Very merry!

Wow! Cole's first Christmas was all that we hoped - fun, memorable and full of Christmas cheer.

We were planning on heading out to Langley to stay over at Jamie's parents place as we do every year for Christmas morning, but what with the weather forecast we decided to make a move earlier than originally planned for fear that otherwise we wouldn't make it! We loaded up the car on Christmas eve-eve and made the trek. It's a good thing we did - the amount of snow that fell over the next 24 hours was bonkers by any standard.

We made the most of all that lovely white stuff by wearing all the snow gear in the house and building a fort on the lawn (oh, and some of us helped shovel!), complete with a snow throne and bassinet for Cole, who enjoyed watching us from the window while playing with Gramma B. We got him all decked out in a hilarious (and thankfully very warm!) hand-me-down snowsuit, complete with a hood that made him look like he was heading towards the nearest Renaissance faire... So funny. He loved the fort, making a snow angel and especially riding around in a recycling bin.

We made the most of the snow by going for a leisurely trek - or maybe not so leisurely. What with my lack of core strength and carrying a nearly 20-lb baby in the carrier, I'm still feeling a little twinge here and there! So beautiful though.

Christmas eve was perfect - doing a little carol-singing, tucking the presents under the tree, reading Cole Twas the Night Before Christmas and watching It's a Wonderful Life, which I seriously love every minute of, cheesy schmaltz and all.

Couldn't wait for Christmas morning! I guess that's a wish that can be answered in a number of ways. Santa gave Cole the early present of ultra-awakeness in the middle of the night. His teething, which I foolishly said recently was going well, suddenly became much more trouble for him... Argh. His poor little mouth - he was not a happy camper at night. We ended up camping out in the family room downstairs, watching log and doing our darndest to get some sleep. Naptimes weren't much better - hello - only one nap all day on Christmas? Wowzers... Our homeopathic teething tablets and gel didn't help but we were so lucky to borrow some Tylenol from lovely Lindsay, next door. It didn't really seem to do much to comfort him, but maybe only because he was in such a state by the time we decided to try it? Any recommendations anyone? Anyone, anyone? When he was awake he was a gem though and just like his usual self.

Christmas Day, despite our increasing levels of exhaustion, was magical. So lovely. Cole woke, as usual, sometime between 5 and 6, and we did his stocking first with the family. I'm sure he had no idea why various new toys were popping out of nowhere, but he loved his new things, especially a tambourine and a mischief of rats from IKEA.

We did his bigger presents later and he loved them all. Well chosen treats, everyone! He is in love with his Radio Flyer ride-along.

And we're glad he likes his new piano as much as we'd hoped... He comes from a long line of musical folks on Jamie's side and he started pounding away on his new piano the second the paper was off. I'm glad it was a hit - I lugged that thing from the Kids Market on Granville Island across the ferry, carrying him all the way!



Despite the snow, most of the usual suspects were able to make it to dinner. Oh my goodness - I love turkey dinner and it's always good, but this one was amazing! Can I please eat stuffing and turkey and cranberry sauce every day? I'm an adult, so I guess I could... :-) Cole was in high spirits seeing all the family - he's great with visiting - and of course was the recipient of much attention from all. Doesn't hurt that when he's not fighting the teething he's about the happiest kid I've ever seen... This year's gag exchange was a hoot. Much stealing and strategizing, and we were all laughed out one raunchy hot-dog cooker, a toilet putter, a sexy pair of Santa shorts and a whole lot of other sillyness later...

We booked it home later that night, even with the bad roads. Cole's teething was giving him no rest no matter what we tried. He went to bed well enough, but he was up at 8:30 and so much more flustered than I've ever seen him. Thankfully he slept like a baby (the quiet, sleepy kind) in the car and actually made it from the car to the crib in my arms without waking up. That never happens! Poor kid must have been just exhausted. He slept well that night at home and I won't say another word about the matter until he has all his teeth - maybe even the permanent ones too - if I can help it. You know, first rule of parent club and all...

Since then we've just been chilling out at home, relaxing, playing with our new toys and trying to find places we want to go via Skytrain. It's totally a snow related disaster (by my definition which merely means it's inconvenient for us) down here... From our place there are a few long stretches of sidewalk that are totally impassable with a stroller. The only option is to walk out to Main Street and the few relatively decent blocks to the station. Cole loves that noontime nap in his stroller (me too), so we've been finding places to go on the train. Yesterday, a necessary trip to the Safeway at Commercial - wow, that place has a lot of weirdos in it. And today we took a ride over to Granville to grab a much-needed Artigiano's latte and a few design & photography magazines at Chapters.

Now back to the business of playing, falling asleep in front of a new set of Murder She Wrote dvds and figuring out which of the leftover Christmas cookies we should eat first. Lovely!