew it would very tough for them to not love on Hazel. We planned a short 30 minute break for Hazel so she could greet everyone and JJ could play.

We arrived first before everyone else. Visited with my Grandma for a little and got JJ settled on the couch with his ipad and his best friend at his feet. He was happy as a clam. Family arrived, JJ didn't really notice, Hazel stayed in place with her boy and it was all very calm and organized. We spent over 7 hours at my grandma's house, first to arrive and the last to leave (that NEVER happens with our kids). JJ stayed happy, content and relaxed the entire time. He talked with my uncles, cousins and anyone who took the time to sit with him. He was perfectly happy with Hazel being with him.

We did untether them for 30-45 minutes so that everyone could meet Hazel and JJ could have a break and play, within 15 minutes of playing he was overstimulated and screaming. Josh and I snuggled with him and talked him through it all and when it was time to re-tether him, I got the distinct sense that he was grateful. Hazel is his safe place. When his anxiety is high, when he is stressed and feeling overwhelmed, I think he has begun to understand that Hazel will always be his calm, she'll always be his rock whenever he needs her.

All in all it was a wonderful Christmas with family, each visit was more calm than I ever expected. Everyone was understanding and gracious about Hazel, even if they weren't dog people they were welcoming of her because they knew how much our little man would need her. It was truly a fabulous visit home and we're planning to visit again in the summer and I'm feeling very relaxed about it because of our four legged daughter who provides calm for our son.