Last Saturday morning the family took a trip to Lowe's to take part in what I guess can now be called a tradition. We went to build some Christmas trains. Throughout the year on Saturday mornings Lowe's puts on these Build and Grow classes. It's a simple project for kids requiring the use of a hammer and some nails. All of the pieces are pre-drilled, go together easily, with easy to follow instructions. The best part is that these little projects are free! While I appreciate the good gesture from Lowe's I know they want to build brand loyalty plus if you can get people in a store chances are they'll buy something. So far we have yet to let them down. Every time we've gone to one of these we buy something.
The project last week was the middle "coal car" car of the train. We kind of forgot about the caboose the week before and by the time we tried to register the only store with openings was 30 miles away. Alyce had built a caboose the year before so it wasn't a huge loss to miss that one. Once we got to the store and found where they were doing the builds we got our project pack, aprons, hammers, and safety goggles. They let the kids keep the aprons and goggles too. Alyce was wearing both items. Luke, didn't want much to do with them. He was too small for the goggles. That being said he really did need a pair as he kept encroaching on me and the hammer. I almost conked him in the head twice.
Mom helped Alyce and the two of them did a good job. Alyce hammered in a nail until the easy part was over then Mom would finish off each nail. Alyce also helped reading the directions and finding the piece for the next step. Luke on the other hand lost interest after the first few nails. He tried to use the hammer but his swings were pretty wild and only hit the nail a small percentage of the time. After that he moved on to playing on and around the boxes nearby.
When both cars were made it was time for the Christmas stickers. Both Alyce and Luke were very much into that. Alyce did all of the stickers herself with Mom helping with the alignment. For Luke I had to pull off the stickers and get them started. Once started he'd finish them off by pressing the stickers down.
When finished they pushed the cars all over the place having a great time. When we got home we took the new cars and added them to the existing train. They fit perfectly and behold we have a really big train! We are going back to Lowe's a week later to make the engine. Luke needs to start his own train rather than freeloading off of Alyce's.
Tonight I shared with the kids a Christmas classic, How The Grinch Stole Christmas. We watched the show created in 1966 based on the book of the same name. There was a remake a few years ago but I like the old classic better. I couldn't find this version of the show on broadcast TV so instead I found it on YouTube.
I grabbed both kids, put them on my knees, and pressed play. They were enthralled. Alyce and Luke laughed at all the funny parts and were a bit concerned as the Grinch was stealing Christmas. When it was all over they seemed pleased that the Grinch was with the Whos. Alyce said that her favorite part was at the end when the Grinch was having dinner with the Whos.
Having watched the show as an adult the theme shines through; that you don't need presents or decorations to have Christmas as long as you have each other. A pretty good theme even if it took me 33 years to figure it out.
Christmas day 3 wasn't originally supposed to happen. As mentioned previously Christmas day ran long so the next day we packed up the kids and ran out to my hometown to finish the immediate family gift opening. This trip was much less stressful than the night before.
When we first got there we hung out for a while before we started opening any presents. The house needed to be picked up some from the night before. While Mom and I were doing this Alyce and Luke were left to their own devices. Luke was playing with toys in the family room while Alyce played in the living room. There is a saying that when the kids are too quiet it means they are up to no good. After a while I went in to check on Alyce and when I rounded the corner I caught my little girl red handed! Alyce has opened the wrapping paper on the corner of one of her presents! Maybe I should have been mad but instead I said in a playful voice "what are you doing?". Alyce immediately recoils and covers her face in embarrassment. Naturally instead of teaching a valuable lesson I reached for my phone to snap a picture.
Pretty soon thereafter we open presents to the kid's delight. Both Alyce and Luke did very good jobs opening up their presents and taking turns. Alyce helped Luke whenever he ran into trouble. In all they both behaved themselves.
By the time we headed back home Mom and I could tell the kids were spent. Two and a half days long days of good behavior, over excitement, and late nights took their toll. While the kids were in nap time Mom and I used the opportunity to assemble Luke's new toy, the Wheelie car ramp. Assembling toys on Christmas put a smile on my face as I thought to myself that the torch has been passed.
Of course when it comes to Christmas day 1 blends in to day 2. When we got home the night of Christmas Eve we got Alyce all gigged up for Santa. We got the Santa's Cookies plate out, added a few cookies, and a mug of milk. While I was putting Alyce to bed she all of the sudden came down with a serious look on her face. I asked her what the problem was and she asked how Santa was going to get in the house. She went on to say that he couldn't come down the chimney as our TV table was in front of the doors. I told her that I would move the table away from the wall to make room. That must have been a good enough solution as she rolled over and went to sleep.
