Monthly Archives: December 2011

Christmas Round Up

by johannawoodman

We spent a few days after Christmas in PA as well.  My parents watched Linnea, Porter, and Neil so the rest of us could check out a nearby town.  We had received flavored vinegar for Christmas, so we went to the store to try out different flavors of vinegar and olive oil.  We stopped in to a brew pub that had a nice selection of beer, and a unique way of serving 6 samples of beer that we may want to duplicate for use at our house.  But most of the time was spent just relaxing, which was a welcome change.

An old doll of my great aunt’s startled Marcel and I when we noticed it stashed behind a chair in my parent’s room.  When my mom found out, she moved it to Jeremy’s room as a joke.  It was then passed around the house for the rest of the week.  Neil was unimpressed with it, especially when it used his toys.

Neil did great with Dexter, who did great with Neil.  Dexter didn’t growl or notice when Neil pulled his ears, and Neil just tried to get Dexter’s nose in his mouth when Dexter licked him.  Even as a horse, Dexter was a bit big for Neil.

Linnea and Porter enjoyed playing with Dexter as well.  Used to big dogs, they just put their arms up when he got too friendly, and climbed on him when he lay down.  Dexter was patient with them, even during dress up.

Neil and I tried a craft project, but he kept curling his toes, so the prints didn’t turn out as I expected…

But he did seem to enjoy having his feet covered in paint.

All in all, Christmas was a wonderful time.

Christmas Morning

by johannawoodman

As per tradition, Christmas morning consisted of a coffee cake shaped like a Christmas tree and my dad reading the Christmas story while I acted it out using a tiny nativity scene. (It was brought to my attention that the “coffee cake” is really just slightly sweet dinner rolls with frosting, but I still find it delicious.)

As kids, we weren’t allowed to wake my parents up to open presents, but we could open our stockings.  Jeremy decided his stocking needed a little something extra.

Before I let Neil open his stocking, I made him pose for a picture in his new pajamas in front of the tree.

Then he had to pose for a traditional family picture – in front of the tree with his stocking.

I helped him open his stocking, which included socks we had left on the floor the previous night and a clementine in place of the traditional orange but he was only interested in what he could put in his mouth.

After everyone ate breakfast, and some candy from the stockings, we opened our presents. Marcel and I got a miter saw, which we hope to use to finally finish the trim work in the bedrooms. Neil got some clothes and toys, but was generally more interested in the paper. We were going to give him an empty box to play in, but we forgot.

Once presents were opened, Neil changed into his Christmas outfit, and was forced to pose for more pictures. Considering how many pictures I made him sit for, he did surprisingly well.

Neil’s favorite gift by far was his jumper. Our gift of a dog that talks and plays music was less appealing, I don’t think he grasps the concept of objects speaking (he gets confused whenever we hold a phone near him) but anything that he can eat is ok by him.

The rest of Christmas day passed quietly, but included another fabulous meal – this time crown roast. I’m glad I’m part of a family that loves to cook.

Christmas Eve

by johannawoodman

Christmas Eve was a pretty quiet day, considering there was 8 adults, 3 children, and 1 large dog in the house.  We had a fabulous turkey dinner, went to church, and generally just spent time together.

Tradition dictates that only one present is allowed to be opened on Christmas Eve, but since Neil is a baby, and my mom was excited about his gift, an exception was made.  Neil was slightly interested in opening it, but more interested in eating the paper.

Once it was opened though, nothing could distract him.  He spent a lot of time over the next 5 days in his jumper, and especially loved it when Linnea helped him bounce.

Before bed, Neil opened his tradition Christmas Eve present…

Feety pajamas!  Sadly, Marcel didn’t get Christmas PJs.

Before Christmas

by johannawoodman

Marcel and I both took the week between Christmas and New Years off, and we planned to spend the most of it with my family in Pennsylvania.  This was our longest trip away from home with Neil, so we spent a few days trying to get everything organized so nothing was forgotten.  Kame did her best to not be left behind…

While Tora inspected the car.

Before we had “Christmas” with the extended family, Marcel and I opened our stockings at home.  With some coaxing, Neil was able to open one of his presents – some more pacifiers.

We headed down to my parent’s house in Pennsylvania after I got out of work on the 23rd.  Marcel had the day off and got everything in the car, so we were able to be on the road fairly quickly, and get to their house before it got too late.  Again, Neil tolerated the car ride fairly well, and slept most of the way, for which we are thankful.