So here's the first installment …
Christmas
Christmas Eve started out with a little disappointment. We were supposed to drive to Hickory for the day for holiday lunch and presents with the family. However, we woke up to find Ray had an emergency call at work that had to be dealt with. As Sawyer and I got ready and Ray made calls, he realized it was going to be an all-day hassle. So Sawyer and I had to make the drive without him, which was a bummer. Family things just never seem complete when he’s not there (plus he had to miss out on Hickory Smokehouse barbecue, which is his favorite!)
As usual, Sawyer – decked out in his Santa suit – got in a long winter’s nap on the way and was ready for lunch and presents when we arrived. We chowed down on some of our favorite barbecue, baked beans and pumpkin pie. And then we opened presents … and between Sawyer and Peyton, there were tons of them.
Because Sawyer got some practice in opening presents at his birthday, he was a little more into trying to rip the paper off and find something cool inside. He and Peyton got some of the same things, so it was a constant battle to keep everyone’s gifts separated. Sawyer especially liked chewing on the wooden puzzle pieces.
It was a short visit because we were coming back home that evening to be at our house for Santa and Christmas morning.
I had texted Santa before we left and asked if he wanted to get started putting together Sawyer’s present, but he decided that it was something both Santa and Mrs. Claus should do together.
So after Sawyer went to bed, he went to work on his blue wagon (mostly I just watched him and “A Christmas Story”). Unfortunately, Santa’s elves left a washer out of the box so the wagon was not quite roadworthy.
On Christmas morning, I made Ray get up when Sawyer did. I went downstairs ahead of them to video Sawyer’s reaction to the wagon, which was less than excited. We opened presents, which didn’t take long with just the three of us. The house was a little empty feeling after having family here the past few Christmases.
But Sawyer enjoyed playing, and I started wondering when the snow was going to arrive. All of western North Carolina seemed to have it. What about us?
It finally started about 1 p.m., so I started preparing to get to work early in case we had early deadlines. We all rushed through our work, ate dinner in the conference room and left as the roads were nice and slick.
It was a nice Christmas, somewhat subdued, but having a white one sure was lovely.
Snow!
The day after Christmas, we had tons of snow on the ground so I was eager to get Sawyer outside to play in it. We had several good snows last year, but he was way too small to play in them. We got up, ate breakfast and then it was my mission to get us dressed and outside to play before his “cranky, I-need-a-nap” period hit. Ray, who gets cabin fever at the first snowflake, was on a mission to shovel the walk, clean off the cars and do laundry … all admirable chores on other days, but not this day.
I got Sawyer stuffed into in his Randy “I can’t put my arms down” suit. The poor kid couldn’t move, and all I could see of him was his little round face. I carried him out and dumped him in the snow.
Instead just sitting in it, he tried to crawl, which doesn’t work well if you’re wearing a 10-pound snowsuit two sizes too big. He was soon floundering around. It was hysterical, and as mean as it sounds, I was torn between helping him up and getting it on camera.
I finally decided a wardrobe change was in order for him to ever want to have anything to do with snow again. I put him in waterproof pants and coat and too-big snowboots, and he had much more fun crawling around our neighbor’s porch where the snow wasn’t as deep.
I think he will enjoy it even more when he can actually walk, instead of wallow, in it.
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