Christmas Day

What a Christmas! We had a wonderful holiday with family and friends. I'm going to make several smaller posts over the next few days to chronicle our three days of Christmas - the 23rd celebration with the Calverts (though Becca does a great job with her post here), the 24th at Mom and Dad's with immediate family, and the 25th - our Christmas morning, lunch with the Eubankses and Calverts, then a road trip to Winona to spend time with the Robertses. It was a great day!

Part One: A White Christmas Morning at Our House

Santa was very good to Luke this year! Luke got his very own red chair (which is perfect given that he loves climbing right about now), a talking Elmo, a light-up, talking turtle book, Handy Manny bath toys, and a new talking phone. (I've discovered that a kid can't have enough talking telephones. I think our current total is four. Really.)

Santa's deliveries:

He ate our cookies and drank some milk! (The reindeer didn't get any carrots though; sorry, Santa. We're still newbies at this.)

Luke with his latest button-bearing, light-up toy:

Our white yard:

Luke chills in the chair:
This, is the best: this is Luke the first time Elmo spoke. His shocked stare says it all, really. I still think he hasn't warmed up to this toy. I'm hoping he does; Santa said it wasn't cheap...

After this, Luke got quite fussy; after all, it was time for his breakfast. A little after this, Mom and Dad got fussy; when Dad took Hannah to the boarding place, no one was there, and shortly thereafter, we discovered we had a flat tire - bad news for a family planning a road trip. Luckily, the boarders did show up, we moved the carseat to the Saturn, and all was right again in the universe.

Part Two: Christmas Lunch at Mom and Dad's

Next, we headed over to my parents' house for Christmas lunch. It was soooo delicious - easily my favorite meal of the year! We had a great time with my parents, my sister Megan, her husband Eric, and my nephew Parker, who all came in from Chicago, Granny, the Calverts, Meriwethers, and Humphreys. It was a brief visit since we wanted to hit the road to make it to Winona by dark, but it was wonderful nonetheless.

Luke with the rock star toy of Christmas: the shape-sorting barn. He got two: one from Honey, and one from Aunt Tara. They're such a hit that one went home with us and the other stayed at Honey and Grand's.

Luke has something in his mouth (big surprise), but I had to show off the adorable outfit Jeremy got him. Doesn't Luke look so handsome?

It occurs to me that it may look like no one exists in our world besides Luke. While that may be at least symbolically true, here is some proof that Luke does, in fact, have parents. : )

Finally, Luke watches his cousins Wynn (19 months) and William (5 - which STUNS me. He's grown up so fast!) wrestle. Luke's reaction was priceless. He was staring, smiling, and clearly thinking, "Okay, is it cool if I join in? Because this looks awesome!"

Part Three: Roberts Family Christmas in Winona

Our final stop in the Christmas World Tour was Winona for some quality time with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Michelle, Uncle Bobby, Aunt Lori, and cousins Brent, Alyssa, Halle, and Alex. As soon as we arrived, we sat down to another wonderful meal, and within an hour we were opening more presents. We're so blessed!

I have to be honest that Jeremy and I were a little nervous. Truth be told, Luke had been a rock star at every Christmas function so far, and we were a little afraid he would hit a wall at this point. While he was a little tired, Luke was a very sweet boy once again. We're so proud of him.

Here are Luke's lovely cousins, Alyssa (8), Halle (4), and Alex (15). Aren't they pretty?

Next, Luke loves on his awesome gift from Aunt Michelle - this big ole horsey. I'm thrilled - it's something big and soft he can climb so, perhaps, he'll stop climbing his parents. Ouch. : )

Finally, Luke was particularly enamored with Grandma's Christmas tree. We spent a lot of Christmas night intercepting him from the tree. Oh well.

Once Luke got snuggled to bed, the grown ups watched Christmas Vacation - which is still as hilarious as ever. We headed home around noon on the 26th to start our holiday recovery, and I find that I am feeling very tired after this holiday season, but I'm also very overwhelmed and thankful for our family's health and prosperity. We're so blessed, and I hope you had a blessed Christmas, too!

(More posts to come over the next few days with pictures from the 23rd, 24th, and some around-the-house pics and videos of Luke enjoying his Christmas gifts. I can tell you the chair is a HUGE hit.)