The First Noel: Christmas Morning

Okay, so here we are. I've finally made it to Christmas day, and I literally have dozens of pictures that I want to post. I'm trying to decide whether to post them all at once or to break Christmas day into two shorter posts...what to do? In the interest of time, I suppose I'll do the twofer and start with Christmas morning.

A had woken up around 4am, as was his usual practice while in Eldo, and after a bottle and some mommying he went back to sleep until eight. Auntie L had slept over because she was afraid that Santy Claus might not have gotten her change of address form, and she didn't want to miss out on any of the Christmas fun. After changing and feeding A, Timothy, Alex, Murphy, and I woke Auntie Leah up and we all paraded to Grammy and Papa's room to let them know that Santa had indeed showed up and that we were itchin' to see what he brought us.

A was all warm and cozy in his Christmas jammies that Grammy and Auntie L had bought him, complete with convenient trap door for easy access to the bum region (ideal for diaper changing). He sort of had an "elf goes to prison" look going with his green and white stripes, which I thought suited him nicely.

Murphy seemed more impressed by the large pile of presents that filled the den (that's Arkansas for "living room") than Alex was. He immediately sniffed out which stocking was his and couldn't wait to check out the contents. Turns out that Grandma B had sent some yummy rawhide bones and a couple of toys, along with a red velvet collar with bells and a teeny Santa hat with an elastic chin strap. We made him try them on and tried to snap a picture, but we couldn't get the hat to stay on his head and he ended up with a red and white beard, instead.

Auntie L doled out presents and A had quite a few to dig through. I'm kind of surprised Santa left so many considering that Alex didn't even leave him cookies and milk or a note or anything. But he has been such a good boy, so I guess Santa looked past all that and brought him exactly what he wanted.

Again, he was a pro at tearing things open. He couldn't wait to rip all the wrapping off of this gift!! To see what was inside!! Boy oh boy!! He just couldn't wait! He was oh so excited to see what...

...the paper tasted like.

So maybe he was a little more excited about the delicious wrapping paper than what was inside it, but his dad and I were pretty happy to see that Santa had brought him this cool high chair that straps to a regular chair at the kitchen table. We couldn't wait to try it out at breakfast, but first, there were more presents to open.

Grandma and Grandpa B sent him some fun books, a red onesie embroidered with the words "Alexander the Greater" (he is great, isn't he?), and some old timey wooden toys to hold him over until they came to visit the next week and bring the rest of his presents.

Grammy and Papa had gotten him his very first Radio Flyer wagon, which he seemed to like. And who wouldn't? Every self respecting little boy needs a red wagon!

He got lots of other cool gadgets and toys and things that make noise, one of which was a Learn and Groove Musical Table from Leapfrog. Oliver had one that he really seemed to like, so I thought it might be something that A would find interesting and added it to his wish list. And whaddyaknow, I was right (as usual). He played with it...

...tried to eat it...

...and eventually became very possessive of it. "I see you trying to mess with my toy. Back up off it...or else."

Overall a good choice, I would say.

And that's not all! Papa had someone from the church handcraft this cool high chair/rocking chair/desk and chair that converts from one to the other just by changing its orientation. It'll take some time for Alex to grow into it, but for now, it will stay at Papa's for him to use when we are there.

...and the list goes on. Shoes, clothes, stacking toys, stroller toys, etc., etc., etc. Auntie L hooked him up big time, as well. He got some stacking rings, some John Deere boots called "Johnny Poppers" (they're all the rage south of the Mason Dixon), bath toys, a musical drum toy that lets him create his own tunes, so on, and so forth.

Timothy and I didn't do so bad either. He got a few history books, an Illinois hoodie, a moleskin notebook, and...other stuff. I got some awesome dishes, a dock for my iPod, and lots of other great things that would take me a week to list. Together, we got an external hard drive, a DVD player that will play CD's burned from the computer, and...GUITAR HERO! Oh boy, that spells trouble. Many deliciously wonderful, fun-filled rockin' hours of trouble. Timothy still has a semester of school left and we're all a little concerned that having full access to Guitar Hero may hinder his ability to focus on his schoolwork and thus, to graduate. Grammy threatened to keep the game at her house to avoid such a fate, but we promised to limit our playing to just eight hours a day so we could take it home with us. Here we are practicing...