Christmas morning Alyce and Luke were greeted by a stack of presents. There were some presents from Mom and I and some presents from Santa. Alyce's big present was a treasure chest full of dress up clothes and jewelery. Luke's big present was a Little People Wheelie car play set. The car play set was the big winner of the year. Since opening it Alyce, Luke, Mom, and myself have all played with it. After opening all of the presents the kids got to play for a little while and then we loaded them up into the car for breakfast and presents at Grams and Papas.
Presents and breakfast at Grams and Papa's house was a lot of fun. Chris's half brother Joe and Gigi were there. Alyce's favorite present was a tea party set and Luke's was a set of Fisher Price gears. After breakfast we hung out until it was time to get the kids home for naps and quiet time. We had to head out to Onermark Grams later that night and Luke needed all the sleep he could get.
We wanted to get out to my mother's house before the larger family party started so we could exchange presents. However Luke didn't cooperate and we didn't get out there until just before the other guests showed up. The next few hours was chaos. Tables had to be moved and chairs set up to handle the influx of parents and children. Alyce and Luke both had a great time playing with their cousins. All of the kids are within 3 years of each other and even though they aren't old enough to be left to their own devices in the basement they were able to sneak away here and there to get in to a bit of trouble.
The best part of the Christmas party with my family is the white elephant gift exchange. This year created a new wrinkle in that the kids wanted to "help" open all of the presents. And even though we allowed Alyce to help with ours she wanted to help everyone and we had to keep telling her no. This led to an unhappy little girl but luckily it never hit a full on tantrum.
After the party was over and the guests went home we futilely tried to do our immediate family gift exchange. I thought we could get all of the presents opened even though it was way way past the kids bedtime. I thought wrong. We got a few open but quickly it degenerated into madness. Instead we decided to call it a night and come back out the next day to finish the presents.
It's two days after Christmas and only now have I had enough time to write about it. We were busy seeing family on both sides over the past three days. On Christmas Eve we went over to Gram's and Papa's house for the family Christmas. Alyce and Luke both had a great time running around the house and playing with their cousins. Luke found a good friend in his cousin Isabella. She took to him the second he walked in the door and he was more than happy to sit in her lap and give her lots of hugs. Alyce enjoyed dancing to all of the Christmas songs being sung by her family and played on her cousin Augostino's guitar.
Following dinner that the kids couldn't be bothered to eat the kids played the game Pin the Nose on Rudolf. Mom made the game for the Holiday Party at Alyce's school however she fell ill and missed that day. Rather than let it go to waste the kids played. Luke even got a chance to play however he didn't use the blindfold. When finished the kids asked what had they won? The answer, they got to open presents!
Alyce's favorite present opened was a doctor kit that has light up instruments. Luke liked a set of books and a play power drill.
Both kids did great all night. Mom's cousins all have kids our kids ages and aren't afraid to step in when needed. We do the same and this allows everyone to let their guard down and have a decent conversation as you can rely on each other to keep your kids from getting into major trouble.
Last week the first of my gifts for Mom arrived in the mail. I'm ok to write about it since she told me what she wanted and saw the box before I got home. Alyce was also there when the box arrived and wanted Mom to immediately to open it. Mom delayed her because it had my name on it and said they needed to wait until I came home. As I walked in the door Alyce runs up to me telling me there is a box for me and that I should open it.
I told her that we could open it but we had to do it upstairs because Mommy couldn't see it. Upstairs I took the present out of the box and showed it to Alyce. Alyce exclaimed that is was "very pretty". I told her that it was a present for mommy from Luke and her and that we couldn't tell her what she was getting as it was going to be a surprise.
Following our quick little discussion Alyce went back downstairs. Mom in jest asked Alyce what was in the box. Alyce responded excitedly "it's a necklace for you"! Note to self; 4 year olds can't keep secrets.
Christmas wrapped up at my Mom's or Onermark Gram's house as Alyce likes to say it. The family went out earlier to do the immediate family Christmas while the extended family would show up for Christmas later.
