Christmas Morning 2009

We had a late night on Christmas Eve at the beach, so it's no suprise that Luca had a bit of a sleep in on Christmas morning. That's why we were suprised when we heard him pitter patter his way into our room at 6am...but then he just said 'Up, Up peas' because he wanted to sleep with us. He slept in our bed till about 8am. The same thing happened last year...the one morning that I actually wanted to get up early - he sleeps in. Normally we don't encourage this co-sleeping thing, but we've been giving in on the weekends (or holidays!) when we don't have to get up for work.

Christmas Morning 2009

I snuck out of bed to get this photo, and then enjoyed taking my time getting ready for the day. It's usually rush, rush, rush with me trying to sort out everyone else - so a little time to myself was almost like a Christmas present in itself! The little pleasures in life.

When little man did finally wake up, it was all go. He was still talking about Santa from the Firetruck the night before, and we enjoyed watching him open all his presents.

Even though we tried to limit the amount of loot he got - it still seemed like just about every present under the tree was him. We even decieded to not give 2 small items from the $2 shop....we'll save them for his b-day....b/c it just seemd like he had so much stuff!

Santa brought him a lawn mower (which he was so excited about he started jumping up and down), Other highlights included his first backpack, an electric toothbrush, trucks, a few pieces of clothing, books, a sweet table and chairs, an activity playmat, and a motorbike and helmet.....yes, one of those mini electric fourwheeler things. I think he pretty much scored on Christmas, don't you. Such a lucky and LOVED little boy. I wish all the family that mailed over gifts could have been here to see his eyes light up everytime he opened one of your gifts.

This is him ripping open the lawnmower.

And later dumping out all the books in his basket so that he could sit in it.

And later that day we spent Christmas Day with the Deegan family. This is Luca with two of his cousins. To burn off a few Christmas calories we decieded to walk to their house...it's a good 45 mins away, and our mountain buggy got a flat tire on the way. Guess how many gas station bike repair shops are open on christmas day?

We had a fantastic Christmas - I'm already looking forward to next year when we have two little kids to share it with. It's true what they say, Christmas is definitly more fun when you have kids (or grandchildren...but I think we're a long way off from that...ha ha)

Almost two

It's officially 10 days till Luca turns 2 years old. We had corn for dinner tonight. It's finally back in season and thus semi affordable to buy it at the grocery store. Last year giving corn to Luca was a godsend. For several reasons. He loves corn and because he only has a few teeth it would occupy him for at least 15-20 mins, while we got to eat our dinner in peace and quiet. We also felt good because....well it's corn! And we like it when he eats healthy food and actually enjoys it.

Not tonight. He gobbled up his 1/2 ear of corn in about 5 mins flat. Pawing it and turning it over and over in his little hands, just like I'd imagine a beaver knawing through a piece of wood. After he devoured it the first thing out of his mouth was "moe, moe, peas" (translation....more, please?) We gave him the other half of the ear and then we he ate it all up there was a massive temper tantrum because we had run out of corn. Ahhh, one day, little boy you'll learn that corn doesn't just grow on trees.

This is when it hit me, how much has changed in the past year. Not only does this little boy have about 1/2 his teeth, but he can communicate, copy everything we do and say (see the above photo of us in the shower - hilarious!) throw a mean tantrum, run with confidence, and has even gotten rid of just about everything 'baby' - except those diapers! Ahhh, my little boy is growing up.

Palmerston North Christmas Parade - a gorgeous sunny day where it actually felt like summer. Luca loved all the big trucks, tractors, and marching bands