Christmas Morning

I think I was the first one awake this morning. I stayed in bed waiting for everyone else to wake up and finally around 6:45 I heard William start talking. I couldn’t wait for him to see all his presents!!! The first thing he spotted was his train. He already had some of it but Santa brought him a few tunnels, bridges, and train cars to add on. He sat down right away and started playing!

 

He soon discovered that the blanket was covering something up. He peeked under and spotted his “CHOO CHOO!” He rode all through the house, hopped off, and hasn’t touched it since.

He had LOTS more to open and enjoyed EVERY present!

The Mc’s came over for a bit and he enjoyed showing them all of his new toys. He even had a few more from them to open.

I got a Chris Clark painting. I have loved his work since I was in middle school. He is actually the artist that really got me interested in painting furniture. I am excited to hang it in William’s new room…just as soon as I get that done  

 

I also got a fancy new camera for Christmas…this is where the new pictures start…I am in LOVE with my new NIKON!!!

This was Beverly’s Christmas present…a dog bed for sweet Reggie!! I saw the idea a couple of months ago in Better Homes and Gardens. With the help of my mom and her sewing expertise we were able to get it together…isn’t it so cute???

The Mc’s gave William a new playhouse. It’s of course intended for use in the backyard but we knew there was going to be rain and snow today so Ryan and his dad put it together in what is going to be William’s new room. The fun part will be taking it apart to get it outside but for now William is LOVING it in the house!

Whew!! I know we probably overdid it a little for William but we/he LOVED every minute of it!!! (This was all before 10:00 am…stay tuned for more of the afternoon!!!)

Visit with Santa

This was no surprise. I knew this is how our visit with Santa would go. I waited until Christmas Eve to take William to see Santa. We have seen Santa a few times this month…we even visited Mrs. Claus. We have read books about him and spotted Santa pictures and figurines everywhere but we have not pushed sitting on his lap. I knew I couldn’t go a Christmas without a Santa picture so we headed to the mall to get it over with. I gave Santa and the photographer a heads up and told them to be ready to snap the picture quick and I even managed to get this one on my camera.  We were hoping to make it a family affair but Ryan spent the morning at the doctor and the afternoon in bed. He has walking pneumonia but after two shots in the behind and some oral anit-biotics he was feeling much better this morning. He and William are both sleeping soundly right now while I am sitting by the fire watching the snow fall on this beautiful white Christmas. 

Zoolight Safari

We took William to Zoolight Safari last night. For those of you who don’t know what that is, our zoo is covered in a half million Christmas lights. It is absolutely beautiful and we loved it! We didn’t get two steps in the zoo before William heard the train and wanted to ride the “choo choo.” So first thing we hopped on the train and rode through the zoo. He was very quiet the whole ride…just taking it all in. Once we got to the barn we let him loose and he had a great time looking at all the animals!

Caroling in the Park

For 30 years now the folks in Forest Park have gathered at the park to carol and welcome Santa Claus on the fire truck. In fact 30 years ago my mom went into labor with me while the whole neighborhood was at the park! I don’t think I missed any of the 29 years after that. This was the second year I got to take William. Last year he was sick and it was cold, and it made for a pretty miserable time. This year William was well and it wasn’t so cold but William was still not so sure about all the people. He doesn’t seem to love big crowds and attention, or Santa for that matter.

Christmas Party

Willam’s class Christmas party…They are party animals!!

Chef William

William LOVES to cook in the kitchen. These days he helps me make smoothies and french toast and sometimes he even makes his own concoctions  

Doesn’t it look tasty?? (Amanda, it reminds me of that game we used to play where we had to put in 7 ingredients and the judge had to taste it-YUCK) This one has water, cinnamon, sprinkles, and raisins. Don’t worry he did not eat it, just enjoyed mixing it all together.

Storytime with Mrs. Claus

We took David and William to the library for storytime and to visit with Mrs. Claus (who happened to be our good friend Ms. Marie ). Neither of the boys were very sure about Mrs. Claus but had a great time together at story time.