Christmas
This will be a long post. You have been warned. (I know. The grandparents will be devastated.)
Sydney is a very good girl. She doesn't go up the stairs by herself. Sometimes she will climb on the first step, but will not go higher than that. And she knows not to get near the stairs at the top. She may creep close if we're with her, but she doesn't even try to go down by herself. Usually, going up or down, she likes to hold our hands and step up and down the stairs by herself. More or less.
And my hat isn't the only one Sydney likes to take and wear.
Okay. There are some non-Christmas (but just before Christmas) pictures. Now onto the Christmas stuff.
Anne's mom and dad (Grandma and Grandpa M) got here last week. They'll be here for a while before heading back to Las Vegas. The plan is still to finish getting the house ready and try to move sometime in the spring.
We had a great Christmas.
On Christmas Eve we went over to Mark and Jackie's house. We had a potluck buffet there. With the five kids in attendance (including Sydney) there were nineteen people. Sydney had some anxiety issues and stayed close to Mommy and Daddy. She wouldn't let anyone else hold her and most of the time wanted to be held by one of us, but there were times when she would play and wander without a care in the world.
When it was time to open presents over there it was a warm-up for Christmas morning. It was the first time Sydney really received and got to open a present. Last year she was just under nine months old at Christmas. And even at her first birthday she didn't have much (any!) grasp of what was going on. Even now I'm not sure she really got the concept of Christmas yet, but she sure knew that she liked opening presents!
After Sydney's (first) breakfast Grandma and Grandpa M had arrived. We went out to the front room and settled in. Though she had been primed the night before at Mark and Jackie's I think she thought things were still off-limits. Then she saw her Elmo chair (a gift from the night before). She went over to it. Her stocking was leaned against it. She went to try and move things off her chair and came across her Elmo book.
She grabbed the book and brought it over to me. I read it to her. She almost had me read it again, but she got distracted and we started checking out what was in her stocking. Then she helped Mommy and me open our stockings. And she helped all four of us open almost all our presents.
Sydney got lots of neat stuff. Some of it distracted her during present opening, some of it didn't. She was running between the four of us as we all took turns opening presents. She would pull tissue paper out of gift bags or help rip wrapping paper off presents.
Toward the end of opening presents Sydney had a little bit of sensory overload, but really handled things well for the most part. Here's a list of what she got for Christmas:
Tickle Me Elmo
Imaginext Dragon
Dragon's Merry Christmas
Stuffed Bear and Toys R Us gift card
Small basket with candy
Elmo chair
Favorite Children's Songs CDs
Shrek DVD
My Very First Mother Goose book
Striped turtleneck (pink colors)
12" Stuffed Cookie Monster
Crayola Color Wonder Finger Paints
The Rooster Crows book
Hair clips
Small mug ornament
Robe - personalized and embroidered
Little People Dump Truck
See 'n Say
Snuggle Time Pals Little Learner
Follow Elmo book
Coloring book
Snuggle Up Little One book
Snoopy's Story Box board books
The Little Mermaid DVD
Wooden puzzle
P.D. Eastman board books (Big Dog... Little Dog; I'll Teach My Dog A Lot Of Words; Go, Dog, Go; Are You My Mother)
Water Wheel Play Table
I did forget to move Sydney's dragon into the picture. She got it the night before from "Aunt" Jackie. So here's a picture of it.
Anne and I got lots of great presents, too.
Anne's stuff:
Hot Dip Dish
Crystal glass nail file
The Fourth Bear
A cookbook
Snoopy mug with candy and a stuffed Snoopy in it
Earrings
Cookie cutter set
Daughter Darling CD
The Lake House DVD
Anchors Aweigh DVD
Muse CD
Shrek 2 Soundtrack CD
Revlon Spa Spinning Shower Brush
Conair Ion Shine Instant Heat Hair Setters
Chafing Dish
Emerson 3 CD Stereo System
Flavored hot chocolates tin
See's Candies molasses chips
Lifesavers, Nerds and Hubba Bubba storybooks
Bookmark
Pyrex custard cups
The Da Vinci Code DVD
Two colanders (one plastic and one metal)
Bambu utensils
Small picture magnet
My loot (yes, I get that from Calvin & Hobbes) was:
Redskins mug
Redskins calendar
Robot Chicken DVD
Zombie Survival Guide book
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
World War Z book
Weird Al Yankovic: Live! DVD
Looney Toons Golden Collection Volume 4 DVD
Homer Simpson Talking Clock
Weird Al Yankovic: Ultimate Video Collection DVD
Bart Simpson's Guide to Life book
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer book
The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album book
Long-sleeved t-shirt
Maroon sweater
The Lord of the Rings: Symphony No. 1 CD
flat flashlight
Work gloves
Bookmark
Trader Joe's Belgian Chocolate bars
Toblerone
Snickers nutcracker candies
Pearls Before Swine desk calendar
Star Wars M&M tin
Simpsons Talking Magic 8-Ball
Homer Simpson t-shirt
We also got some items collectively for the family:
A subscription to Reader's Digest
Movie tickets and Mike & Ikes
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest DVD
Hooter's Hot Wings set
Lots and lots (and lots) of Christmas cookies
There are also a few items we're still waiting on that are on back-order or are pre-ordered and not available until just after the first of the year. There are also a couple gifts coming in the mail (and going out in the mail) because Aunt Marta couldn't come. She was in the middle of a cold plus the mountain passes over from Seattle were expecting lots of snow that would have made the trip both ways difficult.
