Christmas

Christmas morning! 

This year Theo understood that he gets gifts and he understood unwrapping gifts, but he was still so young that he took most of the day selecting a gift, opening it, and then playing with it.

We all felt very loved. Thanks, everyone!

The gift he really wanted was a Water Wow. The first of the (kind of boring) videos is of Christmas morning. We exchanged gifts with my parents the night before and so he already had the Water Wow. The footage is of us trying to convince him to look in his stocking and he is unconvinced that anything will be better than the Water Wow.

The night before he got 2 Water Wows, a Bible stories one and a numbers one. He was having a great time painting them when he suddenly started crying, "Letters one!"

His friend who loaned him one had an alphabet themed one and he was heartbroken that his were not exactly that one. We may use some Christmas money to buy him that one too.

He seems pretty sure that he has 2 Water Wows so that while he paints one, Mommy should paint the other. I am getting pretty good at that Bible one. 

One picture has an outline of Goliath showing, and then when you add water, you can see the rest of the picture appear, including David. I told him, "Let's find David. Is he on this side of Goliath? Or this side?" and we paint with water, searching for David. Well the next day Theo handed that one to me and said, "Find Devon."

Devon is the name of my cousin that Theo knows ;) I can't blame him for confusing the names.

He got a new car toy from Santa, lots of books (all of which we have read including the 140 page Curious George big book of 8 books from Steven) and some of which, like the Sandra Boynton Doggies book we have read at least 15 times.

On Christmas we went to Kevin and Allison's for a surprise 60th birthday party for my Uncle Kenny. Yay! We mostly spent time outside. It's a good thing the high was 75 F that day. 

On Tuesday we had hot chocolate and games at our house. I don't appear to have pictures -- Theo seemed to see all the people as competition for my attention and was so very cute and yet also so clingy and insistent that I play with him in his room. 

One game we had for the kids was new, called Soggy Doggy, bought by Nat and her family for Theo. Lisa's kids helped Theo play. You squirt the dog and try to get your pieces around the board before the dog shakes. It was so funny! It works with batteries.

Well a cup of hot chocolate (not super hot, thankfully) got spilled on Jennifer and Little Foot. Theo pointed at our pet and announced, "Soggy doggy!"

I made hot chocolate from scratch from an online recipe that calls for half and half. Theo keeps getting out the leftover half and half and asking to drink it instead of milk. He may be very disappointed when it runs out!

We had fun playing some new games and everyone was really nice about the fact that I kept running out of the room to placate a clingy child.

I wonder if that was when he first started feeling sick? On Friday we went to the doctor's since he had a fever and we needed to make sure it wasn't an infection that has to do with his kidney issues and could be dangerous. 

When I was putting on his shoes, Theo told me, "No doctor. Go Amy party!"

He had attending Amy's birthday party a week before and I guess he thought he had a vote about where we went.

Theo did not have a dangerous kidney infection, but it was good we went in. He had an ear infection! Poor kid. I feel like he is such a rough and tumble kid, when he is hurt he tries to ignore it (which is nice) but it means that he doesn't tell us when he is in pain or where the pain is. 

We have all had colds and hopefully we will all be feeling better soon. I think we'll try to ring in the New Year asleep in bed.

It probably won't happen. Yesterday Theo couldn't fall asleep for his nap until at 5 p.m. he finally did. I decided not to wake him. He woke at 8:30 p.m. and then was up until almost 2 a.m.! He woke from today's nap at 4 p.m. so I hope that he will go to bed at a reasonable hour, but you never know with sick kids.

Water Wow

Daddy made this for Theo -- he got a table with a drawer and covered it with metal sheeting so fridge magnets stick on it. It is probably the most played with toy.

Magnets in the big letters. Theo immediately tried to get the letters to stand and was disappointed. Jay flipped up the entire table. 

He loves Marvin the singing monkey!
When he opened it he said, "Monkeys jump on the bed!" and took Marvin to his bed. Yes, that is one of the songs Marvin sings.

Chicken coop at Kevin and Allison's

He loved playing in a nice backyard!

Theo got really frustrated because this ball was too big for the hoop.

Theo's cousin isn't scared of big grasshoppers!

Daddy lifted him up to make a basket, but told him, "That's cheating." After that Theo kept begging for "cheating"

Theo and I put on our aprons and cleaned up together. Thanks Gabi and Tache! He actually picked this one over the Ninja turtles one that you sent that used to be Jay's. I'm sure we'll get good use out of the other one too.