Christmas Morning

We had a wonderful Christmas this year.  Bryson very excited for Christmas to come, and had a hard time getting to sleep because of it.  He opened new pajamas on Christmas Eve and we brought his toddler bed into our room so that Santa could come without having Bryson too close.  He woke us up early (even though Jarom and I had a late night because somehow the directions for Bryson's new bed didn't come in the box and Santa had to figure it out) and we opened presents.  He could hardly contain his excitement, as you'll see in the video when he first comes out of the room to look at the tree and see the letter that Santa Claus left him.

Bryson got quite the loot (though not everything was new - Santa brought some containers for his old stuff and put them in there so he could open up the container of blocks and such).  Among his favorite gifts were the reusable hand warmers Daddy got him, some art activities and cars from Mom (I love clearance sales and coupons for things like these), and his brand new bed.  Bryson was WAY too big for his toddler bed and ended up sleeping hanging out of it, with his feet on the floor half the time, so it was time.  He loves the memory foam mattress and has not come into our bed since getting his new bed, which is a plus for us.  Bryson's other favorite toy that he plays with constantly are called Crystal Climbers, interlocking shape blocks.  They've already provided hours of entertainment.

Melissa got a drying rack, some new cutting boards, a curling iron, and a few other things.    Her new favorite thing in the world is the laminator she got for Christmas because she'll be able to use it for preschool activities, Church stuff, and more!  She's majorly excited.  Bryson made a reindeer gift bag at preschool for us and we opened it to find some fun ornaments that he made for our tree.  He also gave Daddy a tie.  Jarom got a Red Ryder BB Gun, but he's not allowed to shoot it anywhere near here (which is probably a good thing so he doesn't shoot his eye out).  Jarom got some snow gear too.  We had a breakfast of French toast and enjoyed spending the day together and having Jane, Randy, and Molly stop by for awhile for more presents.  
 

 

 

Christmas Morning from Melissa G on Vimeo.

Christmas Eve Fun

We started Christmas Eve by making Christmas cookies, which we gave to our neighbors (though we did keep a few for Santa Claus). Bryson had a lesson in Primary about how the greatest gift we can give is to follow Jesus' example and to try to be like him. We give gifts because the wise men brought them to Christ child, not to see how much cool stuff we can get. I was impressed that he really thought about the "true meaning of Christmas" even if he is obsessing about what Santa Claus will bring him tomorrow). For his "gifts for Jesus," he choose to give cookies to people, help me make dinner, put Daddy's shoes away, and to make his bed. Those gifts of service were pretty small, but I like that, in his own small way, he understood that Christ is the center of Christmas.  And a shout out of thanks to Allie for the new attachment for my mixer!

We went ice skating in the afternoon.  Jarom's family bowed out of Christmas Eve activities, so it was just our family, but it ended up being fine.  Bryson might be a born skier, but he didn't catch on to ice skating nearly as easily. Thankfully, Daddy was there to catch him (almost) every time he fell and there was a bar for him to hold on to so he could walk on the ice. He did end up being able to glide a little bit with Jarom and I on either side of him and walked on the ice a bit too. It did take awhile, however, to give up the notion that "you pick up one foot and lift it up to ice skate like Rabbit on Winnie the Pooh."  We had fun, though Bryson got a few bruises and got cold by the end of our time on the ice.  After that, we watched the movie Brave, ate a wonderful prime rib dinner (a Christmas Eve tradition from Melissa's family), and got ready for Christmas morning.  Bryson even put out the magic reindeer food he got from his preschool teachers to guide Santa to our house.  It must have worked because he had tons of presents come Christmas morning.

(In case you can't make out Bryson's letter to Santa, it says:  Dear Santa, I've been good all year.  I want blocks, Legos, and a ship.  Love Bryson"  So cute!

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Bryson's Holiday Program

Bryson is definitely the most animated of all the holiday singers in his class. So funny!
 

Sledding Fun

We went sledding with Aunt Allie and her kids today.  We had a lot of fun, even if the snow on the hill was pretty sparse.

 

Apartment Christmas Party

The Christmas party for our apartment complex was actually hosted by a Church that's across the street from our buildings.  It was interesting, not exactly the kind of church or apartment Christmas party I'm used to, but I liked that they put Jesus at the center of their celebration.  One of the Church ladies read "Tell the Children" (the story about Santa sharing the symbols of a Christmas) and then Santa came and worshiped the baby Jesus before presuming his duties as the old bearded man who gives you presents.  Bryson also ate a variety of cookies, drank hot chocolate, had his face painted, and made some Christmas ornaments.  So it wasn't bad, just interesting, especially when we were enticed invited to the Church's Christmas Eve service with a $10 gift card from Target. 

Hearing The Bell

Bryson and I went to our old library and got tickets to board "The Polar Express."  A librarian read the story and had the pictures from the book projected on the screen and other librarians served hot chocolate and cookies.  We sang some songs like "Santa Claus is Coming To Town" and you can guess who showed up.  Bryson has finally gotten over his fear of Santa, or so it seems.  It only took him four and a half years not to burst into tears at the sight of the bearded man.  Bryson can surely hear the bell this year and believes Santa Claus will bring him lots of presents (though he knows that's not "the real reason we celebrate Christmas . ..  Jesus is!"

 

 

Citizen of the Month

We're so proud of our citizen of the month who was chosen for helping his classmates clean up and working well with others.