Christmas Memories

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and despite our financial hardships we managed to make it through and Jack got more toys than we could have ever imagined. We started off at Mark's dad's house Christmas Eve in the afternoon and spent a few hours there. Jack got lots of blocks and a wagon to put them in, a John Deere 4-wheeler (one that he has to move himself...get those legs going!), a super cute outfit and an Elmo which he LOVED. It was so much fun watching him open presents. He wanted to play with every single toy he got, but that was expected.

Opening his blocks...
After Pepe's house we headed off to church. We have been bad Catholics and have not been to church in a while and I really wanted to go, so off we went. I've come out of that experience knowing that it will be a long time again before we go to church with a toddler....especially Jack. He was so tired but refused to fall asleep so we ended up going through a boat load of puffs, some teddy grams and a few trips up and down some stairs in the back. Jack did play with his buddy Alek from gym tots for a little bit to keep him busy, but that was short lived. I managed to listen to about 5 minutes of mass throughout the ordeal. Oh well....we'll try again when he is a little older.

Then we were off to Aunt Debbie's for Christmas dinner with Mark's family. Jack ended up sleeping there for about an hour despite all the noise. He woke up very cranky...

But eventually calmed down and started playing with everybody and being his normal self. He even tried to steal a toy from baby Noah. (Mark's cousin's grandson). Guess we know what we have to get him for his birthday...

Around 9:30....WAY past his bedtime...we headed home. The next morning Santa brought a few more toys for him to play with. Santa decided not to wrap up his new drumset....bad idea, Santa. All Jack wanted to do was play. It took us about an hour to get through 5 more presents because he kept going back to his drums. At least we know he liked them!!


We did manage to get him to open his K'Nex Elmo, which he loved...
And for some reason he really loved his toothbrush and toothpaste. At least he's got good hygeine.

Mark and I got each other a few things....I got three new pairs of pants (which I badly needed) and Mark got a new dress shirt, tie, Scrubs season 7 and a flash drive. The best part of it all was of course watching Jack open all his presents.

After our family Christmas we headed up to Montreal to spend Christmas with my family. It's the only time of year I get to see my Aunt's and Uncle's on my mom's side and my grandmother. We always have a great time up there and stuff ourselves silly with fabulous food. Jack loved going up and down the stairs to the playroom in the basement and kept us all busy chasing him. He also really liked their piano and Mammy tried to teach him how to play....he was more interested in doing it his way. So after all the running around, Mark and I had both of our immediate families over for a Lasagna dinner and opening of presents. Jack got royally spoiled by both families and Mark and I spent three days trying to find places for all of his toys to go. Some of his favories so far are his Elmo Live from Uncle Justin, a tent from Mammy and Papa, his tool bench from Auntie Katy and Uncle Ryan and his Diego backpack from Grammy. Those are the toys he seems to look for every day and play with more than once. I think he has more toys than he knows what to do with. This was our living room the next morning....lovely, isn't it?


That wasn't even half of the toys....Mark and I had put some away already. We have now found a place for everything, thank-goodness.

It was all around a wonderful Christmas. It was a little hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit this year, but I had to keep reminding myself that at least we are able to give our son a few presents, we have food on our table and bills are paid. It took a little extra work on my part, but it was possible.

On a side note...Jack had his 18 month check up today. He is 28 pounds 14 ounces (80%) and 35 inches tall (95+%) We have a tall kid. Everything checks out great and he is talking far more than most kids his age (so our pedi says). He is also showing some typical behaviors (hitting, tantruming) which we both knew was typical but talked to our pedi about anyway. Now we don't have to go back until he is two. I just can't believe that my little boy is growing up so fast.

If you have made it this far....thank-you. I am off to bed to rest up for tomorrow. A night full of friends, food and games. I can't wait. Have a safe and happy New Year everybody!