Christmas: Part 2

Christmas craziness continues in our household. Christmas is one of the busiest days on our calendar and for good reason. In the morning we did our own family Christmas. Mom, Alyce, and I opened up our presents. Alyce received a battery powered toy train from me. This train is made to run on the wooden train set I gave to her for her birthday. I also gave her a wooden golden gate bridge for her train set. Mom gave Alyce a few books, some clothes, art supplies, and a toy mixer for her play kitchen. One other present of note was a marble race toy mom gave me. I will post about the marble toy in the future. I bring it up now because we have used it so much it deserves some buildup.

After presents at our house we packed up Alyce and traveled the few miles to Gram's and Grandpa's house for breakfast with them and GiGi (Great Grandma). After breakfast we open up presents with Mom's side of the family. From Grams and Grandpa Alyce got a new doll. This doll is a big girl doll with hair and clothes. We decided this one needed a name other than baby doll or dollie so I threw out the name Molly and it has stuck. At 1:00 we packed up the car and drove out to my hometown to have Christmas with my side of the family.

My Mom's house was a little crazy when we arrived. At around 8:30 in the morning the power was cut to a large portion of the town and surrounding communities. Luckily the it wasn't too cold and was sunny outside. The electric was eventually restored and our preparations for the extended family Christmas could continue. Before Alyce took her nap at my Mom's we opened up presents with my Mom, brother Tom, his wife Mary, and my nephew Jack. What began as a clean living room was in the course of thirty minutes turned into a disaster scene. There was paper and boxes on every square inch of carpet. Grandma spoiled Alyce and Jack with presents and clothes. The dancing DJ radio was Alyce's favorite toy. We decided to keep it at Mom's so that when Alyce comes over she has something new to play with and we know she will like it. In my opinion the cutest gift was given to Mom, Alyce, and our unborn baby boy. It was a matching set of aprons. There was a big apron for mom, a small apron for Alyce, and a bib for baby. It will make for a great mother children picture once all the children show up.


After a nap at Grandma's house it was time to get Alyce changed into her nice clothes and travel out to Uncle Eric's and Aunt Marilyn's for the big family Christmas. This is the first Christmas where we didn't have to watch Alyce's every move. We were confident that Alyce wouldn't misbehave and if she got into anything she shouldn't someone would stop her or at least get us before she didn't any lasting damage. It makes for a stress free evening when you have 10+ baby sitters with you. Alyce and cousin Jack spent most of the night entertaining themselves. They are at the age were they can play with each other and don't need an adult to direct their play. Sharing of toys was still an issue, but no bones were broken during the evening. The most entertaining game involved Alyce chasing Jack around the house and vice-versa. A video of this is forth coming.


As the evening came to a close our pj clad daughter was starting to falter. We packed her up in the family car and fifty minutes later we were back at home. We pulled our sleeping daughter out of the car seat, brought her up stairs, and laid her down bringing our Christmas to a close. It was a great day. Spending time with family is better than any present. Next year should be very interesting as the number of babies will be effectively doubled. We might need to rent a dining hall.