As I mentioned, Sydney had a little bit of sensory overload toward the end. That's too bad since we saved the Tickle Me Elmo for last. I didn't take any pictures of it in action but I did get it on video. Sydney liked it at first. He started laughing and she thought it was funny. But she didn't quite understand why he kept moving and falling over while she was trying to grab him to hug him. After a few times she got a little frustrated with it. But overall I think Tickle Me Elmo was a positive for her and will be fun in the future.
Sydney likes grabbing the remote control. Despite being told no this is one of those things that she will not listen to us about. At least not for very long. The other day I got a little tired of her whining after I took the remote away from her. So I took the old TV remote that we never use anymore and took the batteries out of it. I gave that to her to play with. I think she's becoming a natural with it.
After all the presents were opened and we had a good egg dish breakfast (a giant omelet-like recipe that Anne made up). Sydney was hungry again and ate a ton of it, too. As we cleaned up and organized things Sydney got to watch Sesame Street.
Anne took this picture, but I believe this is at the beginning of the "Elmo's World" portion of Sesame Street. Sydney is seen here dancing while sitting in her chair. She has her play remote raised above her head.
There are several more pictures over at my PictureTrail page. I don't think Grandma's can complain much. (If they wait for the post to be completed all the way, at least.)
We send our love to everyone and hope you had a great Christmas, too.
Sydney is a very good girl. She doesn't go up the stairs by herself. Sometimes she will climb on the first step, but will not go higher than that. And she knows not to get near the stairs at the top. She may creep close if we're with her, but she doesn't even try to go down by herself. Usually, going up or down, she likes to hold our hands and step up and down the stairs by herself. More or less.
And my hat isn't the only one Sydney likes to take and wear.
Okay. There are some non-Christmas (but just before Christmas) pictures. Now onto the Christmas stuff.
Anne's mom and dad (Grandma and Grandpa M) got here last week. They'll be here for a while before heading back to Las Vegas. The plan is still to finish getting the house ready and try to move sometime in the spring.
We had a great Christmas.
On Christmas Eve we went over to Mark and Jackie's house. We had a potluck buffet there. With the five kids in attendance (including Sydney) there were nineteen people. Sydney had some anxiety issues and stayed close to Mommy and Daddy. She wouldn't let anyone else hold her and most of the time wanted to be held by one of us, but there were times when she would play and wander without a care in the world.
When it was time to open presents over there it was a warm-up for Christmas morning. It was the first time Sydney really received and got to open a present. Last year she was just under nine months old at Christmas. And even at her first birthday she didn't have much (any!) grasp of what was going on. Even now I'm not sure she really got the concept of Christmas yet, but she sure knew that she liked opening presents!
After Sydney's (first) breakfast Grandma and Grandpa M had arrived. We went out to the front room and settled in. Though she had been primed the night before at Mark and Jackie's I think she thought things were still off-limits. Then she saw her Elmo chair (a gift from the night before). She went over to it. Her stocking was leaned against it. She went to try and move things off her chair and came across her Elmo book.
She grabbed the book and brought it over to me. I read it to her. She almost had me read it again, but she got distracted and we started checking out what was in her stocking. Then she helped Mommy and me open our stockings. And she helped all four of us open almost all our presents.
Sydney got lots of neat stuff. Some of it distracted her during present opening, some of it didn't. She was running between the four of us as we all took turns opening presents. She would pull tissue paper out of gift bags or help rip wrapping paper off presents.
Toward the end of opening presents Sydney had a little bit of sensory overload, but really handled things well for the most part. Here's a list of what she got for Christmas:
Tickle Me Elmo
Imaginext Dragon
Dragon's Merry Christmas
Stuffed Bear and Toys R Us gift card
Small basket with candy
Elmo chair
Favorite Children's Songs CDs
Shrek DVD
My Very First Mother Goose book
Striped turtleneck (pink colors)
12" Stuffed Cookie Monster
Crayola Color Wonder Finger Paints
The Rooster Crows book
Hair clips
Small mug ornament
Robe - personalized and embroidered
Little People Dump Truck
See 'n Say
Snuggle Time Pals Little Learner
Follow Elmo book
Coloring book
Snuggle Up Little One book
Snoopy's Story Box board books
The Little Mermaid DVD
Wooden puzzle
P.D. Eastman board books (Big Dog... Little Dog; I'll Teach My Dog A Lot Of Words; Go, Dog, Go; Are You My Mother)
Water Wheel Play Table
I did forget to move Sydney's dragon into the picture. She got it the night before from "Aunt" Jackie. So here's a picture of it.