Before we opened presents Alyce found Grandma's dancing singing snowman, set it up, and started it up. Before long both she and Jack started dancing to "Jingle Bells" as sung by a snowman and his trusty dog. After a while even Grandma joined in on the fun. Kids, unlike adults, never seem to get tired of hearing the same song over and over again and this was no exception. Alyce and Jack played and danced to the song at a minimum 10 times before we intervened as our ears were starting to bleed. We redirected their excitement to presents!
There were two big presents for Alyce and her cousin Jack that they wanted to open first. The kids must have learned somewhere that the biggest presents were the best and didn't want to waste time with the small stuff. We told Alyce that she needed to wait and that we were going to open the big one last. Alyce, not very happy about that, threw herself on the ground, started crying, and tossed her other still wrapped presents away from her. Not knowing where that came from (lack of nap being the culprit) we decided to redirect her by having her help me open one of my presents. That seemed to do the trick because after helping me with one she was back to unwrapping her own. When it was time to unwrap the biggest presents Alyce and Jack were not disappointed. Alyce and Jack both got their own Cozy Coupe!
This is when things get a bit hairy. Jack immediately wanted Tom to open the box and assemble the coupe however, they were going to send this gift back home UPS and an assembled car is a lot more expensive to ship than an unassembled one. I offered up Alyce's car for assembly and we could "call it" Jack's to smooth things over. Tom and I took the coupe parts downstairs for assembly soon to be joined by our cousin Jared. All three of us got to experience a rite of passage, the assembly of Christmas toys that were not ours. We poured over instructions and set to work. Even before we had the wheels on the car both Jack and Alyce were trying sit in the empty shell. We spent just as much time keeping them away from construction and from pushing each other as we did assembling the car. When the car was finished Tom and Jared went upstairs and I was left to be the referee of the coupe. I made Jack and Alyce take turns riding in the coupe while I pushed them in a lap around basement. After they had 3 turns each I had enough "kid" time and wanted some adult conversation. I declared that the car was tired, needed to rest, and that it was time to go up. Surprisingly I didn't have a single complaint.
Christmas dinner was a blur and none of the 7 children ages 3 and under ate much dinner. It was amusing seeing all my cousins trying to shovel food into their children at the kids table while the grandparents were at the big kid table having calm conversation. We managed to get a few bites into Alyce and then she was off to play with one of her other cousins who managed to sneak away from the dinner table. Mom and I decided not to push the point and let her enjoy Christmas how she wanted and we took the opportunity to eat at our own pace. Alyce, always the good child, didn't get into any trouble while out of our site even though we continued to check on her.
Following dinner (around 7:00) is when things started to get rough. The youngest of the kids were starting to hit their bedtimes and crankiness was starting to set in. Alyce's Strawberry Shortcake toy was the hit of party for 2 - 3 year old boys. Rex and Jack both wanted to play with Alyce's toy and sometimes Alyce didn't want to part with it. Naturally this led to a lot of tears and all parents saying to their children "you need to share". This scene played out over and over again with different toys so much that the theme of this Christmas could have been You Need to Share. Once the White Elephant Gift Exchange started the kids seemed to find an equilibrium and there wasn't much fighting over the toys while it was going on.
Once the gift exchange was over the spell was broken and all the kids in attendance had given up on controlling their emotions. This was the sign for the parents in attendance that it was time to leave and get the kids off to bed. We corralled all toys and presents into a big pile and loaded up the car the best we could. We took our kids already in the pajammas, loaded them up into the car, and set off for home. They were both fast asleep before we hit the interstate. Alyce found one more use for her pig, a pillow. In her overtired state she whined for her pig while in the carseat. After we handed it to her Alyce wrapped her hands around it in a big hug, laid her head down on it, and was out.
When we reached Grams and Papa's it was just about time for breakfast but before we sat down to eat Gram's let Alyce open up one present, and it was a doozy. I've yet to see it for the proper title but Alyce refers to it the "Mouse Book". I believe it is a book that comes with a toy mouse and the subject matter is the adventures of the mouse going through the house. Alyce was such a huge fan of the book she barely ate any breakfast because she wanted to leave the table to go back to it.
Following breakfast, presents were exchanged and opened with the last present being the one shipped from Chris's Aunt Julie and Uncle Doug. Mom and I have had this present at our house for weeks before Christmas but decided to wait until the 25th to open it. We knew it was big and it was squishy but we weren't prepared for what greeted us when we finally opened it; a giant pink pig! The pig is a soft squishy pink ball with feet, nose, and ears. It could be used as a pillow, beanbag, or stuffed animal. Alyce has already used it for all three.
