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Well, I've been wanting to read some Mondler Parent stories, but there don't seem to be too many. I realize my story may be a bit...boring, but I really wanted to read the details of them parenting. I hope some of you enjoy it! And Merry Christmas, everyone!

The First Noel

Christmas was shaping up to be exceptionally lovely this year, Monica thought, wiping her hands on her apron and standing back to admire her perfectly crafted Christmas ham. She was well into her cooking obligations, even if the cooking was only for herself and Chandler this year. She was used to making a huge meal for her friends (and occasionally her parents) but this Christmas was going to be a first for everyone—they were spending it with their respective families. Joey was off in LA with his sister and nephew—living it up according to his less than frequent phone calls to Chandler. Ross and Rachel were still making a go of their newly requited relationship—they were spending the holidays upstate, just themselves and Emma. Rachel had moaned to Monica that she felt that between her and Ross's obligations they hadn't had the chance to work on their relationship as much as they would have liked; thus, the winter vacation. And Phoebe and Mike were holed up in their apartment making music and love, hoping for a new edition to their familial band.

Shaking her head at her reverie, she moved to take the ham from the counter and place it in the oven so that it could cook while she and Chandler helped the twins open their Christmas gifts. She would admit that she had gone a bit overboard in shopping for the infants' first Christmas, but only a bit. Each baby probably only had 25 to 30 gifts a piece–that wasn't really too much, was it? And besides–most of the gifts were actually clothes–the two of them outgrew their clothing on a regular basis, as was to be expected. But at times it did seem to Monica that what would fit one of the babies one day would be too snug on the very next!

In the background she could hear Chandler cooing to the babies and their answering gurgles. Only recently had they begun to imitate sounds and it was pleasing Chandler to no end. He spent every moment with the twins, gurgling, cooing, laughing, and making all sorts of strange noises for them to copy back. Erica was especially adept at the noise making, and Monica couldn't help but wonder if it was due to her being the noisier of the two twins naturally. Jack was fairly laid back; he rarely cried and when he did it was generally due to hunger. He would gurgle and make noises when prompted, but seemed content in his own silence. Erica, however, cried, cooed, gurgled, and "talked" to them every minute she was awake. Erica was as content in her own voice as Jack was with his silence. Her two babies were as different as night and day and for that Monica couldn't have been more grateful. She didn't need or want carbon copy children.

Moving away from the kitchen and into her perfectly presented dining room, she entered the family room from it's back entrance, enthralled anew to see Chandler stooped over the twin's playpen. Hearing her enter he turned, excited. "Look, Mon—they've learned something new!" Hurrying over, she saw that her two babies, the pride and joy of her life, were busy blowing bubbles—spit bubbles.

"Isn't it great?!" Chandler enthused, thrilled with his children's accomplishment. "Jacky had one about the size of his fist a minute ago!"
"Wow!" Monica said, feigning delight, "That's amazing." She leaned over with a soft cloth she had picked up from the table next to the pen and wiped both baby's chins. "They need to learn to wipe up that spit if they're going to remain in this house…" she joked, picking Jack up and cooing to him. "Yes, that's right Mr. Jacky. No spit bubbles in Mommy's house. No, sir. No, sir." Jack smiled at her and reached out a hand for her hair.Erica, meanwhile, grew tired with the spit bubbles and let out a small whimper. "Uh, oh," Chandler said, "Sounds like someone's hungry." He picked her up and patted her bottom, stilling her cries for the moment.
"So," he said, looking at Erica and then over to Jack, "What'll it be? Ham and the trimmings with your Mom and me, or mashed peas?" Erica waved her arms and grunted causing Chandler to grin. "Okay, okay. Tutti-frutti, then. Tough crowd."

"We may be eating Tutti-Frutti, too actually," Monica said, heading for the kitchen with Jack in her arms, "Seeing as how we won't be eating dinner until after we open presents."

Behind her she heard Chandler whisper to Erica, "Dibs on the Winnie-the-Pooh spoon then."

As they sat feeding the twins, Monica reflected on just how different this Christmas truly was. She knew that she and Chandler had technically created a family as soon as they had married, but with their lives changing little from their single days, it hadn't ever really sunk in that they were in fact a family. But now, with Erica closing her mouth and letting mashed peas dribble down her chin, and Jack throwing his spoon to the floor for Chandler to fetch regularly, she realized that they were indeed a family.

Chandler looked over at her and smiled, not minding when Jack's spoon once again sailed over the side of his high-chair tray. Monica wiped the peas from Erica's chin with her Pooh spoon and fed them to her again, smiling fondly at the little girl before grinning back at Chandler. "I think these two are ready to open their Christmas presents."

Removing the twins from their chairs and getting them cleaned up took some time, especially when they both decided they needed a new diaper before they could open their gifts. But after several minutes they were seated in front of the immaculate Christmas tree that Monica had put up one afternoon when her parents had been watching the children. Breaking from her years long tradition of using only white lights for her tree, she had placed colored lights on her tree this year. There was even a button that could be pushed to allow the lights to "chase" one another. This invention enthralled the babies and Monica often placed them both in their baby swings facing the tree for some evening entertainment after they had eaten.

Sitting close to the tree, Erica reached out to grab at the tree limb closest to her. Monica gently pulled her back, sitting her in front of herself on the floor. The babies were able to sit up by themselves now for long periods, but Monica and Chandler both still sat protectively near them in order to catch them if they were to fall. She and Chandler placed themselves facing one another but several feet apart, with their legs spread into V's. Each placed a baby within the V of their legs and then set to fetching their presents to help them open. The babies, of course, were not so interested in the actual gifts contained in the brightly wrapped packages, but were immensely interested in the wrapping paper and bows their gifts were wrapped in. Jack immediately began to chew on an errant piece of wrapping paper and Erica waved around a bright red ribbon. Chandler smiled fondly at his little girl and reached over to place another bright bow on top of her pale blonde curls.

After the last present was open (including the presents that "Santa" had left for Mommy and Daddy) Chandler fell back against the couch with Jack in his arms, exhausted. Erica was already sleeping in Monica's lap, worn out from her first Christmas experience. And Monica could only look around at the heaps of wrapping paper, bows, and boxes that normally would have set her into a cleaning frenzy. It just seemed, though, that some things were more important than cleaning and three of those things were resting right next to, and in Erica's case, on top of her.

The timer beeped from the oven, rousing Monica from the dose she had fallen into. Glancing at Chandler, who had been awakened as well, she motioned for him to take Erica from her so that she could take the ham from the oven. Rising from her spot she looked at Chandler who lay now, a twin in each arm, on the couch. Happiness rose in her from the tips of her toes as she gently leaned down to kiss each of the twins on their foreheads, and Chandler on the lips as he lifted his head. "Merry Christmas, babies." she whispered, "I love you."

Chandler smiled drowsily, and hugged his babies closer as Monica exited the room and she could hear him as he said to them, and to her, "And God bless us, Everyone."

-end