Elias got very excited when he saw all the gifts. He had his first present opened before the sorting was finished! He opened a pooh bear duplo set from grandpa and grandma.
It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything. I discovered that making gifts for Christmas does not decrease the hectic-ness of Christmas preparations. The last two weeks or so before Christmas were very busy for me, as I was working in every spare moment (Elias’ naps and bedtime) on gifts for my family. I’m still glad I did it….but feel almost relieved that Christmas is over because I am finished!
We’ve had a lot of celebrations in the last few days, too! On the 22nd we celebrated my sister-in-law, and my Uncle’s birthdays. Elias got to play with a very distant cousin who is only two weeks older than him. It is always fun to see little boys interact. Then on the 23rd we went to dinner and church with Nathan’s mom. Elias actually did better in the nursery there than he does at our own church. He cried only some of the time…. I think he probably had some fun.
Elias was so excited to see grandpa when he arrived. He wanted to be held right away....and cried when grandpa left to go get something from the car.
On the 24th we celebrated Christmas with my family. We went to Uncle Scott and Auntie Kristy’s house. We opened gifts, relaxed, had a good meal, and went to church with my family at St. Juan Diego. Elias was quite excited at first by all the gifts, but I think he had extreme gift opening burnout by the end. He was just too overstimulated by all the boxes and bows and wrapping paper…not to mention the toys and books and clothes he got.
We had Elias with us at St. Juan Diego during the service. It was nice to have a bunch of helping hands in the pew with us. The nice thing about service there is that there are tons of kids in the pews making noise. It is very kid friendly. Elias actually didn’t make much noise…but he did throw a stuffed inchworm toy across the aisle. That made quite a few people chuckle.
After the church service we went back to my parents’ house for dessert and stockings! It was a long but wonderful day. Here are some more pictures:
Elias and Uncle Scott sword fighting with paper towel rolls.
Elias helping Auntie Kristy open one of her gifts.
Elias posing with grandpa and grandma.
Family photo at St. Juan Diego
Posing with gradma by the altar.
Elias got a pretend cell phone in his stocking!
K- It takes a little effort to “swim” against the cultural tide, but truly embracing the liturgical rhythm is worth it. Christmas only begins on the 25th (ok, with the 4p service on the 24th) and doesn’t end until Epiphany (Jan 6). Lots of traditions embrace giving gifts at the end of Christmas……… (I have stretched that so that one year I mailed Christmas packages on Shrove Tuesday— that was pretty extreme. Usually I can finish by Jan 6.)
That said, I managed to gift the people I would see in person, and have to work on Christmas packages for co-workers and the out of town relatives when I get back from Nehalem in a few days……………
Maybe next year Elias will be ready to be an angel (Ellie Fisher was this year.)
Thanks (as always) for letting us share your stories and pictures. Happy New Year!