After all the presents were exchanged and the snow stopped falling we packed up the kids, some presents, Strawberry Shortcake, the pig, and proceeded to Grandma's House. Grams and Papa were going to catch up with us later at the big family Christmas party.
Christmas has come and gone and only now I have caught my breath to write about it. Christmas festivities for our family consisted of three locations: our house, Grams and Papa's, and Grandma's. With some good planning and a lot of luck, naps worked out perfectly to keep everyone happy.
The day started at our house and it was like any other day. Alyce woke up like she always does by coming into our room. Mom and I told that Santa might have come and there might be some presents for her. I think she was still asleep because she didn't race down to go check them out. Upon seeing the presents she knew that something special had happened as she asked the question "for me?". Alyce tore into her presents unwrapping each one without any help from us. Naturally she focused on the toys she received and glossed over the princess sheets for her bed. Whenever a toy was opened she wanted us to open it up so she could play with it. Maybe we should have just gotten her one gift? The present Alyce was most excited about and the subject of an earlier post was Strawberry Shortcake. Strawberry Shortcake, her tricycle, and dog were going to be a big hit for the rest of the day. After the presents were opened we zoomed out of the house to Grams and PaPa's for more presents and breakfast.
This year has had a lot of firsts for Alyce but it has also had a lot of firsts for Mom and I. This year is the first year that we had to play the Santa game. We had to watch what we say around Alyce when we were talking about what to get her. We had to wrap her presents in secret so she wouldn't see what she was getting. When wrapping family gifts in front of her we had to make sure to keep some rolls of wrapping paper out of sight and out of use so that she couldn't but it together that Santa uses the same paper we use.
Another nice Christmas first was that we put out some Christmas cookies and milk for Santa before Alyce went to bed. Alyce seemed to get a real kick out of this. We had been out most of the day and she was falling apart. Having her bring a plate full of cookies and milk put her wheels back on and allowed us to get her to bed without too many more tears. All of this cookie business marks a special occasion for Mom and I. It is the first year that we've gotten to eat the Santa cookies. This feels like a real accomplishment. Like I'm walking down the road that all parent's have walked before and I'm learning all the lesson's they've learned before.
Mom and I took Alyce to go see Santa earlier this week. We weren't planning on doing it this year. We had tried two years ago for fun and it ended with Alyce in tears. This year Alyce hadn't mentioned wanting to see Santa so we were going to let it slide. Well last weekend that changed as Alyce asked to see Santa. We took her to the Mall on Tuesday to see Santa. The trip was a great success! Alyce waited in line patiently, sat in Santa's lap without tears, and smiled for a picture. When she was done we asked her if she told Santa what she wanted, she said yes, and that she wanted "Strawberry Cake" for Christmas. Strawberry Cake is her way of saying Strawberry Shortcake the toy/doll.
This new bit of information brought us to a scary realization; we hadn't gotten her anything Strawberry Shortcake. Alyce had talked about getting something of that toy line but that was because of some toys she received in a Mc donald's Happy Meal. We didn't think she was really serious when she would point to it on the advertisement and say "want that". Also there are many small pieces that come with anything Strawberry Shortcake so we decided to pass. Big mistake on our part. Mom and I decided that we should get a least one small thing to reinforce that magic that Santa is out there and paying attention. I picked up something that night from Toys R Us. It will be interesting to see how she reacts tomorrow.
A few weeks we joined Mom's parents and their neighbor's Trent, Lisa, and Shelby on a trip to get a Christmas Tree. Shelby's friend Claire also tagged along. Starting last year we got a fake tree due to size constraints in our living room. We still like to make the trip to help us get into the Christmas spirit.
The weather this year unlike some previous years cooperated. It was really cold but as long as it isn't raining and the ground isn't wet we can manage. Alyce was pretty fired up about going to the tree farm. One of the reasons for her excitement was that she got to ride to the farm in T&L's van with all the other ladies. While waiting for the tractor to come around Alyce rode on a mini train that was being pulled around the farm. Shelby and Clair were there to watch her so I didn't even have to cram on board.
The tractor ride to the field was pretty intense. This year the field on top of a hill above the store was open. This requires a five minute ride on a trailer where you would fall out that back if you weren't holding on. Alyce was enjoying every minute of it by looking all around and especially at the tractor.
