Merry Christmas from our Family!

We wish you a merry and blessed Christmas (or the happiest of holidays that you celebrate in your family)! We had a great time celebrating with my side of the family the last few days, adding 6 adults and 3 dogs to our usual chaos.

Ted loves Zed!

Oddly enough, the puppy was among the most useful additions because Zed and Ted became best of buds, as was predicted. Zed loves to play with people her size, but most children aren't so welcoming of a puppy tackling them and licking their face and knocking them over constantly. But that's Teddy's idea of a grand time, especially when he can sit on, lay on, crawl under and snuggle into that puppy. He also spent a lot of time with his mouth open for kisses ... Ted, not Zed ... well, both of them actually. I also saw Teddy stick his hand in Zed's mouth for some licks and nibbles. Like I said, a perfect match.

Aside from playing with a puppy, Teddy spent his Christmas loving his scooter from Santa. He is so proud of himself for standing on it. He doesn't quite use it properly (yet), but he'll stand on it, he'll stand on it for rides when others push him, he'll walk along side it and push it, he'll sit on it and scoot it and he'll try to set it up on the table. It's neat to see him so engaged with a toy for so long and to see him have that typical response of a favorite gift since it's the first we've really seen that.

Look out world! Teddy's got a scooter!

We made it through the children's Mass on Christmas Eve, and Teddy was part of the processional of all the children 3 and under to start Mass. Teddy was Teddy, which meant he collapsed his weight and smiled up at me from the floor and also tried to steer me to the baptismal font for a quick swim. But he walked through the church, which is something that was impossible for him a year ago. My dad said Teddy's a year behind the times because his Christmas wish last year was for Teddy to walk. It's amazing how much joy that milestone can still bring.

Both boys enjoyed spending time with family, new people to play with and sucker into building LEGOs. AJ also spent quite a bit of time outside "helping" walk the dogs. AJ has managed to build all but one LEGO set, and that includes helping Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Tom, Uncle John and Dave build their sets that he gave them (from the Dollar Store).

One of the best parts of this Christmas is that our family did less for each other and did something for someone else who needed support this year. We've been on the receiving end of a similar gesture last year, and the thoughtfulness was a bright spot during some of the tough Teddy days. Although there was no shortage of things under the tree, we did more homemade or smaller items, which is nice in so many ways.

Both boys with their best smiles. (AJ's in a really awkward photo phase.)

We have more celebrating and family time with Dave's side of the family tomorrow and then New Year's weekend. We hope you've enjoyed your holidays, that you remember the reasons for your celebrations this season and that your memories created will be ones cherished for years.