Christmas 2009

Jackson made Christmas cards and ornaments for some family members. The ornaments were made by cupping his hand (painted white) around the bottom of the ornament and then I painted each finger to look like snowmen. They turned out super-cute!


Christmas Eve, we crammed two traditions in! We started out at the Webb Family Christmas Eve party. Grandma Webb, Jake's parents, Hannah, Brady and Kylie, Maga and Papa, and Christy, Brent, and Sophie were all there. We had a lot of fun. Jackson loves playing with his cousin, "Pophie" (Sophie). He also has a blast with Aunt Hannah and Uncle Brady. Great-Grandma Webb spoiled Jackson with her favorite, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (apparently this is one of Jackson's favorites too!). He was sticky, but cute! We snacked on appetizers and opened gifts and had a lot of laughs. (Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to post of this, since my sister-in-law captured all the memories and I don't have a copy right now, but we did have a wonderful time!)

Then, it was off to Grandma and Grandpa Miller's house. Grandma and Megan made delicious shrimp (this has been a tradition on that side of the family since my mom was a little girl) and my mom brought a to-die-for prime rib. Grandpa had a toasty fire going and we all enjoyed a new tradition for that family this year--we drew names for gifts. Things were definitely simpler that way, and we had an awesome time. Afterwards, we watched Jackson trying to figure out his new toy, the Zippity (which is like an interactive game hooked up to the tv with a mat and a giant joystick--it's all educational and interactive).

Actually, Jackson sat and smirked at us as we all tried to figure out the Zippity (it said ages 3 and up, but I'm not so sure...). Aunt Patti and I were "dancing" on the mat with our hands and finally, we had Megan try it. It was pretty funny.

Go Megan! (Note Jackson in the background--hehe)

After we all grew tired of the toddler game challenging our adult brains, we decided to head upstairs and relax.

Grandma brought out the marshmallows and s'more stuff and a few decided to toast marshamallows.

"Papa Mill" and Jackson making s'mores-YUM!

We had a really nice evening. Jackson got to put on his new Christmas pajamas (another tradition) and he was especially excited about the pockets (a sort of obsession of his!). We wrapped the night up and headed home so Santa could come!




Speaking of Santa, we already are having "belief" issues with Jackson regarding Santa Claus. It all started with Jake and his work Christmas party. Jake was asked to be the Santa for the party, but the coordinator also said she wanted me and Jackson to go so that she could buy our family dinner. Well, previously, Jackson had sat on Santa's lap and was FREAKED OUT. So, I didn't think we would survive an entire night and dinner with Santa. I told Jackson we were going to Daddy's Christmas party and that Daddy was PRETENDING to be Santa for the night. I explained to him that Daddy was dressing up in a COSTUME just as Jackson dressed up on Halloween. Well, since then, every time Jackson saw a Santa he would say "Santa, Daddy". Uh-oh. We would tell Jackson, no that's not Daddy, that's really Santa, but to no avail. Finally at the mall, with Jake along, we pointed out Santa so Jackson would see that Daddy and Santa were not one and the same. Jackson pointed to Santa and said, "Santa! Man." Oh dear...

So, onto Christmas day. We had a fantastic morning with just our little family at home. Jackson discovered his "Santa" gift right away (a four-wheeler) and loved it. He loved it so much, in fact, that he decided not to bother with any other presents. We pretty much had to force him into opening the rest :).

I fixed a yummy breakfast and we had such a nice morning. Then, it was off to mom and dad's for Christmas dinner with the Jones'!

I went to snap a "self-taker" and Jake grabbed me and picked me up!

Once again, my mom outdid herself with a scrumptious meal and the company was great. Jackson got a train set from my parents and, as it seems to go with toys, it took several adult "engineers" to construct the track. Jackson loved it, however, and could not be torn away from it.

Jackson was showing Grandma Jones the pages in the calendar I made for her.

Then, we hit the road once again to head to Jake's parents' house. We had a great time sharing gifts with them and Jackson was super-excited about his new "hooge" dumptruck and loader. He actually ended up delivering all the other presents with his dump truck.

We had a great visit.

Christmas with a toddler is super fun and exciting! But I never grow tired of the simple traditions of spending time with family and celebrating Christ's birth.