Stalking the trees didn't take very long this year. The intense cold had something to do with speed up T&L's decision. Alyce didn't hang that close to us while strolling around. Pushing Luke in his stroller around a field isn't easy or quick and Shelby was moving quite a bit faster. Alyce was very well behaved. She didn't run off and didn't complain once about the cold. There might have been a few gripes when her mitten fell off or needed to blow her nose but nothing major. I think Alyce was taking a lot of ques from Shelby and modeling her behavior on hers. After the tree was felled we took a few pictures and headed back to the warmth.
Back in the store we were finally able to unbundle, get warm, and take some more pictures. We couldn't hang around too long though; the place was closing and we needed to head out to Onermark Grams' house. We let Alyce ride the train one last time, packed up the kids in the car, and headed out. Both kids fell asleep on the hour long trip and I think they needed it.
This year Alyce is celebrating her first Christmas. This year Alyce is getting the Christmas excitement. She doesn't understand the real meaning of Christmas yet but she has the idea that something special is going on. The most visible aspect of Alyce's interest in Christmas is Christmas lights.
Alyce is a big fan of Christmas lights. Whenever we are out and about at night she points out each and every house to us; saying things like "pretty lights", "Christmas lights", "ooh pretty ones", "look over there at that one". Words can't describe the excitement in her voice. Just yesterday Mom setup the lights inside the house as part of the Christmas decorations. When Alyce came down from her nap she was all about the Christmas lights. She was so distracted by them she barely ate any dinner and left the table early to look at them some more.
During all of this Alyce did learn a new feeling or at least a name for it, fear. When the first lights were being put up after Thanksgiving we asked Alyce what she thought of them. She said that they scared her in a scared voice. She wouldn't elaborate as to why they were scary but after we told her that the light's were pretty and fun, and not scary she seemed to be ok with them then. Well she is ok with most of them. Whenever we go past a house or business with lots of blue light she says that she doesn't like those. Who knows what goes through the mind of a three year old?
So Christmas begins at our household. Tonight we had Mom's family and extended family over for Christmas. Before that our neighbors Jeff and Liz stopped by to give Alyce some Christmas gifts.
Jeff and Liz gave Alyce a cute butterfly pillow, some toy cars, and a picture frame. The butterfly pillow was very funny because when it was opened Alyce went to the bottom of the stairs and wanted to go up and put it on her bed. The picture frame had a picture of Alyce and a kid, Rachel, down the street. Alyce keeps pointing at the picture and saying me. I think she likes the fact that it is in her room on her nightstand. She kept looking at it while I was getting her ready for bed. Alyce and I both had fun with the cars. We started driving them all over the house. I had to teach Alyce how to go off-roading by driving our cars on the walls, doors, couch, chair, and everything else that makes for a cool race track. Thanks Jeff and Liz for some fun toys.
I think the later party with the family might have been a bit much for Alyce. Talking to mom she said that Alyce was kind of shy and not herself the whole night. I tend to agree. Alyce wasn't running around the the house dancing and singing like the usually does. Having 23 extra people in the house can cause some consternation. However, she was in her toy area playing with cousins Anna and Tess. So obviously she got past some of her initial shyness. Alyce liked all of her gifts and we are very grateful to those that gave them. The gift that Mom and I thought was especially cool was an embroidered lunch bag. The bag has a butterfly design with her name embroidered on the flap. Alyce won't be using it for its intended purpose for a while, but I am positive it will become a purse or other carry all bag. Maybe Mom can now get her purses back.
As promised here are Alyce's Christmas pictures. In my opinion they turned out very good. Alyce did all she could to stop that from happening. Alyce wouldn't hold still for any pictures. All of the ones you see were captures of Alyce on the move. Kudos go out to the photographer. She was very nice and patient with us and Alyce.
This is my favorite picture. I can't stop looking at Alyce's eyes. It is like you can almost see what she is thinking about. The tree background really brings out her hair as well. I can't get over how much she has changed even since her 2 year old pictures which were two months ago. Gone is my cute baby and here is my cute little girl.
The project last week was the middle "coal car" car of the train. We kind of forgot about the caboose the week before and by the time we tried to register the only store with openings was 30 miles away. Alyce had built a caboose the year before so it wasn't a huge loss to miss that one. Once we got to the store and found where they were doing the builds we got our project pack, aprons, hammers, and safety goggles. They let the kids keep the aprons and goggles too. Alyce was wearing both items. Luke, didn't want much to do with them. He was too small for the goggles. That being said he really did need a pair as he kept encroaching on me and the hammer. I almost conked him in the head twice.
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