Christmas 2011

Luke's 1st Christmas was a success!

You wouldn't now it from his Santa visit,

Yes, I took a picture of this picture because I was cheap and didn't spring for the digital copy.

or when he opened his presents,

but I think he enjoyed all of the festivities as much as a (almost) 9 month old can.

I was excited about it, though. So excited, I made stockings for all 3 of us.

Even thought we had absolutely no use for them this year, they still looked pretty. And it was a fun project for me :)

We celebrated with my parents the week before Christmas, since we were heading to Alice for the big day this year.

We opened presents and then had a lunch of beef tenderloin with rhubarb chutney for dinner. It was delicious. I love this meal my mom cooks.

Trey and I fresh off our 24 child free hours!

Luke loved his high chair that my mom saved from when I was a baby. My grandfather finished it, so it's cherished :)

Luke loved his activity table the first (and second) time he opened it.

He also enjoyed his new bath toys from Uncle John. Excuse the blue bow, we were trying to be funny.

At the end of the day, Luke was worn out from the festivities.

A couple of days before Christmas, we headed down to Alice at bedtime like we did before Thanksgiving. It was pretty successful and we made it with no issue.

During the days we played with Luke, chatted with the family, gave Radar some attention, and then played with Luke some more.

Sharing a laugh with Grandpa

Eating cheerios with Grandma (and Radar)

We even got artsy during playtime.

Trapping Luke so he couldn't wander off

This boy has hair!

He showed off all his cool tricks which I'll put in a separate blog post, but it's becoming impressive to see all he can do, or maybe it's just the normal development of a baby, but whatever it is, he's a genius at it!

Christmas morning was a little overwhelming for him. He mostly liked to wave the tissue paper in the air.

He got a pair of shoes from Santa. Kind of lame, Santa. I've already told him to be more 'fun' next year.

See, he loved them so much, he immediately threw them.

Luke got a great 3-in-1 sports activity center, plastic keys, and a rubber duckie from Grandpa and Grandma J. My parents and Lauren & Jason both gave him this fun activity table. He loves it, nonetheless.

After his morning nap, he was a little more ready to enjoy his fun new toys.

Trey's mom and dad barbequed a brisket and made the normal fixin's- potato salad, spanish rice, and beans. The best part was the dump cake for dessert. It was great, and I helped myself a few times to that one.

The rest of our visit was fun and pretty lowkey. There's just not much you can do with a 9 month old.

Overall Christmas was excellent. I'm excited to next year's because it will not resemble this one in any way. Except for sharing the holiday with family. Luke will not resemble himself in any way. He'll be running around like a madman!!

First Christmas, success!