Christian's First Christmas

I can hardly wait for the years when kids are jumping on my bed to wake me up for Christmas morning, begging to go downstairs to see if Santa has come. Bundling everyone up to go outside for afternoon sledding after the presents have been opened. Naps by the fire holding snuggly kids exhausted by the day's excitement. But that was not this year. In fact, this is how Christian spent his first Christmas morning, sound asleep in the hallway in the basement after a restless Christmas Eve night in his port-a-crib. He did eventually make an appearance after all the gifts had been opened and the toys picked up. Christian got some sweet toys, like an animatronic Elmo and Mickey Mouse, blocks, an activity table, and much more. The most fun thing on each, of course, was the tag. Go figure. We had a really fun time at Aunt Jen's. Here are some shots of the festivities.

The cousins in their new jammies

Christian riding Thomas' new mini ATV.Allie and ChristianFun toy from Aunt Stacey (payback for Elmo Chicken given to Scott in '05)

Christmas Explosion

Christmas has arrived at our house. Ryan's dental office has a big Christmas shabang every year, and since it is our first Christmas in our new home, we asked if we could host this year. We thought it would be fun. While the party itself was wonderful and everyone had a good time, I learned that the prep work for a holiday party is not as fun. In fact, it is a lot of work. Thank goodness Ryan took a week and a half off for Thanksgiving because every waking minute was spent cleaning, decorating, fixing, painting, raking, shopping...you get the picture. Phil and Sherrine came up to help us with odds and ends, like decorating the mantle, installing chair rail in the dining room, and fixing the garage door.

What happened to our garage, you ask? Funny story. Someone in our household was backing out of said garage and realized a little too late that they had not opened the door first. I won't tell you who it was because they would be embarrassed. The only hint I will give you is that that person's name does not start with a C. Luckily there wasn't a ton of damage and it was something we could repair ourselves.

Anyhoo, after a full week of work, the giant tree is up, the lights are lit, the stockings are hung by the staircase with care, and we are exhausted. But we are done decorating and it is only Dec 5th.

The party was a roaring success. Everyone had a fun time and the food was delicious! The best part was that it was catered, so I didn't have to do a thing in the kitchen. Not even one dish. They were awesome! Ryan got a Patriots hat with LED lights in the bill in the gift swap. Truly a treasure. And to make the evening perfect, it SNOWED for the first time this winter. Just a dusting, but it was such a festive touch. Winter is here and Christmas is just around the corner. This is my favorite time of the year. And don't worry, Ry. Your next vacation is only a few weeks away and you won't have to lift a finger. It might even be relaxing. Here are a million pictures that document our massive decorating efforts. And one of a really cute baby.

Halloween

This was our first Halloween in our new house and neighborhood. There are lots of little kids on our street, so we were hoping for big numbers of trick or treaters. We set up the fog machine on the front porch along with skull strobe lights, a witch sitting in the rocking chair, and a fiber optic pumpkin. It looked very festive and got great reactions from our neighbors.The main event, however, was the trunk or treat at the church on Wednesday night. It wasn't the best night. It was a rainy, yucky day and I had a very cranky little boy due to teething. We were determined to make the best of it and headed to the church. Christian was a hit in his dragon costume and was passed around by my young women all night.
We usually go all out, with Ry dressing up in his now famous gorilla costume hiding in the trunk with the fog machine going and halloween lights flashing and scary music playing, but since it was raining we were forced inside. Luckily I had a backup plan. The decorations weren't as lavish, but still fun. It might not have been our best showing, but still a very fun night.