At last, it was time to try out the new high chair. Once Papa and I finally figured out which strap went with which clip and which clip fit through which slot, we got him buckled in and pulled him up to the table so he could...watch all of us eat a scrumptious Christmas breakfast while he feasted on some savory plastic rings.

After breakfast, we had some time to kill before heading over Mamaw's, so we played a little more GH (that's what you call Guitar Hero if you are awesome), A worked on some Excel spreadsheets with his dad, and we basically just laid around and played with all of our Christmas loot.

Oh, and we made Murphy clean up his wrapping paper mess. Here he is picking up the last little scrap.

Auntie L set the scene and took pics of Alex with his large stash of new toys. He is well on his way to being spoiled rotten...

Enough messing around. Time to get ready for Mamaw's. A got dressed, and luckily he got some new kicks for Christmas because the ones I brought for him to wear with this outfit turned out to be a bit too small. Kid's growing like a weed! These new ones worked out even better though. They gave his uber-preppy get-up an urban flava that made him feel fly.

Dressed, shoed, and ready to go, over the river and through the woods!

A Christmas Story, Chapter 3: Christmas Eve

So I'm officially less than a week behind in my blogging! Hooray me! We've finally made it to Christmas Eve. Oy vey, that's seems like a year ago. Here's what I remember...

A traditional Christmas Eve in Eldo always includes a caroling expedition, whereby the sprier and more youthful members of MHC (which stands for Marrable Hill Chapel, btw) pile into several large vehicles and visit the homes of the more "mature" members of the church to serenade them with rousing renditions of various holiday favorites. It is always a fun time, which promised to be even more special this year since Alex would be tagging along.

We lazed around the house for a bit before we got ready for the day. A worked on his sitting and his pushups as we cheered him on. He has started to lift his hips off of the ground, as well, which we presume is another step towards being able to crawl. I tried to snap a picture of him in action, but that's a lot harder than it sounds.

Once we were done being lazy, we got dressed for our big day of caroling and Auntie L helped A put his shoes on. I thought they were just his regular Pumas, but they must've been his chocolate flavored ones cuz he couldn't keep his foot out of his mouth.

In order to be in tip-top shape to perform, us carolers met at Pizza Inn to fuel up before hitting the road. A had not been sleeping well while at Grammy's - waking at 4am, taking way short naps during the day - so I wasn't sure how he would fare when it came to dragging him in and out of the car seat. He took another "snap" while at the Inn, first passing out on Grammy's shoulder, then sleeping through a mid-snooze transfer to Mommy's lap.

Although his "snap" only lasted a total of about thirty minutes, he seemed to be well-rested and as bubbly as ever when we strapped him into the car and headed to the first stop of our caroling tour.

This year we stopped at several residences and forwent the nursing home in favor of a hospice. It was such a gift to be able to spread some holiday cheer to the residents.

After a long but fulfilling day of caroling, we went back to the house where, as per tradition, Mamaw Meador came over to eat supper and give us our Christmas gifts. Alex got to open his very first Christmas present, a privilege that he took very seriously. When it came to ripping that sucker open, he was a natural!!

Great Whistling Hippos, Batman! The box contained four brightly colored hippos that fit into plastic inner tubes that float in the tub. Oh, and they "whistle" when you tap them on the head (although it's really more of a "toot" than a whistle). And they are made by a toy company called ALEX. What a coincidence, huh?

He played with them on the floor for a bit, then we sent him off to the tub for the real test. By the look of that smile, I'd say they're a hit!

Tim and I got lots of good things, too, and Murphy got to rip up all of the paper, which is the best present ever as far as he's concerned.

