Now that the busyness of the holidays is behind us and our house has been de-Christmased we are making progress physically, mentally and emotionally for our family to become four in a few short weeks.
But with that said, we can't allow too much time to pass without reflecting on this holiday season and how much fun it was to see Christmas through the eyes of a toddler. James truly got into the holiday spirit this season and I'm sure he was sad to see it fade away as we had him waving bye bye to the Christmas tree when we took it down this past weekend.
Luckily this holiday season we didn't have to contend with horrible weather and bone-chilling cold. Mom is starting to wonder if we even needed to buy James boots this season as he hasn't had much use for them yet. Even though we had a brown Christmas a fun time was had by all.
Christmas Eve afternoon we attended church and James did pretty well sitting through the service but got a little anxious to get up and moving towards the end given he is usually attending Sunday school class. With about ten minutes left in the service he turned to Mom and asked, "Momma, when is baby Jesus coming?" Guess he's been paying attention to the lessons at Sunday school and the focus on the Advent Season that we've been honoring at home with his Sunday School Advent Wreath we lit each week. His question rustled a few giggles from the folks around us, but Mom and Dad thought it was pretty cute, and hope he continues to question the "reason for the season" as he gets older.
Christmas Eve following church we spent the evening with the Kamrath family. We enjoyed a lovely meal and James got an opportunity to open some gifts. At his second birthday party he still didn't quite get the concept of gifts, but after cautiously opening one, he was all about opening others and assisting others with theirs! I think he gets it now. James favorite gift this evening were the pair of junior sized hockey gloves that Bryan and Megan got for him (to go along with the ice skates that need to be purchased). He ran around the living room that night and was saying hello to everyone with them on and continues to be entertained with them at home too.
James enjoyed some egg nog (with Dad of course) and we all had a good time laughing at his antics the rest of the evening.
We of course had to read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas prior to heading to bed that night. It's become one of James' favorite books and by the end of the holiday season he was able to recite a lot of the pages by memory. Final stop before bed, putting out cookies for Santa! We thought he might try to take a bite of one himself, but he was pretty adamant that they were for Santa and that he wanted to set them by the door (since he knows Santa comes through the door at homes with no chimney). We convinced him the end table was a better spot and he agreed. The next morning he was so excited to see the egg nog and cookies all gone.
We spent Christmas morning together as a family, having breakfast and opening gifts. Santa listened to James' wish list as he got lots of fun things - an apron to help mom in the kitchen, cars and some Playdoh to name a few.
Later on Christmas Day we ventured to both the Bragg and Clark family Christmas' as well. James again had a wonderful time opening gifts and helping others do the same. He hasn't stopped talking about his Thomas Train that you can see below. I think his eyes were the size of saucers when he started to tear the paper off and he realized what it was.
The holidays were so much fun this year now that James is realizing what's going on and that we can experience it through his eyes. We look forward to the holiday season again next year when we have two kids and can't wait to see how James and Baby #2 develop in the New Year.
We continue to be blessed with wonderful family and friends and reflect on this particularly at this time year. We hope everyone has a wonderful start to 2012!!
