Christmas

This was the first year that Joshua and Caleb were aware of Christmas and were therefore able to partake of the happy anticipation that builds up to the big day. They knew that if they were good boys, they'd get such-and-such trains for Christmas. They eagerly identified Santa Claus, snowmen, Christmas trees, and reindeer decorations as we cruised through local neighborhoods admiring front yard displays. And most importantly they understood that Baby Jesus, Mary, the shepherds, and wise men were integral to Christmas, too.

With Christmas tree ornaments and other knick-knacks at every turn, Caleb and Joshua became very familiar with the concept of "decorations" and learned that while they often resembled toys, they were not to be similarly manhandled. Joshua has even taken it upon himself to repeatedly lecture the rest of us about the importance of not touching the decorations.

We celebrated Christmas day at our home in the morning, then with Mimi, Papa, Uncle Chris, and Aunt Sooja in the afternoon and evening. On Saturday we drove down to visit Granny, Babo, and Uncle Patrick for a few days. While we were down there we also got to visit with Joe's aunts, uncles, and cousins, our college roommates Aaron and Nicole and their new baby Elijah, and our friends Trent and Siobhan and their boys who were visiting from Michigan. It was so nice to see so many family and friends!

Over the course of the week, the boys became quite proficient at opening presents. Caleb continued to ask to "open presents" for quite a few days after Christmas. While Joshua cooperatively participated in the unwrapping process, he seemed far more interested in the contents of the packages. It wasn't long after he'd opened some new trains before he was already browsing the Thomas catalog selecting which ones he wanted next. The sudden influx of presents and new toys seemed to spoil the boys a bit and we had some attitude problems to conquer in the following days. While the swift passing of Christmas has been bittersweet for all of us, it's probably a good thing that Christmas only comes once a year!