Holiday Magic

This has been such a fun Christmas. Having a two-year-old who is a little ball of delight with no idea that presents are involved in this time of Christmas lights and Christmas trees, which were worthy of clapping and much celebration all on their own, has been just beyond awesome. I drove to Wal-Mart early this morning to pick up a few things and almost exclaimed, "oooh lights!" to myself in the car.

To tell my favorite parts of our Christmas story, I first have to take you back to Christmas Eve. I had a nice little outfit for Landon which involved a button-down shirt and sweater vest. The vest caused great protest, and while attempting to convince him to wear it, I told him how handsome he would look. This had no effect, but we still managed to get it on him by the time we left for church.

Many hours later, after a long and delicious dinner which ended with Landon "resting" on a little couch by the coat closet, we were back at home getting him ready for bed. As I pulled off his vest and unbuttoned his shirt, he suddenly looked up at me and said, "I'm so handsome mama?"

Sometimes he makes me want to hug him so tight and them freeze time for at least 3 years so I can properly soak him up.

Even later that night, I played hostess and co-Santa Claus, and set the table for Christmas brunch while JP assembled one of the morning's big ticket items- a Spider Man big wheel from my parents. It came in many pieces.

Once the gifts were wrapped and assembled, we left the Julbock on duty and headed to bed drunk on the power of being Santa Claus and filled with excitement for the next morning- excitement which had nothing to do with any presents we might be receiving ourselves. (The Julbock is a Swedish straw goat that guards the presents; Landon fell in love with him when we decorated the tree and gave him pets every night before bed.)

Christmas morning was a bit overwhelming. Landon's living room looked very different and everyone was staring at him.

But he caught on. As it turns out the stocking thing is pretty fun. As is opening lots of presents. One such present was Dinosaur Roar!, an awesome pop-up book that makes Landon giggle.

He also made out with a big red chair with his name on it (he's very into his name right now and likes it to be on everything), a Little People farm, Mr. Potato Head, a few puzzles, the painstakingly constructed Spider Man big wheel, and from his boring parents- a 529 college savings plan. Someday he'll find that cooler than the big wheel, I'm sure of it.

We spent the rest of the day eating (brunch was delicious and full of quiches, fruit, and sugar cookies), going on walks, and watching Madagascar 2 ("Sir, we may be out of fuel." "What makes you think that?" "We've lost engine one, and engine two is no longer on fire." I freaking love the penguins.).

The dogs got treats, two toys, and lots of pets for Christmas. Lilly got a box top. She was thrilled.

I hope you all had a fun and restful few days- if you can manage to have a two-year-old around for your next holiday, I highly recommend it. Even with three in-laws in my house and the all the tensions and baggage that comes with that, the past few days have been more fun than I've had in a long time. I can't wait until next year when we'll be experiencing this with two kids!