“Lia, look! They have reindeer.” I grabbed Lia’s hand and ran to the temporary stall where two reindeer chewed on grains and hay.

Mom and dad followed close behind, but we didn’t wait for them. Dressed with belled harnesses, standing next to a red sleigh, they looked exactly like the reindeer in the movies. Lia stood in awe, and I couldn’t believe Santa let two of his reindeer come to Washington Park.

“Amy, that sign says it’s Comet and Cupid.” Lia pointed to a wooden sign with red painted names. Shoulders slumped, she let out a sigh, “I really wanted Rudolph.”

Mom grabbed us from behind and tickled us through our thick blue coats. “What are you talking about? Don’t you know Rudolph has to help Santa map the routes for later tonight?”

She wrapped her arms around us and kissed our cheeks. Flurries fell, and Mom brought us to the lights display. Even though it was still afternoon, the dancing lights on the park’s opera house turned the ice on the lake into a sparkling wonder. Mom said it looked like we were inside a snow globe.

“Hmm... I wonder if any little girls like snow tubing?” Mom raised her chin to the sky as if waiting for Santa to confirm we had been good.

“Me! Me! Me!” Lia and I jumped with our arms up, competing with who could get to Mom first. She ran away laughing.

It hadn’t snowed much that winter, but the park had blown snow on the hill, and a long line to the top formed. At the bottom, the men hooked the tubes to a machine that brought them up.

“Ok you two, you better get in line before it gets any longer.”

“Mom, come with us to the top.” Lia grabbed Mom’s sleeve and pulled. I helped a moment later.

“What. No, no. Who will wait at the bottom?” Mom waved her hands in protest, but Dad arrived, and we convinced her to help us up the slippery slope.

The line was slow, but every step forward tickled our stomachs until we nearly reached the top. I cupped my hands over Lia’s ear and whispered, “It’s really high.”

She nodded, and we watched a boy screaming on his way down.

“Do you wanna go back?” she asked.

Before I could say a word, Mom grabbed our hands and smiled with her eyes closed. “Oh, it looks like so much fun. Maybe I should record my brave girls.”

Lia smiled back. For the rest of our hike up, our feet sunk a little deeper into the snow because of her words. When we finally reached the top, the man called for the next person in line, and we circled behind mom and pushed her forward.

“She’s next,” we both shouted.

“Oh no, you two are—”

“Alright ma’am, hop on.” The young man held the red and black tube in place and patted the side.

“Ah, but I think I’m a little too big.”

“Two-hundred and fifty pounds. No problem.” The man patted once more, and we cheered for her to go.

Mom gave us a dirty look, but she did as the man said and sat with a little help. He looked towards us and twirled his finger in a circle. Lia nodded. I didn’t know what he meant until he asked if she was ready.

Grabbing the tube’s side, he spun her as hard as he could and almost threw her down the hill. “Have fun!”

Mom screamed the entire way, spinning so fast she looked like she would fly off at any moment. When dad helped her out, she couldn’t walk straight and fell in the snow. The man laughed and called us next.

A tube for two. Lia sat across from me, and we both gave a thumbs up like he said. “We’re ready.”

Like he did for Mom, he grabbed the side of the tube, and my stomach dropped. A smile and a wave later, we spun like tops, our heads stretching our necks all the way down. Even though we were scared, we laughed the entire way.

I stood and fell, then stood and fell again. Mom still hadn’t gained her balance and was holding on to Dad, but once we made it close, she put her hands on her hip and pretended to act mad.

We rode down the hill twice more through the Christmas flurries until they turned into light snow.

“Alright girls, time to go.” Mom grinned and grabbed our hands to help us walk. “We better leave before the storm hits.”

We didn’t want to leave, but the snow was sticking to the bare walkway, which meant the roads would soon be covered. Once home, I took my boots, snow pants, coat, and hat off. Pins and needles poked my legs. In the mirror, my cheeks were as red as Lia’s.

Mom made hot cocoa and put marshmallows with candy canes in our blue mugs. “Once you’re done, wash up, and we’ll finish the tree.”

The cocoa warmed us quickly, and after bathing like Mom said, we dressed in our blue and white snowflake pajamas, ready to put the last decorations on our Christmas tree.

Two wooden blocks, held by red ribbons.

Baby’s First Christmas, 2007. Amy Lynn, Born December 21, 2007. Lia Marie, Born December 21, 2007. Our initials on the other side, the last decorations every year.

“There, it’s perfect.” Mom nodded her approval and started dinner.

Lia and I fought over which movies to watch, finally settling on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman. Mom wanted to watch It’s a Wonderful Life, but we convinced her to watch it with Dad later.

She finished baking the sugar cookies and helped us decorate them. Green Christmas trees, silver and gold stars, red and white candy canes, and snowmen with red scarves and black hats. After we ate ours, we readied Santa’s.

Four large cookies on a Christmas plate, a tall glass of milk, nine baby carrots for the reindeer, and a letter we wrote thanking him for our presents.

“Ok you two, off to bed.” Mom hurried us to our room, tucked us in our beds, and kissed us goodnight. Before leaving, she winded the dancing ballerina box and told us to go to sleep, or Santa wouldn’t come.

Lia jumped from her bed and came into mine the moment she closed the door. “What do you think Santa’s gonna bring us?”

“I don’t know.” I thought for a moment; there were two things we both wanted. “Maybe the makeup kit.”

Lia nodded and tucked a strand of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear. “I really hope he brings us the art set.”

Lia was good at painting people; I liked painting landscapes. Easels and palettes. We both wanted to paint together. We talked about all the things we would draw until both of us fell asleep.

A car door shutting woke us up, and when we looked outside the window, Grandma and Grandpa were walking through the snow from the storm the night before.

It was Christmas morning, and it was time to open our presents.