Sweet November: Christmas 2010

We had 5 different Christmases this year... and by the time the fifth one was over we were definitely ready to move on until next year! I think running around for Christmas can get tiring no matter what, but with a toddler it's just not practical to think that things will go smoothly the whole time. Jace needs routine to keep him in good spirits, and after three days of overstimulation and exhaustion, he had had enough. Don't get me wrong, we all had a great time seeing our families, both immediate and extended, over the holidays... it was just a little much with a toddler. At some point we'll have to cut back on how much we run around doing, but the alternative of missing out on seeing people before we move wasn't worth it this year.

On Christmas Eve morning we woke up a little late after celebrating my birthday the night before at Washington Square. Mandi was over so we all just hung out for a bit before heading to breakfast to meet my friend Kristen who had just gotten into town. We wanted to see each other during her short visit home, since we both know it will be quite a while before our schedules coordinate and we end up being in the same place at the same time again. We went to Betty's Pies for breakfast and I had biscuits and gravy and bread pudding with amaretto sauce... oh and since it was my birthday I got a free piece of breakfast pie :)

After that we headed home to let Jace nap while we packed up for our weekend. We headed to Tate's parents house when Jace woke up. His mom made delicious appetizers and his dad made fun drinks, so we hung out for a little bit before opening up some gifts. Jace wasn't all that into opening his gifts this night, probably because they were his first couple presents and he hadn't quite caught on yet to what treasures are hidden under the wrapping paper. He got a really cute Cheerios activity book from Auntie Mandi, I can't wait to play with that with him. He also got his first set of Duplos from grandma and grandpa! After opening gifts we sat down with a huge pile of crab legs for dinner. We had a delicious citrus salad and some bread on the side. Jace pretty much just ate the bread and some goldfish, which he was fine with. His doctor recommended that he stear clear of any seafood for a while because of his food allergy history, I guess seafood is a common allergy. The crab legs were so amazing, I can still taste them... I want more right now. Mmm...

The next morning we woke up at Tate's parents and had some coffee and breakfast before heading to my moms house. We even got stockings, how exciting! I haven't gotten a stocking in years, and I don't think I've ever gotten one with earrings in it. We had to rush out the door after breakfast to make it to my mom's to open gifts while my nephew Micah was still there. (Oh, the joys of coordinating lots of families Christmas plans!) We got there and started opening gifts right away. Jace was really excited to see Micah open his gifts, and vice versa. Jace got a huge bucket of Megabloks and 3 musical Elmo books from Micah. Instead of playing with the blocks, he decided to dive into the bucket to roll around... oh child of mine! I think Micah was watching to pick up wild child pointers. When Micah opened one of his gifts Jace went over and kept climbing up on top on the box it came in and standing up. Did I mention my child is all boy? Are they all this wild and fearless?

Jace went crazy over part of his gift from my mom, a Chicken Dance Elmo. It's elmo dressed in a chicken costume singing and dancing to the Chicken Dance. He loves everything Elmo related, so he immediately started laughing and carrying Elmo around... until he got distracted by whatever Micah was opening next.  Another one of the gifts my mom got him, that ended up being a big hit once out of the box, was the Little People car wash... it's a little set the Fleet Farm sells, and was only $10. He loves it, it's the perfect little toy for any kid who's obsessed with cars like he is. I actually bought him another one of the $10 sets, the farm add on set, and that one seems pretty cool too.

I was so glad we were able to see Nate, Dana and Micah for a little bit on Christmas morning before they had to take off. The boys have so much fun together, and my moms house is really great for free-roaming toddlers since it's pretty child proof. I only wish we could have all stayed a little longer. After their family left, Jace went down for a quick nap. When he woke up we headed out to Minneapolis to Tate's aunt and uncle's house for Christmas #3.

Tate's aunt and uncle prepared a ton of amazing appetizers and we all hung around eating way too much for a few hours. Not long after we got there, Jace started getting pretty fussy. I think it was a combination of several factors. It's hard on him when his schedule is adjusted, and at this point we hadn't been home in over 24 hours. It's also hard for him to not be able to roam freely since he is always on the move. But, with a fire place blazing, candles lit at his level, a stair case and a hot stove, and breakable ornaments... it wasn't really possible to let him be free at all. While it does get a little frustrating when he starts throwing a pre-terrible two's style temper tantrum, it's totally understandable that he feels that way. We tried to take a minute to distance ourselves from some of the commotion and put him in the pack and play with a few toys. It sort of worked... sort of.

Once he opened a couple gifts he seemed distracted by those for a little while. It was really cute when he opened a new winter hat and put it on his head. He immediately started shaking the balls hanging down on the sides of the hat back and forth so they would hit him in the face. The hat is adorable! Unfortunately, I didn't really get a good shot of him cheesing it up. Oh well. He also really loved a toy bus he got. It's called a "Boogie Bus", it's made by the B. brand that's featured in the specialty toy shoppe at Target. I LOVE that brand, they have so many great kids toys. The bus came with 5 different little people and when you push on the driver it shakes and lights up and then zooms across the room. Totally up Jace's alley. Another super cute sentimental gift (I know you don't really care about all of his gifts, but noting it here helps me remember them!) he got was from his Aunt Mandi. She got a recordable book and recorded her voice reading it to him. Whenever he opens it and flips the pages he hears her voice. She did this so he wouldn't "forget her" when we move. As if that's even possible! We'll make sure he doesn't.

