Our Christmas Story

So, Todd and I have a tradition of spending Christmas Eve together. We've done it pretty much since we started dating ten years ago. Its the quiet time before we're running around all day on Christmas. Since Norrin is only 14 months old...we continued our tradition and had a delicious dinner followed by the opening of all our gifts. Norrin had no concept of how to open a gift so we only wrapped four of his gifts. The girls from Todd's work got him a pony that he loves to bounce on. It interacts with the TV, but he's content to bounce, so we hooked it up once and deemed it an unnecessary hassle. Todd and I did not get him anything electronic this year (despite his love of Elmo Live). The most electronic thing he got was a magna doodle...which Todd and I play with more than Norrin does. Other than that, he got books, finger puppets and a lil portable stage, a wooden truck, a wooden puzzle and wooden sandwich maker, a bath towel shaped like a frog and Wall-E (which also was kind of a gift for the parents). The sandwich maker has been the best so far. Todd has taught him how to stick the pieces together and how to say "mmmm" before he takes a pretend bite. Other than that, he love, love, loves the stinkin' pony. He bounces on it all the time in various states of dress...I even fed him breakfast on it the day after Christmas. So much for our boring wooden toys :). On Christmas, we went to Rita and Joseph's...Norrin spent a cranky couple of hours with them before he took a nap. After his nap, he was ready to be a lil bit more friendly. Norrin is learning to kiss. He comes at you with a wide open mouth and then you just have to wait and see if you're going to get licked or bitten. If I remember correctly, Mommy and Uncle Jim were the only two people he was handing out kisses to. Other than that, when he's done at his grandparents', he raises his hand, waves it at himself (he hasn't grasped the idea that waves are palm out) and sings "ba-bye". We had pancakes followed by a delicious dinner then it was out the door and on to Uncle Steve and Aunt Anne Marie's house. I was looking forward to this because I thought the cousins would chase Norrin, wrestle him to the ground and ultimately wear him out. I underestimated the power of their new Christmas gifts. Both Maddie and Stevie Joe had their faces glued to some small electronic thingamajigs. Joe and Peggy's kids didn't make it and Conor and Declan found Norrin to be annoying (he kept pulling their electric trains off the tracks). So, it wasn't until 30 minutes before the Buffardis left that Maddie got sucked into a game of tag, which means Norrin runs all over the place and you spend more time trying to protect his head than you do trying to catch him. I wish I could say that this wore him out, but he was still up until about 11 pm. Norrin and I fell asleep on a couch while Todd, Steve Milligan and Steve Buffardi stayed up talking. I had told Todd it was time to go around 10 pm, so you see how much power I have in this situation. Needless to say, Norrin became very disoriented after being ripped from our warm snuggle and put into a cold carseat. He cried almost the entire ride home. Part of me was angry...why didn't we just leave when I suggested it?...and the other part of me thought, well, its not too often that Todd gets to hang out with everyone. Norrin woke up the next morning full of energy and ready to play, play, play...so, I guess there were no permanent scars :). And that is our Christmas story. Right now Norrin is napping and I just got dinner in the slow cooker- Spicy Red Bean and Sweet Potato Chili. I never realized how much I would love my slow cooker...if I did, I wouldn't have left it in the cabinets for two years. The guys are here working on our basement. After they leave for the day, I'll take some pictures...just for you, Steve Milligan :). Other than that, my brother is visiting tomorrow night and staying until Friday night. I have to work Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, so I'll get to see him about half the time he's here. Norrin loves his Uncle Holden (AKA Thom) and I'm looking forward to seeing them interact with each other...its very sweet...and it should be a really nice way to start off the new year.