The title is kind of a joke. We had a very nice Christmas this year. It was fun to expand our Christmas traditions now that Dominic understands more. For example, we put a plate of cookies and carrots out for Santa and the reindeer on Christmas Eve (we gave them some apple slices too) and we made Pillsbury cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning (Gerow tradition), though Dominic was too sick to eat.
The boy felt warm when he came home from school on Monday and had a temp of 101. It got into the 103's on Tuesday, and we probably would have gone to the doctor if they had been open. He hit 104.3 on Christmas day. We were giving him acetaminophen about every 5 hours and his temp would come down to about 101 before climbing back up. I did wonder if we should go to the ER, but I read online that as long as it was under 105 and responding to medicine, we were ok.
Since Dominic is usually pretty good about not emerging from his room until his Ok-to-Wake Clock turns green at 6am, it was easy enough to set my alarm so I could get up and capture his reaction to the gifts under the tree. Sure enough, he came out at 6am on the dot and I was waiting with the camera behind one of the dining room chairs. Having observed his searching skills during games of Hide and Seek, I knew he wouldn't notice me. This video cracks me up - not exactly the footage I was looking for.
Not too long after this, he came back to the living room and acknowledged the tricycle, saying, "Christie's going to have to hold on tight when she rides that." LOL. Then he wanted to go lie down in his bed for awhile. Soon I convinced him to come sit on the couch with a blanket and he mustered up enough energy to look through his stocking and even eat a chocolate coin.
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| I was pretty excited about these little tikes pillow racers but my visions of Dominic racing around on Christmas morning did not come to fruition. |
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| His cheeks were so rosy! |
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Christie had a great morning. She was happy to crawl/scoot/walk around and check out toys, boxes, and wrapping paper.
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| It's basically a pillow on four office chair wheels. It rolls and spins around crazy-fast on our laminate floors. Advertised for ages 18-36 months but plenty of reviews talk of 4-year-olds loving it. |
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| She loves the cinammon roll tradition. |
I put some presents on Dominic's couch bed and he couldn't resist them long. We got him the boxed set of transportation books that he wanted since receiving Roaring Rockets on his birthday. They were a big hit. He's been reading them a lot.
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| Christie got an HEB shopping cart and Dominic helped her fill it up. He's been helping her play with it a lot too. "Thank you, Brother." |
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| He checked out his tricycle between trips to lie in bed. |
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| He basically had no prior pedaling experience and he's getting around the house pretty well now. He has not taken it outside because he refuses to wear a jacket. |
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| Matching pjs. I've been waiting a long time for these to fit them. |
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| She has since lost her privileges to touch these books due to some very wrinkled pages in Flashing Fire Engines. |
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| This is new to Christie but not new. |
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| These tracks from YiaYia fit with his birthday train set! |
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| Tony got Dominic TWO light sabers! |
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| We finally met Emmy, visiting from Brazil! |
If you ever want to make Christie really mad (could come in handy if she gets into acting), chew some gum and blow/pop a bubble. She gets furious and sobs immediately. I think she's mad she can't play with your gum and touch the bubble. This first happened a few weeks ago and I realized we hadn't really exposed her to bubbles much. She got a bubble whistle in her stocking and it works really well. She does not get mad when the bubbles pop, though you can tell she wants to pick them up and eat them.
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| Ride-on doggy from Tio Tony! It's also a walker when you put the seat up. She likes to dance to its music. |
I finally got some pictures of them together on their pillow racers a few days after Christmas.
Another great thing about this Christmas was our visitors! As I mentioned, Emmy is here from Brazil. She was best buds with the kids in about 10 seconds and she and Migs have been coming over to hang out with us regularly. Tito also came in town and enjoyed hanging out and watching the kids run around and play. And Tony is here from Seattle until later this week. We have all really enjoyed having him here, and he and Dominic already have several new little games and silly sayings. As always, we missed all the absent family. With YOU here, it would have been perfect!
(I almost forgot an update on the sick boy. He went to the doctor on the 26th and she believed he had flu but it was winding down and not in need of treatment. His temp was in the low 100s that day and has since declined to normal.)