Aunt Sylvia had stopped by for the festivities and Mamaw Evans made an appearance to say goodbye before she left for Texas.

Then off to bed we went, to visions of dancing sugar plums...

A Christmas Story, Chapter 2

Sunday was a busy day, as it usually is in Eldo. We churched in the morning, and in lieu of leaving him in the capable hands of the MHC nursery workers, we decided to keep him in the sanctuary and pray that he wouldn't disrupt the service. He had just woken up from a nap and we knew he wouldn't sleep, so the challenge was to keep him happy enough that he wouldn't fuss but not so happy that he would be shrieking in jubilation. We gave him his raspberry and let him go to town, and to everyone's surprise, he hardly made a peep. The congregation could not believe that he stayed quiet the whole time. What a good, well behaved boy we have!

After the service we made our usual rounds to visit everyone we knew, aka the entire MHC congregation. We introduced Alex to Ethan Cheshier, a spirited two year old who belongs to our friends Jacob and Kelly. Ethan has a little sister, nine month old Sadie, so he was well aware of how to entertain an infant. He kept bending over and putting his head down, then Alex would reach out and grab Ethan's head with his hands. Alex is pretty much fascinated by people in general, but he has demonstrated a distinct partiality to other kids. Needless to say, he and Ethan hit it off.

After church, we went to the ever-popular Papa Poblano's for lunch. It is kind of like Eldo's version of La Huerta (a NW Arkansas fave) - cheap but delicious Mexican cuisine. Let me put it this way - if you are looking for an Evans, chances are you will find one (or three) there. In fact, I'm kind of surprised they haven't named an entree after Leah yet. Like "Quesa-leah's". Anyway, poor A was pooped and in need of a good nap, so we inhaled our fajitas and took him home to get rested for that night's Candlelight Communion service.

When Timothy was a teenager, he was a member of a gospel quartet called Rock Solid, along with Seth, Jacob, and Scott Cooley. The group split in 1997, citing "creative differences", although everyone knew that Seth's chocolate addiction was really to blame. (Check out Rock Solid's E! True Hollywood Story this Thursday at 10/9c for the gruesome details). The group decided to forgive past indiscretions in order to perform together at Sunday's Candlelight Communion. It was a reunion concert of sorts, and we were all very excited to see them back together, if only for one night.

Alex was such a good boy in church that morning that we decided to push our luck and bring him into the evening service so that he could hear his daddy sing. Grammy sat with him on the end of the aisle in case a mad dash into the hallway was necessary, but once again, he impressed us with his stellar behavior. He was riveted when his daddy started singing, and started at him, wide-eyed and awed. They performed beautiful renditions of The First Noel and Silent Night, which brought many audience members to tears, including Alex's Grammy. Who can blame her? Her baby boy was back on stage, and his baby boy was watching him sing. It was a weird "past meets present" thing that left us all kind of emotional.

Holding flaming things and holding Alex are mutually exclusive acts in my opinion, so Grammy had to decide which she wanted to do when it came time for the "candlelight" portion of the "Candlelight Communion". I'm sure you can guess which one she chose...

It was a beautiful service followed by a dessert party in the Fellowship Hall. Knowing that I would be imbibing (in sweets, that is) in the days to follow, I resisted temptation and forwent tasting each and every dessert on the table (like I would normally do). Alex also resisted the wide array of cakes and pies, cobblers and puddings, cookies and candies, although he did attempt to snag a couple of peppermints off of the table when we weren't looking. Fortunately, his effort was thwarted by Mamaw Evans, who told him "I don't think your Mama would want you to have that." Right on, Mamaw.

So he didn't get his hands on any sweets, unless you count Amanda and Scott Cooley's precious nine month old, Rebekah. Alex seemed to be quite enamored of her, and she of him. They make a lovely couple, don't you think? Too bad Alex isn't allowed to date until he's sixteen. Or until he can walk a girl to her front door. Whichever comes first...