Christmas '09: Post-Christmas Playdates

Okay, so I'm done being a total buzzkill about Christmas. Alex LOVES his electric train that Grammy and Poppa got him and plays with it every single day, but he also loves all of the other gifts that he was too miserable to appreciate on Christmas morning. The great, glass-half-full thing about that is that he now "discovers" new toys that he didn't even realize he had, and every day he finds some new thing to obsess over. And I am so annoyed at myself for wasting a single second wallowing in self-pity simply because that morning didn't live up to my expectations. I actually watched the short video that we had taken that morning of Alex finding Santa's note and finding his train and opening his presents, and he was much more enthused that morning than I remember. In hindsight, I realize that the only one miserable that morning was me, and that's because I'm spoiled and selfish and wanted things to go exactly my way. At least I can admit that now.

And I'm over it. And onto better things. Like when we got together with the Primms and the Cheshiers and the Days and had a wild and crazy playdate the likes of which Eldo has never seen. Vicki was gracious enough to offer up her house - brave woman - which worked out great for us considering all of Alex's stuff was already there, and we didn't have to pack up and go anywhere. Plus, Vicki is the consummate hostess so she always has a spread like this for whomever decides to show up:

There was a little concern that Alex wouldn't be too gung-ho about sharing his brand new toys with all of the other kids, but the kids were all surprisingly good about sharing and taking turns. Then again, Alex probably didn't realize that half those toys were his since he didn't even open them...forgive me, I digress...

Oliver and Ethan are about the same age and they were two peas in a pod, while Alex spent most of the time admiring the "big boys" and trying to imitate their antics.

He also spent some time chatting with Ruthie, but don't let the pictures fool you - those two just didn't hit it off. She really is the sweetest thing ever, but they just didn't have any chemistry - if you can say that about a couple of toddlers - and they seemed to butt heads right from the get-go. If I knew anything about astrology, I'd say that his Cancer didn't vibe with her Capricorn, er...whatever.

Of course, A was excited to spend some time with his Auntie Joy and Uncle Seth and immediately roped Auntie Joy into reading to him. Sucker.

The runaway hit of the evening was definitely the Smart Cycle we got Alex. The boys spent hours riding that thing and were great about taking turns. Alex didn't mind sharing because he wanted to watch the older boys play it and try to pick up some pointers*.

Somehow Grammy managed to sneak in some quality time that night, too.

It was a super fun night that we didn't want to end, so we decided to plan another playdate - but this time we left the kids at home. Us grown folks went to dinner at a nice place on the square and had a lovely evening of uninterrupted adult conversation...that mainly centered around babies and child-rearing and such...what are ya gonna do?

Before we left Eldo, we had an Evans Family Slideshow Night and watched old slides of Tim and Leah and the rest of the Evans/Meador clan. We discovered that Timothy's fashion sense has gotten worse with age - he used to rock things like short shorts, visors, and knee-high socks, and now he wears a suit everyday. Yawn. Not that I suggest he pulls out the short shorts and knee socks anytime soon...Alex really liked seeing the pictures and often thought the pictures of Tim were pictures of himself. He also demonstrated how you look at a slide that is turned sideways.

Of course the only way to end the evening is with a rousing rendition of Thomas the the Magic Railroad : Little Engines Can Do Big Things. Oh, there is nothing like having a doting Grammy to read your kid annoying books so you don't have to...

And thus ends the story of Christmas '09. Although I have forgotten to mention a few little important details about our visit (such things tend to fall between the cracks if I don't have pictures as reference). Auntie Leah, good almost-Mama that she is, has patiently and diligently followed doctor's orders and remained on bed-rest throughout the holidays, which meant that she didn't need to be rushed to Little Rock to have her baby on Christmas or thereabouts. While we missed Leah's company during the week, we are happy that she and baby Charlee are doing great and will go to full term.

In fact, as of today, Leah has served her bed-rest sentence and will be admitted to the hospital this afternoon to be induced, so baby Charlee should show up sometime between 1:30 today and, God willing, early in the day tomorrow. Yay!! Alex's first first cousin! We are psyched and I will do my best to announce the good news when it happens.

*Apparently his strategy worked because Alex is a pro on that bike now. Like, seriously, it's sort of unreal how good he is at all of the games, and as ashamed as I am to say so, I am uber-proud of how good my kid is at a video game. In my defense, the games are all educational, where you have to pick the correct letter to finish spelling a word, recognize numbers in sequence, etc., not to mention plain ol' hand-to-eye coordination and the fact that he knows how to turn it on, how all the buttons work, how to navigate his way through the game without any help from us...