{"id":267,"date":"2008-12-28T15:48:00","date_gmt":"2008-12-28T15:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tessa.datdec.com\/wordpress\/?p=267"},"modified":"2008-12-28T15:48:00","modified_gmt":"2008-12-28T15:48:00","slug":"christmas-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/familyblog.datdec.com\/?p=267","title":{"rendered":"Christmas 2008"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Merry Christmas (a few days late!) We had<br \/>\n    a great Christmas this year. We decided to host the festivities<br \/>\n    at our house to make the day easier for us and the kids. It was<br \/>\n    great not having to pack up gifts and food and clothes and<br \/>\n    everything. Everyone came over on Christmas Eve for a delicious<br \/>\n    dinner of pizza and cookies, and lots of hanging out. Normally<br \/>\n    we decorate the tree Christmas Eve, but I put the tree up a few<br \/>\n    weeks ago, forgetting that the festivities were at our house<br \/>\n    this year. Oh well.<\/p>\n<p>Lex is sort of into<br \/>\n    the Santa thing this year. A few days before Christmas he<br \/>\n    started telling me that he would laugh when he saw Santa &#8220;in<br \/>\n    spite of myself.&#8221; Its so funny when he says things like that<br \/>\n    because you know he&#8217;s quoting something (&#8220;&#8216;Twas the Night<br \/>\n    Before Christmas&#8221; in this case). No three year old comes up<br \/>\n    with that stuff on their own. :) I tried to take him to see<br \/>\n    Santa after he started saying that, but alas, Santa has limited<br \/>\n    hours in our neck of the woods and apparently was no longer<br \/>\n    available so close to Christmas. Lex did choose to leave a<br \/>\n    plate of cookies and carrots out on Christmas Eve, but when he<br \/>\n    woke up Christmas morning he didn&#8217;t seem all that amazed with<br \/>\n    the living room full of gifts. In fact, he said &#8220;Mommy brought<br \/>\n    the presents out of the office.&#8221; (I had a few wrapped gifts in<br \/>\n    the office, but no where near as many as were in the living<br \/>\n    room Christmas morning!) When people asked if Santa had come,<br \/>\n    he said &#8220;No.&#8221; I think he&#8217;s skeptical because he didn&#8217;t get to<br \/>\n    see Santa bring the presents. He&#8217;s a very literal boy.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve been kind of indecisive about the Santa<br \/>\n    thing anyway. I want him to have fun and believe in the magic,<br \/>\n    but neither Alan or I are good liars and I doubt either of us<br \/>\n    could keep up the Santa facade when faced with a doubting<br \/>\n    little boy. On Christmas morning I started wondering how people<br \/>\n    teach kids to be thankful to those who gave them gifts, when<br \/>\n    they think that everything is from Santa. I was raised to write<br \/>\n    thank you notes and I&#8217;m raising them the same way, so we talk a<br \/>\n    lot about who gave them the toys that they play with. I wonder<br \/>\n    how other people handle that.<\/p>\n<p>Lex got<br \/>\n    the trains that he so desperately wanted and has spent the past<br \/>\n    few days happily building and unbuilding his train sets. He got<br \/>\n    two wooden sets that fit together, but he is convinced that<br \/>\n    they must be kept separate. He builds the big KidKraft set and<br \/>\n    then builds the smaller Thomas set next to it. Lex insists<br \/>\n    Thomas the Train can only drive on his tracks and the KidKraft<br \/>\n    train can only drive on it&#8217;s tracks. He is a funny boy. Eve got<br \/>\n    a tea party set and walks around all day drinking tea (like her<br \/>\n    mommy). The other morning she yells &#8220;make tea now!&#8221; and ran<br \/>\n    into the living room to make some tea :) She also got a baby<br \/>\n    doll that she loves and lots of adorable clothes. I think all<br \/>\n    in all it was a good Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>Now the<br \/>\n    extended family has left and we&#8217;re on our own to dig out the<br \/>\n    living room and recover from our cookie-induced sugar comas.<br \/>\n    Bring on 2009!<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a onblur=\"try\n    {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVfte2VrhvI\/AAAAAAAAFks\/feCIq9l-Jn4\/s1600-h\/IMG_3912.JPG\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align:\n    center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;\" src=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVfte2VrhvI\/AAAAAAAAFks\/feCIq9l-Jn4\/s320\/IMG_3912.JPG\" alt=\"\" id=\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284953801980872434\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Lex was<br \/>\n    excited to put out cookies, milk, and carrots on Christmas Eve.<br \/>\n    He was less excited to pose for a picture. Luckily Eve is<br \/>\n    always happy to pose for the camera :)<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align:\n    center;\"><a onblur=\"try\n    {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVfteq0NenI\/AAAAAAAAFkk\/lMoHQjK_V50\/s1600-h\/IMG_3924.JPG\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align:\n    center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;\" src=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVfteq0NenI\/AAAAAAAAFkk\/lMoHQjK_V50\/s320\/IMG_3924.JPG\" alt=\"\" id=\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284953798887701106\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A<br \/>\n    Christmas morning hug.