Last weekend we celebrated Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Okrzesik. They came up Friday afternoon and we had a delicious dinner out at a local place. I had my first fried fish sandwich in 6 years and did it ever taste good. I'd forgotten how awesome tartar sauce is!!
Saturday was our "Christmas morning" and Colin was really into opening gifts. It was hard to get him to wait until Saturday morning and then hard to get him to wait until everyone was ready and gathered around the tree. His favorite gift by far was his Cars racetrack! For the whole weekend he didn't want to actually turn on the cars and race them; he only wanted to push them himself. I think he was a little afraid of them. But Rachel (the neighbor who is 5) came over one night this week and promptly turned them on and started zooming them around the track despite Colin's protests. That was all it really took for Colin to get over his fear (see an older woman doing it). Now he loves to turn them on and race them!
He got a lot of other nice gifts from Grandma and Grandpa plus we opened some from aunts and uncles too. It was a very fun morning!
That afternoon we put together and decorated a gingerbread house (a first for all of us). I'd say it turned out pretty darn good for a bunch of rookies. Colin enjoyed eating the candies and putting a few on the house too.
Colin zonked out at nap time and the adults had a chance to unwind with some snacks and basketball. We had a good dinner that night and were considering driving to see some Christmas lights but Colin just wanted to stay home and play with his new toys.
That evening Keith and I went next door to our neighborhood Christmas party while Grandma and Grandpa put Colin to bed and babysat for us. It was fun to tell most of the neighbors our news. Since it has gotten colder, we don't see many of them during the "dark" months. And while I couldn't imbibe, I did get to sample the delicious appetizers like crab cakes and buffalo chicken meatballs so I didn't feel totally deprived!
It was a really nice Christmas celebration and we are grateful we got to spend the some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa. We won't be able to see Keith's siblings and extended family in Chicago this year so we are sad about that!
Saturday was our "Christmas morning" and Colin was really into opening gifts. It was hard to get him to wait until Saturday morning and then hard to get him to wait until everyone was ready and gathered around the tree. His favorite gift by far was his Cars racetrack! For the whole weekend he didn't want to actually turn on the cars and race them; he only wanted to push them himself. I think he was a little afraid of them. But Rachel (the neighbor who is 5) came over one night this week and promptly turned them on and started zooming them around the track despite Colin's protests. That was all it really took for Colin to get over his fear (see an older woman doing it). Now he loves to turn them on and race them!
He got a lot of other nice gifts from Grandma and Grandpa plus we opened some from aunts and uncles too. It was a very fun morning!
That afternoon we put together and decorated a gingerbread house (a first for all of us). I'd say it turned out pretty darn good for a bunch of rookies. Colin enjoyed eating the candies and putting a few on the house too.
Colin zonked out at nap time and the adults had a chance to unwind with some snacks and basketball. We had a good dinner that night and were considering driving to see some Christmas lights but Colin just wanted to stay home and play with his new toys.
That evening Keith and I went next door to our neighborhood Christmas party while Grandma and Grandpa put Colin to bed and babysat for us. It was fun to tell most of the neighbors our news. Since it has gotten colder, we don't see many of them during the "dark" months. And while I couldn't imbibe, I did get to sample the delicious appetizers like crab cakes and buffalo chicken meatballs so I didn't feel totally deprived!
It was a really nice Christmas celebration and we are grateful we got to spend the some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa. We won't be able to see Keith's siblings and extended family in Chicago this year so we are sad about that!
Opening the BIG racetrack box!
Playing with his Moon Dough pizza maker with Grandma
Creating a masterpiece
Colin poses with the finished product
Your gingerbread house looks great! We're giving it a try this year as well. We'll see how it goes. It sounds like you all had a wonderful time celebrating early. Hope you have a very merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great gingerbread house! I am hoping to do ours today! Merry Christmas!
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