Round Two & Christmas Day

Our second round of family has come and gone and with them, so has Christmas Day. However, this will be a Christmas we will never forget. (Between the zillions of pictures and hours of video footage, how could we?) But, even without all that, I don't think I could ever forget Jack's true Christmas joy. He actually got it--the whole giving, receiving (especially the receiving), opening gifts, playing with new things, trying to say thank you, and all of the excitement that comes with Christmas morning. We are still working on him "getting" the real meaning of Christmas, but that will come in time. There is only so much a 20 month old attention span can comprehend. However, I must note his favorite character in our nativity scene is "babee sesus" . And unfortunately, this season "May-ee" is already missing a hand. I think I'm going to have look into one of those Little People Nativity scenes for our curious toddler next season. But, for now, he is happy with all of the goodies Santa and family brought him this year.

Jack's Christmas morning followed a rigid sequence, that looked a little something like this...1) choose a gift from under the tree (Jack's were relatively easy to find in the bright Sesame Street wrapping paper) 2) find a family member's lap to take it to 3) tear into the wrapping paper 4) take each piece of torn wrapping paper across the room to "Jack's trash pile" one at a time 4) find the gift inside and smile 5) sit down and read or play with it for about 2 minutes 6) place the gift in Jacks' present pile with assistance 7) head back to the tree and start all over again. He's got a little of Mommy's Type A personality in there...Merry Christmas to me! ( I think).

After all of the gift exchange was complete we headed down to the playroom where Jack's BIG gift awaited him. Oh, and did I mention Mommy and Daddy got a beautiful new umbrella for the deck from Grammy and Grampa? Love it and can't wait for warm weather so we can enjoy it! But, anyway on to Jack. So, Christmas Eve night Daddy and Grampa assembled Jack's new and very cool train table. This included putting together some VERY confusing train track pieces, along with the table itself. But, low and behold before bed time Jack's new table was complete with tracks, trains, tunnels, stations and ready for Christmas morning. When Jack was released into the playroom, he sprinted across the room to his new table, grabbed a couple of trains, climbed on the table, squealed with glee, and....had the tracks and trains unassembled in about 3 minutes. Kind of what we figured, but not really expecting it to happen that fast! But even with pieces here and pieces there, Jack played his little heart out with his new train table and the many pieces that adorned it.

Merry Christmas little buddy, you sure do give Christmas a new meaning! And we LOVE you for it! Now we wait for Round 3 of Christmas company to arrive on Sunday!

The new train table, still partly assembled! Jack figured it was much easier to reach the pieces if you just sit on them.

What is Christmas without Elmo and the gang? I'm pretty sure he is chanting Elmo's name here.

Grammy was the lap of choice for this present. Notice the video camera in his face at all times.

This is what I mean by each piece of wrapping paper that went to Jack's designated trash pile--none too big or too small.

The train table BEFORE Jack decided to sit on it.

"Is all this really for me? I love Christmas!"

Jack got 12 books for Christmas, have I ever mentioned he LOVES to read?




"Hmmm...now, I know there are more of those Sesame Street presents in here somewhere."

Our second Christmas family photo. This was taken on Christmas Eve right before we went to 4:30 Mass. He looks thrilled, doesn't he? That was followed by Jack's first fine dining experience. How did it go? Let's just say, Jack won't be attending anymore restaurants above 2 stars until he's about 16.

Round One Complete

Our first set of company has come and gone. First round complete! The highlight of the stay was picking up Joel from the airport. Grandma had U.S. flags ready for us to wave. I must admit, I was a bit disappointed when Joel arrived without uniform. I was hoping to see him dressed in his pressed khaki's. His explanation had something to do with being, "on a special project and we don't do things like that"--whatever that means. I pressed no further and enjoyed his big hugs. However, I did question that glowing tan he was sporting and again I got a vague response that sounded something like this, "I've been living outside for the past 2 months in a tent". Makes sense, I suppose. Just a wee bit jealous on this end--feeling a bit pasty this winter season.