At the end of the night Jace was just miserable, and it was way past his bed time, so we headed home to bed.   The next morning Jace and I woke up and impatiently waited for Tate to get out of bed so we could open stockings and presents. I was so excited to see Jace open the gifts I'd gotten for him, without all the distraction and commotion of being in a big group. I made hashbrowns and english muffins for us to eat for breakfast. (If you're wondering why we ate only that, I'll be posting more on our fridge-emptying-no-grocery-shopping-before-we-move challenge later!) Jace loved the hashbrowns, of course.

Once Tate got up, Jace opened up his stocking and was excited everytime he dug his hand in and pulled out a new thing. His stocking was stuffed with an echo microphone, a soft basketball, playdough, a light spinner, goldfish crackers, socks, 2 soft cars, crayons, a frog washcloth... etc. Tate also got a stocking, though his was filled with different things than Jace's! Jace had alot of fun opening gifts, I was happy to see he actually understood what he was doing when he wasn't overwhelmed. After a couple gifts he started getting excited to rip the paper off to see what was inside. He really loved this electric guitar toy I found at Target for him, it's a really noisy toy, so I'm sure I'll be sorry I bought it later. I also got him a Little People farm add on kit, a sing-a-ma-jig, 4 t-shirts for this summer, 6 board books, a Busytown dvd, a bowling set (Hello Mr. Destructive this is your dream toy, you're actually encouraged to throw a ball and knock things over!), a sesame street activity place mat... I can't remember what else at the moment. The sing-a-ma-jig was another huge hit. He loves giving it hugs. Tate got me a new set of nice pots and pans, I'm so excited! The one's we'd be using have seen better days, and it's really not fun to cook dinner in junky old frying pans. I'm super excited to try them out, though I won't be bothering to take them out of the box until we get down south.

That afternoon we headed to my Aunt Becky's. We were all feeling pretty exhausted at this point, so instead of bringing a home cooked appetizer we stopped at White Castle and picked up a Crave Case of burgers... nothing but class! haha... Oh well, they got eaten, so apparently we're not the only ones that love sliders. We played the Norwegian christmas game where everyone brings a gift ranging from $1-$5 and we sit in a circle and steal them from each other. Some of the gifts are things you'd actually want, but most are just funny gifts. I actually lucked out and got a DVD from the game, 27 dresses! Tate thought it was funny to steal a girly pink loofah and some body wash from someone and announce to the room it was for me and it was just a "subtle hint"... ha. ha. ha. At least he thinks he's funny ;)

My dad's sisters Patty and Becky both gave me some of my grandma's jewelry that they had set aside for me. There is one particular piece that I'm really drawn to, it's a cute jeweled antique apple brooch. I don't know what it is about it, but it's really charming. I'm trying to think of something creative to do with it. Patty also brought me another one of my grandma's ice cream chairs so that I can have a matching set to paint red. I posted about the first one in the past. I was able to see my grandma for a short time at Christmas, but in those situations she gets pretty overwhelmed so I stuck back a bit. I plan on visiting her in her nursing home this week before we leave to say a more proper goodbye before we move.

We ended up having to leave Becky's in a hurry because Tate had a Wild hockey game to get to. It was nice for me to be able to go home and hang out with Jace, reflecting on Christmas and getting re-organized a little. We spent the night taking his new toys out of their packaging and playing with them. It's so fun to see him get excited when he learns how to use a new toy.

Today I had a panic attack that we were going to be moving in a week and we have so much to do before we leave. I decided to run around and get all of our exchanges and errands done today. It doesn't sound like much, but running around from store to store trying to find a correct size or color that's in stock, and toting a toddler around in the 10 degree weather with you, spells disaster. 6 hours later, all of the exchanges were done and we were home. Thank god. We didn't have much to exchange, just a couple things Jace had duplicates of, so he exchanged them for new toys/books instead. I also had a pair of boots to exchange for a smaller size and had to drive around the city looking for a size 6, finally finding one in Woodbury. It feels great to have that taken care of so we don't have to worry about what stores they have nearby in South Carolina.

Jace actually made out really well today. Just from bringing back one toy and one book he ended up leaving with a huge set of play food, 2 big soft cars, a new Dr Suess book, and a Little People boat set. He also had 2 gift cards, one that was about to expire.... with those he got the adorable B. Meowsical Keyboard from Target and a loud push corn popper toy. The keyboard was one that we've had our eyes on for a while and since he didn't get it for Christmas, it was the perfect thing to get today. I've read reviews on it saying it is an awesome toy for toddlers, but it was even better in person. I can't believe how great it is, it has a ton of fun features, and he's already obsessed with it. Tonight he was actually humming along as he playing the piano, I couldn't believe it. It was so adorable. It's always great when you find a toy that actually hold's your ~~wild~~ child's interest for more than a minute, and stimulates their mind too!

So to sum things up, Christmas was wonderful. The best part was definitely spending time with loved ones... followed by eating the most amazing food we'll have all year! I think both Tate and I really feel strongly about making family a priority in our lives. Since the Holiday's are one of the only times we see all of them together, it always reminds us to continually make an effort to strengthen those relationships. And even though gifts aren't the point of Christmas, I was blown away by people's generosity towards Jace.  Seeing how happy he was opening and playing with gifts was really more than I could ask for.