<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align:\n    center;\"><a onblur=\"try\n    {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVfteTnPZyI\/AAAAAAAAFkc\/OgTIw7vkS80\/s1600-h\/IMG_3945.JPG\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align:\n    center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;\" src=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVfteTnPZyI\/AAAAAAAAFkc\/OgTIw7vkS80\/s320\/IMG_3945.JPG\" alt=\"\" id=\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284953792659285794\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Feeding<br \/>\n    the new baby doll.<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a onblur=\"try\n    {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVftdvlNPvI\/AAAAAAAAFkU\/nLxrggO_26Q\/s1600-h\/IMG_3946.JPG\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align:\n    center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;\" src=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVftdvlNPvI\/AAAAAAAAFkU\/nLxrggO_26Q\/s320\/IMG_3946.JPG\" alt=\"\" id=\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284953782987079410\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Lex had<br \/>\n    trouble getting through his presents because every time a book<br \/>\n    was opened he was drawn to it (like a moth to the light!) and<br \/>\n    we had to tear him away long enough to open more<br \/>\n    presents.<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a onblur=\"try\n    {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVftdLvOVhI\/AAAAAAAAFkM\/Z1cKo_vXKE0\/s1600-h\/IMG_3998.JPG\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align:\n    center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;\" src=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVftdLvOVhI\/AAAAAAAAFkM\/Z1cKo_vXKE0\/s320\/IMG_3998.JPG\" alt=\"\" id=\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284953773365417490\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Eve was<br \/>\n    particularly silly on Christmas night and Aunt Katie, &#8220;the<br \/>\n    instigator,&#8221; did her best to encourage the silliness.<br \/>\n    :)<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a onblur=\"try\n    {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVfurCq9sVI\/AAAAAAAAFk8\/xHFpcvBo89w\/s1600-h\/IMG_4002.JPG\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align:\n    center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;\" src=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVfurCq9sVI\/AAAAAAAAFk8\/xHFpcvBo89w\/s320\/IMG_4002.JPG\" alt=\"\" id=\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284955110961426770\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Reading<br \/>\n    stories with Mema.<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a onblur=\"try\n    {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVfurptV-2I\/AAAAAAAAFlE\/vYqE8FouQTY\/s1600-h\/IMG_4018.JPG\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align:\n    center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;\" src=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVfurptV-2I\/AAAAAAAAFlE\/vYqE8FouQTY\/s320\/IMG_4018.JPG\" alt=\"\" id=\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284955121440389986\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Wait,<br \/>\n    who wanted a train set for Christmas?? ;) Really we&#8217;ve all been<br \/>\n    enjoying this toy!<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a onblur=\"try\n    {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVfuqotd43I\/AAAAAAAAFk0\/4bbAav2WWQw\/s1600-h\/IMG_4015.JPG\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align:\n    center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;\" src=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SVfuqotd43I\/AAAAAAAAFk0\/4bbAav2WWQw\/s320\/IMG_4015.JPG\" alt=\"\" id=\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284955103992603506\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Yoga Eve<br \/>\n    in her new sparkly pants :)<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">I&#8217;m going to go play<br \/>\n    with the family now. Maybe I&#8217;ll put up all of the Christmas<br \/>\n    pics on the photos site tonight. It&#8217;s been awhile since I&#8217;ve<br \/>\n    updated that! We&#8217;ll see what happens :)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Merry Christmas (a few days late!) We had a great Christmas this year. We decided to host the festivities at our house to make the day easier for us and the kids. It was great not having to pack up &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/familyblog.datdec.com\/?p=267\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyblog.datdec.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyblog.datdec.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyblog.datdec.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyblog.datdec.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyblog.datdec.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/familyblog.datdec.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyblog.datdec.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyblog.datdec.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyblog.datdec.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}