Christmas 2012

Watching Christmas specials on Christmas Eve with Daddy.

All told Christmas 2012 was a fine holiday, and a fun and restful time was had by all. This was the first Christmas we truly played Santa Claus, waiting until Liam was dreaming of sugar plums before assembling his present in front of the tree. Santa brought him an awesome play kitchen this year, and let me tell you, his elves broke a sweat getting it together. The assembly required metal screws, but the plastic pieces of the kitchen had no holes drilled in them. Then there were all of the little sticker decals to stick in their proper places... Let's just say it was a relief when the kitchen was finally assembled just before midnight.

Santa brought Liam a play kitchen this year.

Liam is still a little young to really understand Christmas and all it encompasses, so he slept fitfully until 9 a.m. He never sleeps in, but of course he chose to do so on the one morning of the year mom and dad are looking forward to him waking up! When he did finally wake up and saw his new kitchen, it was love at first sight--he jumped in immediately and started "cooking." He also got a toy Dirt Devil vacuum because for a long time now one of his favorite pretend play activities has been to "ba-bong." That's Liam-speak for "vacuum." For months now, every toy he played with became a ba-bong, so we decided to get him an actual toy vacuum. He loved it, and once he fired it up, there was no stopping him all morning.

It was a fun day of presents, play, and eating, but we were all tired by evening and ready to call it a day. The only problem I'm left with is trying to figure out where to put the new play kitchen in our limited living space. I've already put old toys intended for younger ages in storage, but a little creativity will still be needed to organize those toys that remain in such a way not to clutter up the place and thus annoy me. With a November birthday followed by Christmas, Liam tends to get a huge influx of toys at the end of the year. Since we aren't done having kids, we aren't giving old toys away yet, so this annual toy juggling routine is here to stay for a few more years.

Liam "ba-bonged" for hours on Christmas Day.

Oh, and one last, encouraging note:  Christmas Eve brought an early Christmas present--Liam used his potty for the first time. Huzzah! He's since used it several times, but we still have a long journey ahead of us. For now he sees the potty as a kind of novelty thing he uses when he feels like it, not necessarily a way to leave diapers behind. So, he's not going to be wearing underoos any time soon, but we have taken a solid step in that direction. 

A bonus Christmas present for mommy--
Liam used his potty for the first time!