Anne and I got lots of great presents, too.
Anne's stuff:
Hot Dip Dish
Crystal glass nail file
The Fourth Bear
A cookbook
Snoopy mug with candy and a stuffed Snoopy in it
Earrings
Cookie cutter set
Daughter Darling CD
The Lake House DVD
Anchors Aweigh DVD
Muse CD
Shrek 2 Soundtrack CD
Revlon Spa Spinning Shower Brush
Conair Ion Shine Instant Heat Hair Setters
Chafing Dish
Emerson 3 CD Stereo System
Flavored hot chocolates tin
See's Candies molasses chips
Lifesavers, Nerds and Hubba Bubba storybooks
Bookmark
Pyrex custard cups
The Da Vinci Code DVD
Two colanders (one plastic and one metal)
Bambu utensils
Small picture magnet
My loot (yes, I get that from Calvin & Hobbes) was:
Redskins mug
Redskins calendar
Robot Chicken DVD
Zombie Survival Guide book
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
World War Z book
Weird Al Yankovic: Live! DVD
Looney Toons Golden Collection Volume 4 DVD
Homer Simpson Talking Clock
Weird Al Yankovic: Ultimate Video Collection DVD
Bart Simpson's Guide to Life book
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer book
The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album book
Long-sleeved t-shirt
Maroon sweater
The Lord of the Rings: Symphony No. 1 CD
flat flashlight
Work gloves
Bookmark
Trader Joe's Belgian Chocolate bars
Toblerone
Snickers nutcracker candies
Pearls Before Swine desk calendar
Star Wars M&M tin
Simpsons Talking Magic 8-Ball
Homer Simpson t-shirt
We also got some items collectively for the family:
A subscription to Reader's Digest
Movie tickets and Mike & Ikes
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest DVD
Hooter's Hot Wings set
Lots and lots (and lots) of Christmas cookies
There are also a few items we're still waiting on that are on back-order or are pre-ordered and not available until just after the first of the year. There are also a couple gifts coming in the mail (and going out in the mail) because Aunt Marta couldn't come. She was in the middle of a cold plus the mountain passes over from Seattle were expecting lots of snow that would have made the trip both ways difficult.
As I mentioned, Sydney had a little bit of sensory overload toward the end. That's too bad since we saved the Tickle Me Elmo for last. I didn't take any pictures of it in action but I did get it on video. Sydney liked it at first. He started laughing and she thought it was funny. But she didn't quite understand why he kept moving and falling over while she was trying to grab him to hug him. After a few times she got a little frustrated with it. But overall I think Tickle Me Elmo was a positive for her and will be fun in the future.
Sydney likes grabbing the remote control. Despite being told no this is one of those things that she will not listen to us about. At least not for very long. The other day I got a little tired of her whining after I took the remote away from her. So I took the old TV remote that we never use anymore and took the batteries out of it. I gave that to her to play with. I think she's becoming a natural with it.
After all the presents were opened and we had a good egg dish breakfast (a giant omelet-like recipe that Anne made up). Sydney was hungry again and ate a ton of it, too. As we cleaned up and organized things Sydney got to watch Sesame Street.
Anne took this picture, but I believe this is at the beginning of the "Elmo's World" portion of Sesame Street. Sydney is seen here dancing while sitting in her chair. She has her play remote raised above her head.
There are several more pictures over at my PictureTrail page. I don't think Grandma's can complain much. (If they wait for the post to be completed all the way, at least.)
We send our love to everyone and hope you had a great Christmas, too.
posted by Tah at 11:08 PM
5 Comments:
Dear John:
It is totally unacceptable to publish two blog posts in a row without a picture of Sydney.
Love, Grandma B.
Dear Mom:
Didn't I promise you pictures with the Christmas post?
What do you think the "in progress" in the title is (was - since it will be removed soon) for?
Love, John
Yikes, I just read the Amazon.com reviews for the Color Wonder Finger Paints -- definitely mixed reviews! I hope the moans from the moms who say they make a big mess are gross exaggerations! I'm preferring to believe the (obviously reasonable) moms who say they work great and aren't messy...let me know!
Thanks! Love the pictures. Always knew you were a good son. :-)
That Elmo chair is darling. Looks like it was just made for Sydney - who is even cuter than the chair.
Grandma is happy now. Love you all.
I got a glass nail file also, but not a little mermaid DVD.
We like color wonder finger paints for the boys, but I have not let Em have them as she doesn't really paint with them as much as she just digs at it. She doesn't get that they really are colors. It's not THAT messy, but not really it's intended purpose either.
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