Just when you thought things couldn’t get anymore exciting over here, here is all you ever wanted to know about our ornaments!
One of the many reasons I love Christmas is because I get to take out all our ornaments and reminisce about the many wonderful trips and memories that come together to create out Christmas tree. With each ornament Randy and I talk about where we were when we bought it and what was going on in our lives at that time. It makes our tree so special and I can’t wait until Adam starts having his favorite ornaments and wants to put up all of his favorite ornaments.
Here is a small sample of some of our favorite ornaments and the stories behind them.
This was an early purchase and one of my favorite. Santa Claw was purchased on one of our first vacations as a couple to Boston. We went up for a friend’s wedding and took a long walk around Boston seeing all the sights until we stopped in Union House and found this wonderful ornament. It reminds me of that trip to Boston, where we saw our friends Matt and Joni get married in Salem and staying up super late with our friends Katya and Laith having drinks outside the hotel and one of our first long drives together from New York to Boston.
This ornament we found on a cold November weekend trip to Venice. We had both been to Venice in the past but this was our first trip to Venice together and we walked around for hours showing each other sights we remembered we had seen on our past trips. It was so fun to be in Venice off season and the cold dark November nights seemed to suit Venice and it’s canals. This ornament reminds me of our first gondola ride together and Randy showing me the infamous spot where he fell into the canal 8 years ago and our extra night at the Holiday Inn by the airport when our flight got cancelled because of fog.
This elephant we got on our trip to Thailand. We stopped in the Jim Thompson store to look at some ties and scarves and found this little elephant. This elephant reminds me of our first trip to Asia and how new and exciting everything was, even the smells. It reminds me of our first elephant ride, the little boat we took to our hut on the beach and going calamari fishing and catching nothing but having fun anyway.
This blue ball and little dog on a boat we bought in California on our first trip there. We went to San Francisco (before all our friends moved there) and then drove down Route 1 to Los Angeles to go out with the boys, as we call Puraj, Zeb and Brooke, followed by a weekend in Santa Barbara to see our friends Katya and Laith get married. These ornaments remind me our bike ride over the Golden Gate bridge, our drive down Route 1 where Randy got car sick and I had to take over and drive REALLY slow because I was so nervous of the cliffs. They remind me of having breakfast with our friends in Santa Barbara and dancing at Katya and Laith’s wedding. It reminds me of getting hot dogs with the boys and having breakfast in LA with Mike Tyson.
This ornament was a present from my sister and MJ the year we got married and I love it! It makes me smile every time I see it and can’t wait to unwrap it 50 years from now and remember how excited I was to celebrate our first Christmas as a married couple. I think it’s even funnier that Randy and I took a cab home the night we got married after our ride didn’t show up. But this ended up being the best ending because instead of leaving at 2am when the car was scheduled to come pick us up we ended up leaving at 5am!
This boomerang was picked up on our trip to Australia. This was our last trip we took before Adam was around, either in my belly or out. It reminds me of sharing wonderful glasses of wine with Randy on the beach in Noosa, going to get ice cream with unlimited sprinkles, swimming in a lake made of rain on Fraser Island- an island made entirely of sand and the last moments where it was just Randy and I before we became a family of three.
This ornament we got in St. Michaels. This was our first trip with Adam. We drove to St Michaels and spent the weekend in a cozy b&b on the water. It was still March and cold but we bundled up and walked around and enjoyed traveling with Adam. It reminds me of starting our many, many travels with Adam, playing gin rummy with Randy in the hotel room while Adam slept, ordering a table full of crabs and Adam falling asleep right as they arrived leaving us free to eat our crabs and get our hands dirty.
It reminds me also to appreciate every second with Adam. While we were sitting in a coffee shop taking a million pictures of Adam, Randy suddenly asked me to stop taking pictures and later told me an older couple two tables down were watching us and the woman began to cry while her husband comforted her. I don’t know if they had recently suffered a loss or were remembering a loss but every time i think of that story it makes me want to hug Adam extra tight.
This trumpet we bought on our trip to Ohio when we went to see our nephew Roman three weeks after he was born. It reminds me of holding Roman when he was a teeny tiny baby, feeding him a bottle, seeing Randy love him so much and watching new parents Sandra and Shawn look like naturals! It also reminds me of having the best steak ever at The Precinct, cooking Moussaka and sitting on the back deck talking about everything. It reminds me how quickly time goes by since it seems like yesterday Roman was this little baby and now he’s already three and a half years old and a big brother and a big cousin!
This alligator is from our trip to New Orleans that we just took. It was our first trip without Adam and even though Randy got sick and was in bed the whole weekend, it reminds me that we have wonderful grandmas who take care of Adam so Randy and I can have time away. It also reminds me to get antibiotics right away when one of us gets sick on vacation! It also makes me think of how much fun I had with my sister, Michael, Erika and Henry. We’ll just have to plan another trip where Randy doesn’t get sick.
When I was younger each of my siblings and I had ornaments that we got to hang because they were ours 🙂 I can’t wait for Adam to get to hang his ornaments. I love the idea of collecting an ornament or two every year and when Adam is old enough to have his own tree I can give him these ornaments to start his own collection with his family.
Grandma Gertch bought him this boat with his name on it when we were in Cape May this summer with her friends. It was so nice to get to spend a couple days on the beach with my mom. She got to take Adam swimming in the pool and feed him some of his earliest solids. She even convinced me to give Adam his favorite food…bread for the first time! Seeing this boat I can almost imagine sitting on the deck watching the sun set over the ocean.
Here is Adam’s hand print from when he was a couple months old. I can’t wait until he’s a teenager and it seems unbelievable that this little hand was once his.
I love this ornament that my mom got Adam. It says We are waiting for you, love Grandma 2011. I love this picture, because a year later he’s here and exploring the lights!
bosas-from-us.com 
Got to love that gator (and that weekend, with the exception of poor Randy)! Hanging my streetlamp and streetcar brought back happy/full memories, which is what I love so much about collecting ornaments. So glad we share this addiction. Already looking forward to another trip, with a healthy Randy and plenty of ornaments to take home…
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