Christmas Gifts Arrived

December 20th was a busy day for answering the doorbell. All of these gifts arrived that day thanks to FedEx, UPS, and the US Post Office. Thanks to everyone for the great gifts from Amazon!

It is Better to Give Than to Receive

Last Wednesday night, Jimmy invited us over for dinner so that Peyton, Landon, and Hayden could give Gavin a gift. These kids were so excited to see Gavin open his gift; they could barely eat dinner. They were ready to give him the gift. Since Gavin isn't big into opening packages, they were more than happy to assist. Once opened, he hopped atop his new racecar cruiser. Landon and Peyton were happy to help him inspect all the accessories on his new ride.

Peyton was even willing to give him a little push.

Gavin was giddy when he realized that it was HIS new toy.

Hmmmm. Let me check this out.

Hayden even got in on the action by helping figure out where the race cars and drivers went.

It did my heart good to be reminded that kids aren't all about themselves during the holidays. These three were so happy to give.

Whew. All that playing made me tired.

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning, Gavin woke up and was ready to see what Santa brought. He was happy to find two big Tonka trucks under the tree from Jolly Old Saint Nick.

Then, he thought he'd inspect the tree to be sure that Santa didn't take any of his favorite ornaments from the bottom of the tree.

To get Gavin in the mood to open gifts, we thought we'd let Mason show him how it's done. Mason was very excited about his gifts under the tree.And all that unwrapping yielded a nice new ball.Gavin enjoys removing bows from packages and then the backing from the bow, so we started with a gift with a nice bow from Jonas. The bow was more fun.

Still seeking to inspire, we decided to let Dave open a gift. Gavin was happy to sit with Daddy and watch as the paper was torn from the box.

So, then we decided to help him open a box to see what was underneath the paper. He was happy to look at the pictures on the box.

So, we opened the box, which piqued his interest.

Look at the cool truck.

He was happy to "read" the Thomas book from Grandma Judy.

And, oh, that puzzle looks fun.

We took a break to eat cinnamon rolls for breakfast. When I asked him if he wanted a cinnamon roll, he made a b-line for the kitchen. Guess he knows what cinnamon rolls are.
After that, we decided it was time to pull out the big gun--the choo choo train from Grandma and GrandBob. If that didn't inspire the boy to open packages, what would? We built a track and played with Thomas and the "choo choo" trains.

Mama had the video camera out to capture his excitement at seeing his very own Thomas. All I captured was a little boy in my lap because he loves to watch videos on the camera.

While we were there, we opened another book, and read it.

We powered through the other gifts. I know in a few years, he'll be so excited to open gifts that he won't stop to see what it is or who it is from before he tears into the next package. This just was not that year. He has enjoyed playing with all of his new toys while he and I have been home, but he could have done without the wrapping.

Finally, we got to the stockings. He was excited to find this plane and some other Hot Wheels. So excited that he wanted to see what was in Mama and Daddy's stockings. He was disappointed not to find more cars--just candy.

We enjoyed a relaxing day, not feeling rushed to do anything. It was nice to see Gavin play with each of his toys.

We went to Christmas Eve services at church, which is a nice family tradition we have established since staying in Texas for Christmas. It's nice for me to remember that it isn't all about tearing into the gifts. It's about a bigger gift that came in swaddling cloths, not printed paper.

All I Want for Christmas

Gavin has been infatuated with choo choo trains since visiting Jonas over Thanksgiving break. Prior to that, Grandma Judy had already called dibs on getting a train for him for Christmas. I think seeing him play with Jonas' Thomas just sealed the deal.

Last year, Gavin screamed when he was placed in Santa's lap, so we were hesistant to take him this year. But as Christmas drew closer, I knew I would regret not having a picture of Gavin with Santa, especially after my mom posted my nephew Hayden's annual picture with Santa.

With only a few opportunities remaining, we went to BassPro to see Santa Thursday night. Due to a disorganized elf, we had to wait for an hour to see Santa. Dave and Gavin walked around looking at the fish, doing a bit of shopping, and riding a carousel, while I waited in line. The extra wait time also afforded us the opportunity to walk near Santa, show Gavin the other kids sitting in Santa's lap, and tell him that he would get to tell Santa what he'd like for Christmas, a choo choo.

When it was finally our time, Gavin started saying, "choo choo" as Dave approached Santa. Gavin shyly sat in Santa's lap with a finger in his mouth for his picture. And, as Dave picked him up, Gavin again told Santa: "choo choo." It's a good thing Santa and Grandma Judy coordinated gifts. Santa brought some big Tonka trucks since Grandma had the train all covered.

Steak Dinner

Miranda's parents came to visit us a couple weeks ago. Unfortunatly they couldn't stay very long because chickens were being delivered to their farm earlier than normal. But it was nice to see them during the time while they were here. Gavin was so glad to have two more playmates in the house, and Mason was glad to get an extra ear scratch from time to time. Miranda and I were both glad to have a little extra help.

We decided to go out to eat dinner one night at Texas Land & Cattle Company. We have eaten there several times before, and it has always been good. We got there and the hostess said that it would be 20 minutes. We waited, and waited, and waited. After 25-30 minutes I asked about our table. They said that they could seat us soon at a booth, but wouldn't have a table for some time. We said that was fine and continued to wait. After 50 minutes a "manager" came over to talk to us. He said that he was very sorry, but that it would be another 30-40 minute wait for a table (keep in mind that there were maybe 10 other people waiting besides us five). We then decided to leave.

The manager insisted that I give him my name and address so that he could send us a $50 or $75 gift card because they had messed up our wait time so much. I told him that it wasn't necessary, but he insisted that he wanted to "make things right."

We ended up picking up pizza on the way home. Gavin was starved by the time we got home and was pretty irritated with the whole situation. Needless to say that I am still waiting on that gift card....I now know one restaurant that won't be getting a penny out of me.

Hat?

Gavin had a total meltdown when we told him that his swim trunks weren't supposed to go on your head. He wasn't having any of that...so he wore his "hat" around the house yesterday.

Elmo Shoes are Awesome

Gavin is a big fan of his new Elmo shoes. He even wore them to school on pajama day. You could see the looks of envy on all the other kids' faces.

As you can see; Gavin could pretty easily subsitute for one of Santa's elves in a pinch.

Gavin Caroling

At the end Gavin hands his jingle bells back to Mrs. Rosa. That was when he saw Dave in the audience. Dave was seated the second row back and Gavin couldn't get to him because of all the people. This made him very upset and he started crying....poor guy.

We also recorded Dean's class singing "Feliz Navidad." Dean was more interested in saying "hi" to his mom.

Sports Commentary

Following the high school football game at Cowboys Stadium, Gavin told this story at the dinner table.
Future sports caster? Or just all boy?

Choo Choo Train

Gavin has become obsessed with choo choo trains. Saturday, he lined up Matchbox cars and pushed them saying, "choo choo train." Tonight at dinner he lined up first cucumber chunks, then apple chunks, as a "choo choo train." Driving home tonight I heard him say "Thomas choo choo train" from the back seat. We were no where near a railroad track or train.

I sure hope he gets a choo choo train for Christmas. Or do I?