Christmas Eve, Part 1

J and I love Christmas. I mean love Christmas, and we have thoroughly enjoyed celebrating the season with each other over the past 7 Christmases that we have been married. Here's a look back...

Our first married Christmas in 2005...we were such babies!

Christmas 2006...sigh, this was before I got my teaching wrinkles from making the "You did WHAT!?!?" face, over and over and over and...

Sorry for the individual shots from 2007...we're showing off the toys we bought to donate for J's parents' Christmas gift, a favorite tradition!

J in 2007.

White Christmas in 2008!

I couldn't find a picture of us from 2009!
So here's another tradition that happens on Christmas Eve...
we play and sing Christmas carols at my parents house after the annual Christmas Eve dinner.

Here's J last year (2010). He looks tired. The reason you don't see me in the picture is because I know that I looked at least that tired, AND I was 9 months pregnant. Yeah, now you get why I'm not in the picture, and you support me not being in the picture, don't you?

Here I am last year opening presents (exactly 1 week for P made his appearance) and wearing lots of black to conceal the 7 lb. 3 oz. Peanut that is in my belly.

And here we are this year. My how things change...
and we both agree that we like Peanut better on the outside than on the inside. :)

We were excited to bring Peanut into the mix this year. It's hard to believe that this time last year I was about to pop (and was actually much closer than any of us realized!), and that our little guy is celebrating his first Christmas this year...just 6 days shy of his 1st birthday.

We are blessed to be surrounded by family, but this also means that at times we have to get creative about getting adequate time with everyone...so we had what ended up being 4 Christmas celebrations! (but we're not complaining, and P really handled all the excitement really well.) :)

Round 1 started at the home of Pops and Grandma Judy (J's parents). We went over for lunch on Christmas Eve day because they would be traveling to Austin to see J's grandparents on Christmas Day. When we got there, we realized that we had forgotten P's highchair. Fear not!...we were in a home of Eagle Scouts and Scout masters...so I knew they were going to come up with something! And come up with something they did...:)Here is a picture of P in his great-grandmother Tula's highchair that normally has its home in Judy's office. The tray, it was decided, might not be super safe, but not to worry...P just got tied into his highchair with one of Judy's scarves. :) Add a dishtowel in the kid's lap, and we were in business.

P experienced his first gift unwrapping. Here he is working hard to get to his present.

He actually did a pretty good job of getting the paper off of the box, not eating the paper, and being willing to play with the gift after he unwrapped it as opposed to being obsessed with the paper or the box. :)

Patiently waiting for his toy, as "some assembly was required."

The first of many toys that J is going to be putting together over the next few years, I'm sure.

Here's P on his Fisher Price "Stride to Ride Dino."

Realizing that this toy is pretty fun...

Make that A LOT of fun!

Here we are trying out the "stride" feature of the toy. Grandma Judy is trying to convince him to come to her. P is giving her the head tilt maneuver in response.

Thanks for a GREAT Christmas, Part 1, Pops and Grandma Judy!