However, we thoroughly enjoyed Joel's stay, his cooking (yes, he is a certified chef too), and hearing stories of his distant duties. Jack was fascinated with his deep voice and loved showing off his playroom to his Uncle Joel. As for Joel, he was pretty easy company. All he needed was a "real" bed and Chick-fil-a...we can handle that. He even complimented us on our new cottage and comfy mattress. It doesn't take much to please someone who has been roughing it for 2 years.

The great news is Grandma and Joel will be returning in just a few short days. It looks like they will be arriving with part of the other crew on Saturday the 27th. Until then, Jack, Clay, Cosby, and I are waiting patiently for round 2 to pull into the driveway--Grammy and Grampa!

The Revolving Door

This holiday season our house is a Revolving Door and WE LOVE IT!! You see once Jack was born, Clay and I decided that Christmas would from now on be a holiday spent at home. Before we know it, Jack will have this whole Santa thing down and we want be home to start traditions and memories here. However, we always promised to leave our door open to anyone who wanted to come visit. Because what's Christmas without family? Originally, we thought this year was going to be spent with just the three of us. Nobody could seem to get their plans together (mainly my family, okay it was all my family). Don't ask me where I got my organizational gene from, I'm still wondering that myself ? But somehow, in the 12th hour, it all came together and this is how the following two weeks look...

Tomorrow, December 19th, GG (my Grandma) arrives from Kentucky. We will hit the airport on Saturday to pick up my cousin, Joel. I haven't seen him in TWO years! He has been serving in Iraq, so you can imagine the excitement we are all feeling. And even greater than seeing him for the holidays is that he is back for good! We are so proud of him and thrilled to have him home. Being an only child, I grew up extremely close to my cousins, so to me this is like having a brother return home. This will also be the first time he and Jack meet--the anticipation is killing me! Grandma and Joel will be staying with us until the 23rd, where they will then return to KY to celebrate Christmas day and Christmas eve with the rest of my family.

But, don't fret, we won't be alone on the big day(s). The Cibulas, Grammy and Grampa, will be pulling in the driveway just as GG and Joel are pulling out. Yes, they will arrive on Christmas Eve Eve. We will be graced with Grammy and Grampa's presence until the 26th. And I must note here, that they have been such troopers while my family got their plans figured out. The Cibula's flexibility has been quite the Christmas present. Thanks Grammy and Grampa!

And then believe it or not, we will be expecting my family again on the next day, Saturday the 27th. The first arrivals will be Joel, GG, Uncle Jim, and Jon (my other cousin/feels like a brother). Followed by my Aunt Scrub on the 30th (the reason for her name is a WHOLE other blog in itself, but it's what I've called her since I was a tot), then my Mom (Grandma) on the 31st. And the last guest will be leaving somewhere around the 6th of January. Whew! That's a busy Christmas cottage.

In preparation for all of these wonderful house guests, I have been grocery shopping, washing and changing sheets, cleaning house, wrapping presents like a mad woman, and waiting patiently for my basement bathroom remodel to be complete. As we speak, my wonderful contractor is downstairs working overtime...we are close, but not quite there. It is starting to look like a bathroom though. Can it be completed by tomorrow afternoon?--well, that remains to be seen. If not, GG and Joel may be sharing a bathroom with Jack.

And through all this preparation, my sweet Jack has been patiently waiting by the front door for our first Christmas guests to arrive. I finally had to pull him inside at dinner time and try to explain the concept of "tomorrow". I'm sure he is off dreaming about family members tonight and their anticipated arrival through our "revolving door".

Wishing you and your family a just as busy and very Merry Christmas!

Not Sure How To Take This?

I picked Jack up from school today, just as I do every Friday at 12:30. And this was the brief conversation that took place with his teachers...

Me: good afternoon!

Teacher 1: hi!, (looking towards Jack) Jack come on over, Mommy's here!

Teacher 1: (now looking at me) Does he just pass out when you put him to bed?

Me: (with a puzzled brow) yes, he usually does, he loves his sleep

Teacher 1: We figured (looking at teacher 2 and smiling ever so kindly), we were just discussing that before you got here

Me: (thinking, but wanting to say it out loud) What does that mean? Is he really that hyper or does he just look like a great sleeper?

