Merry Christmakah! Choo-Chooooo!
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Well, we are officially in that weird little space of time between Christmas and the New Year, and that can only mean one thing! Actually, it could mean a lot of things, but in this case it means two: 1) We have a Christmas blog to highlight the roughly 47 Christmas gatherings at 47 different households, and 2) The announcement that this will be the last blog entry in it's current fashion.
Callie is about the age that I was when I started in the blogosphere, and as such, it's time to introduce her to the world. So as of January 1, 2010, be on the lookout for a brand new media outlet on behalf of the White Children. We're not entirely sure what it will look like, and if we'll do a "he said/she said" type deal or what, but you can rest assured, we'll try our best to make it entertaining!
In the meantime, let me briefly walk you through Christmas, 2009. Enjoy!
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My first present? ROLLER SKATES!
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I'm a natural. Move over Apolo Ohno
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I think they need to be a bit tighter, TumTum..
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Callie was kind of sleepy
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To kick of Christmaspalooza 2009, we started at Grandpa and Grandma's house a few days before Christmas, because Auntie Maeggie had to go to California for Christmas Eve and Christmas. This might seem kind of weird to some people, but it works out GREAT for me and Callie since we have so much family that we want to spend time with!
We opened presents like normal (I got an art easel, roller skates, and tons more toys), we had a nice dinner like normal, and then some of daddy's aunts, uncles, and cousins came over at night to celebrate. Callie and I didn't get to participate much though since we were both kind of tired from the day's activities, but I'm sure it was lots of fun!
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..I-T-E. That's Mr. White, class.
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I got a clear plastic box? COOL!!!!
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Back to the chalkboard, with my new goofy slippers
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Callie's Tea Set? Looks fun to me too!
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This is exhausting. I need Grandma's Diet Coke.
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The caffiene didn't help..
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On the Winter Soltice, or Monday to normal folks, mommy decided to carry on a holiday tradition that her grandma liked to do, which was a meal that essentially consisted of Lasagna, and Shrimp. As much as I liked the food, I was mostly excited because Emma and Eden came over to my house to play. You have no idea how quickly the 3 of us can mess a room until you've seen it in action! Think Tazmanian Devil times 3, only not as furry!
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I think I could sleep in here to save space..
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Not sure if there's room for 2 - let's see!
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Just a little snack before bed - this is how daddy does it
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On wednesday night, we loaded up the car for what was going to be a few nights away from home, and headed south once again, this time to spend the evening at Grammy's house, and then to do Christmas with her on Christmas Eve before heading to Aunt Pam's house in Everett to see the rest of the family.
I can officially say that it was during this sequence of events that I not only learned how to open Christmas presents, but that I took it a step further by opening EVERYONE's presents. With that one little revelation, the holidays just took a huge upturn - but you might want to hide those presents when I come over, or I'm gonna think that I'll be able to open more cool things like I did at Grammy's, like a toy airplane that I can take apart and put together, or even a suitcase for Callie so that I don't have to share with her anymore!
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Callie thinking about what she would do with her own reindeer
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So, what's for breakfast grammy?
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Wait, you're supposed to take off clothes to shower?
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That stupid camera is like lightning in a box!
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MOM! I got christmas paper for Christmas!
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Sometimes I dress like Papa
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It was MY turn to open a present COHEN!!!!
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Notice the paper FLYING off of the box
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WHOA! An AIRPLANE!
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Don't tickle me Uncle Will! NOT FAIR!
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Callie and her new dolly hanging out in her suitcase...
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I'm trying so hard to sit-up!
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We went to Uncle Pam's for dinner on Christmas Eve, although I know it as Chelsie's house. Some highlights from the evening include, but are not limited to: Super good snacks, cookies, dinner, and dessert, playing with Chelsie, the train around their Christmas Tree, daddy tracking Santa on the Norad Website, and the fact that their house is lit up like a Winter Wonderland!
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Mom! Did you see this train?!
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I'll help you open this, She-She
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Reading a story with Chelsie
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Asleep for the night so that Santa can come!
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After spending Christmas Eve in the Southland, including a brief stop over to see Grandpa and Grandma while we were transitioning, we loaded up the car again with even more goods, and headed to the great white north, or at least an area near their where Mimi and Papa live.
We didn't get to Mimi and Papa's til pretty late, but that was ok, because we needed to get to sleep as soon as possible for Santa to come. So after mommy and daddy, Josh and Jess, and Mimi and Papa all put on their matching jammies, we headed for bed!
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Presents!
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Feeling a bit of Deja Vu here...
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Don't know who this is for, but I'll open it!
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Even though we had 4 kids under the age of 2.5 in the house, we still didn't wake up excessively early on Christmas morning, which I think the adults seemed to appreciate. Once we were awake though, there was no real way to keep track of what happened, so I'm not going to pretend to try. Essentially, just picture the excitement of lots of little kids ripping into presents, and getting lots of cool toys!
After that, we spent lots of time playing with our toys, and when that got old, Eden, Emma and I just chased each other around!
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Me. In a Box. A not very big box. Yep.
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A Woody Doll from Toy Story!
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Woody's Round-up! And Buzz Lightyear!
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We were all pretty tired so we cuddled up on Mommy..
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Someone needs to talk to Callie about wearing Sunglasses inside..
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Engineer Cohen!
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After enjoying Christmas Day at Mimi and Papa's, complete with a Prime Rib dinner, we headed home for the night so that Santa could come to our house for me and Callie.
Now, anytime that anyone asked me about Santa this Holiday season, I mentioned Buzz Lightyear, so I was pretty excited for Santa to show up and hopefully bring me Buzz, and boy did he deliver. Not only did he bring me Buzz, but also a really cool trainset! Mom and Dad didn't do so bad themselves, adding on quite a few good toys too!
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Dad! Look what I got!
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Callie got a bunny!
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Dad! It's too early!
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OMG! To Infinity..AND BEYOND!
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Hmm - what could this one be?
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Buzz is my new best friend!
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A Penguin Punching Bag? This is GREAT!
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Well, it is KINDA cute...
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Cutest - Babygirl - Ever
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Woody, and Buzz!
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Let me at that Penguin!!
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That's really pretty, mommy!
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This was my 3rd Christmas, and Callie's 1st Christmas, and I definitely think it was the best one yet. We might have to work on streamling our trips a bit next year so that I don't have to worry about Santa finding us, but other than that, what's a boy got to complain about?
This was my 3rd Christmas, and Callie's 1st Christmas, and I definitely think it was the best one yet. We might have to work on streamling our trips a bit next year so that I don't have to worry about Santa finding us, but other than that, what's a boy got to complain about?
Thank you to everyone that sent a card, a present, or holiday wishes, and we send our love to those of you that we weren't able to connect with at this time.
As a reminder, look for some changes to the blog beginning next year (aka tomorrow). Callie and I will be working together on it, so it can only get better, right?
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I totally can fit in this box!
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Cohen Lightyear!
