We had so much fun this holiday season. Jack was just old enough to take everything in and be in wonder about everything. Our neighbors next door do holiday lights big time and since Jack LOVES bright lights/neon lights, he loved looking at them. Christmas lights helped keep him happy when we were in the car at night. (We are much better in the car but he still hates being in the dark car).
He didn't quite understand the concept of opening gifts, but he did great overall considering how overstimulating Christmas is for any kid (or adult!)
On Christmas Eve, we had a Christmas Party with Mark's mom and siblings. His sister hosted a lovely French themed event where we had crackers and cheese, yummy macaroons, mini eclairs and then a complete ham dinner with sparkling soda.
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| Be jealous! This food spread was delicious! |
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| He enjoyed the new environment-- especially terrorizing Aunt Jamie's puppy! |
Santa was an unexpected guest at the party. He also looked strangely like Uncle Ryan-- that may have helped Jack from completely freaking out. Traditionally Santa has always come to Christmas parties for Mark's family. We had a break for a year or two but it was fun to have the tradition come back for Jack.
Jack was a lucky boy and had a lot of presents to open! He got a new bouncy ball dinosaur toy from GranMary, fun touch and feel books from Aunt Jamie, a stuffed pig which he loves from Uncle Ryan, and his favorite toy of all: A red ball from Uncle Luke!
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| Are you sure it's okay that I make a mess mom? |
One of Jack's favorite games/songs is Pat-a-Cake. Aunt Jamie got him the best of both worlds: Curious George (who is a built in hand puppet in the book) and Pat-A-Cake book.
Jack did so good on Christmas Eve despite everything going on. We put him to bed and then Mom stayed up to help Santa finish up until about 1AM. Mark gave up around 11 and went to bed. I definitely learned the reality of Christmas productivity with a little one. Next year's goal: more ahead shopping/planning and more online shopping done. I hate to do it that way, but that's just how it's going to be for a few years.
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| This was 1 of 2 pictures we remembered to get Christmas day. This is him in front of our tree Christmas morning. I will cherish it as the last few Chrstmases we not only slept in until 8:30, but were able to eat breakfast without any begging to open presents! |
That evening, we braved the weather and drove out to my parents' house. (On Christmas Day Provo got a good 6 inches of snow- my parents who live up in the mountains got over a foot!) The weather unfortunately prevented all of my local siblings from making it, but we had a great time visiting and playing with aunts, uncles, and cousins who could make it. Jack also took a 90 minute nap that evening which allowed me to play with one of my nephews who is 6 months old. It's great to have cousins so close together, but I definitely haven't gotten to hang out with Jack's 2 closest cousins as much as I'm used to. He gets a bit upset when I pick up other babies...or even look at them!
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| Matching Argyle! |
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| Those coasters are an heirloom from Great-Grandma Stites! A 2nd generation "toy". |
I got Mark a tool box for Christmas which used up most of my "budget". I decided it would be fun to start a new tradition of building a gingerbread house. So I wrapped up one of those kits and put on the tag "To Daddy and Jack". The idea was that they could build a house together the day after Christmas every year. This year Jack was too young so Mark and I put it together....of course thanks to sickness, craziness and other life adventures we put it together New Years Day. The icing tube exploded on us so we had to get a bit creative with icing and decorating.
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| Looks just like the box's picture don't you think? |
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| My husband is such a ham for the camera. |
We hope all of you had a merry Christmas filled with loved ones and happiness!
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