Luckily, Jack arrived to the door at that moment and I no longer had to worry about trying to bite my tongue. Hmmm...the joy of a boy, I think?

Christmas Spirit

In an effort to get into the Christmas spirit, this is how we spent our first weekend in December...

First, we went to visit Santa Claus. And I wouldn't have expected anything but this...

Then we gave a reindeer a try. Jack was thinking "better, but not great".

And last we enjoyed our "oh so troublsome tree". And this time Jack was thinking, "this is more like it!".

The Christmas Tree Debacle

I wish I could sit down and write some sentimental post about our Christmas tree traditions this year, but I just can't. You see, it's been more or less of a debacle. Not terrible, just not easy.

It started last night when we went to get the tree. We picked out a beautiful 7 foot tree. When the Riverwood baseball player, (their team was sponsoring the lot), held it up, I said "Clay are you sure that's not too big?". And Clay said, "no it will be fine". And so we bought the tree. We got it home and you guessed it...too big. Not necessarily too tall, just way too wide. So I took Jack up for bedtime duty and Daddy stayed down in the family room to wrestle with the tree. And by the way, Jack was not at all puzzled as to why we had a tree in our home...hmm?? I thought he would at least raise an eyebrow. Upon returning to the family room after getting Jack down, I came into a forest of tree trimmings. Yes, wonderful Daddy had taken the initiative to trim the 'oh so big tree'. And boy, was our tree trimmed!...to about half of it's original size. A little uneven and lopsided, but it was in the designated Christmas tree spot. We turned the tree to the left, and then to the right, and then back to the left, and NOTHING we did made our tree look straight. Oh well, at least we have a tree and at least it fits, right? I think Clay was more bothered than me..and yes, that is possible!

Okay, so day two. Daddy had to go out of town overnight for business, so Jack and I were going to decorate the tree together. I couldn't wait any longer...this tree needed ornaments and fast! J and I started at 5 pm with the lights. At 5:15 pm and a third of the way up the tree, we realized we don't have enough lights. I'm telling you this tree is fat. So, shoes and jackets on and we are off to Target for more lights. Oops!...it's rush hour! Joy, joy, joy! Jack decides to throw "Lovey" in the way back of the car after about 6 minutes. The following 23 minute drive to Target involved my toddler screaming at the top of his lungs, "LOVEY, LOVEY". I tried to explain "that's why we don't throw Lovey". Do you think that mattered to him? So combine rush hour traffic with an irate 19 month old, and you guessed it...my blood pressure was sky high. We finally arrived to Target, opened the back door of the car, found Lovey, and Jack was all smiles again. We were in and out of Target in no time flat with two strings of lights.

Then it was dinner time. No time to cook, so Jack and I stopped at Moe's where he devoured a black bean and cheese quesadilla. I think I mentioned to him more than once to slow it down--did he listen? Of course not. We returned to the car just in time for Jack to throw up. Not a huge one, just a very stinky one!

Home and time for our bed time routine. It looks like I'm decorating the tree alone tonight.

Once Jack was safe and snug in his bed, I started on the tree. First the lights. Two strands later I was ready for the ornaments. Did I mention, the lights took me about 45 minutes and I was COVERED in tree sap at the completion? Apparently, doing a hack job on a Christmas tree causes it to secrete A LOT of sap. Yuck! I washed my fingers, hands and arms about 5 times (surgeon style at that). Okay, so now time for the ornaments. I was sooo over this tree at this point that there was very little joy in the ornaments, which is usually my favorite part.

Needless to say, there is no warm, touching story about choosing our Christmas tree and decorating it. No sentimental pictures of Jack, Clay, and I in front of the tree the night it got picked out, trimmed, and decorated. No just a picture of the "Cibula Christmas Tree" all by itself while Jack snoozes, Daddy is away, and Mommy's covered in tree sap.

I have decided though, that tomorrow will be the day we start enjoying our tree together and making new Christmas memories. And maybe we will even get a few pictures with it.