It is pathetic that I am just now posting about Christmas a month and a half later, but I'm playing the 'new baby' card and doing it anyways! I want to always remember my sweet boy's last holiday as an only child and the details are already slipping away from me, so I had better get them in writing ASAP!
This Christmas started with a trip to see Santa. Carter & I had been shopping at the mall twice before and saw Santa there, but both times I asked if he wanted to sit in his lap or go up to talk to him and I was answered with a big "NO!". So I didn't push it, we just sat and waved at him and watched some other kids visit with him. But I knew that our church was having a Santa visit the Saturday before Christmas and that I would be sure to get him there for it. So that day came around and Carter was just as scared as he was when we visited last year. We just sat and watched some other kids interact with him for a bit, then slowly coaxed Carter to go up to him and get a bag of candy and tell him what he wanted for Christmas. Of course, his only want was "tractors", even though we have about a thousand already! :) There was no talking him into sitting on his lap or even turning his back to him and smiling for a picture...but there were some knucks exchanged!
Later that night, we met up with Brent's mom, dad, sisters and brother-in-law for pizza and to exchange gifts. Brent's dad had suffered a heart attack right around Thanksgiving, so this year the holidays were extra special because we realized how precious our time together is. Unfortunately, he also came down with the flu the week before our Christmas gatherings and his mom and sister came down with it the week of Christmas, so it was also nerve-wracking for me to be around them as well. I was super freaked out that our little family (with me at 38 weeks pregnant) would come down with it about the time I went into labor...or even that Carter would get sick and I would have to leave him to have the baby. Thankfully, we somehow avoided it. Anyways, Christmas with them was great. Carter wasn't too big of a fan of opening the presents, but he loved playing with them once they were open and out of the boxes! Here he is with his Nene.
The next day, we had Christmas with my step-grandparents, Juju and Pawpaw. We always have a blast there...we spent the day snacking and drinking (besides me, of course!) and playing games and then opening presents in the evening. Carter and baby Nolan (8/9 months) were the center of attention so they had a ball!
Then we had a few days off. I had the week off from work since our office is closed, so I kept Carter man at home with me. We were able to relax and rest up for the rest of our Christmas activities to come. We also were all fighting off a cold that we passed around between us AND Carter was working hard on pushing his two year molars through. It definitely kept me on my toes thinking we were all coming down with the flu, but thankfully by Christmas we were mostly better.
Brent had Christmas Eve off with us, so we took a ride over to the farm to change out the memory card on his game camera and just ride around the back roads looking at animals and tractors for Carter. Carter had fun pretending to drive the truck while Brent was out doing his thing.
After we got back home, it was lunch and naps all around. Then we headed to Brent's grandparents (Delmer & Susie's) for dinner and games and presents. Carter, Brayden, Avary, and Aniston had lots of fun playing all together and Carter was yet again spoiled with presents.
Next we went to 'Midnight' Mass (at 10PM) at our church. Carter was worn out and church was packed, so it was an interesting experience, but we made it through somehow. You would think a kid would fall asleep during church at that time of night after so much excitement, but Carter is just not that kid! But it is safe to say that he was asleep within seconds of hitting the pillow when we got home.
Then it was time for Santa to work his magic. Unfortunately, Santa was not very smart and did not have the tractors out of their boxes and the teepee constructed just yet. So it was a late night...but a lesson was learned!
Carter loved his trackhoe and dump truck on Christmas morning. They both go frontwards and backwards, the trackhoe's arm goes up and down and scoops, and the dump truck bed will rise up to dump out the contents. They are really cool and should be things he will play with for years to come so long as he doesn't have them worn out by then! :)
Daddy had just about as much fun as Carter with them!! Carter also got lots of things in his stocking like crayons, coloring books, play-dough, big boy underwear, and the coolest Water-wow coloring books that I would recommend for any toddler who likes to color but isn't very good with crayons or markers just yet (or just can't be trusted not to run off with them in our case!).
The teepee was his other big gift from Santa that was brought on from his love of hiding. It is now in his room and he honestly doesn't hang out in there as much as I expected, but it definitely looks really cute in there so it will stay! I figure he will probably like it better when his sister is mobile and he wants to get away for a bit. :) Above you can see that he got a breathing treatment in there on Christmas morning to try to help kick that yucky cough/congestion he was dealing with.
After breakfast, we headed off to Granny Mac's for lunch and another round of gifts. Carter is the youngest there so he was the center of attention and was completely spoiled yet again. He still wasn't in the mood to open gifts, though, only to play with them once they were out!
He was so exhausted when we left. The sun was shining directly into his eyes on the drive home, so Daddy lent him his hat and we pulled out his sunglasses. We wanted him to try to stay awake until we were home, but he just couldn't do it! All that present opening will wear a boy out!!
Once he woke up from his nap, we did some playing with the new toys and then headed to my dad's for Christmas with him. He made us chicken wings for supper, sort of a new tradition for us in the past few years! It is such a nice change up from the typical ham and casseroles we are used to eating .
Dad got Carter his own tool box so he can be just like his Daddy. It has by far been his favorite toy ever since, no doubt. He now knows what each thing is, even calipers and a square that I wouldn't have known!
No comments:
Post a Comment