Christmas

Here is a sleepy-looking Adam, who stayed up late helping Santa arrange Isaac's train table just right.

Isaac didn't wake up expecting anything different on Christmas morning, even though we'd told him that Santa might bring him a few presents. We all got dressed like normal and then headed down the stairs, slowly, Isaac clutching his new dump truck that he'd opened the night before.

He didn't notice the train table until he was walking into the living room. It was a good thing we stayed home for Christmas, because this present would have been hard to transport between Charlotte and here. And there was nothing he wanted more than a train table. He was kind of shocked at first, I think; he stared at it with a little smile on his face, easing into it slowly. Then once he began to discover all his cool new pieces, he played and played and didn't want to stop.

Here's the video of Isaac coming down the stairs:


And a later one, once he got into it more:





Jonah didn't really know it was Christmas, but he loved watching Isaac play with his new toys. He thought the trains were pretty cool too and kept launching himself forward as he was watching.

Isaac eventually discovered that there were a few things in his stocking too.



We kept the tradition of my family and had a big Christmas morning breakfast with scrambled eggs and homemade biscuits, although we didn't gather around a beautifully set table with our best dishes, and we didn't have sausage or country ham or preserves or grapefruit halves. We substituted bacon for Adam, and we ate in the kitchen for ease - with an infant and a toddler, it just made sense. Breakfast was somewhat chaotic but delicious.



Part of Adam's present to all of us was a new web cam so we could skype with our parents. Having never been away from home on Christmas before, it meant more than I'd realized to talk to my family on Christmas morning and be able to see each other. Isaac was delighted to show off his new trains and the real digital camera from Jane and Greg. Below, Jonah was watching too.










I love these Christmas morning shots of Jonah:




We spent the next week opening our presents slowly. I don't know how we had so many for just four of us. My big family might have something to do with it - thanks everyone!




Tiger was worn out from all the celebrating and snuggled up with Jonah for a nap.


We had an invitation for Christmas night, a gathering of neighbors at a house around the corner. Before we left, Jonah was ready to party:



After an evening in a warm house with wine, food, and neighbors, I carried my tired baby home in a snowsuit while Adam and Isaac stayed a bit longer. Colored lights adorned the Victorian houses, and hard snow crackled under my feet as I walked. I held Jonah tight and sang Silent Night quietly to him as we rounded the corner.