Christmas: the aftermath

Where to begin?

Scooter received a ridiculous number of toys this year. This is nothing new--his grandparents have a tendency to think "just one more little thing" for the month or two before the holidays. But this year, there was the added knowledge that we wouldn't have to go through the usual organizational nightmare of figuring out what was staying and what would be going home and how we would get it there. As a result, he received several bulkier items, including a little red wagon and a play tool bench. In a week, once our stuff arrives, the grandparents know that they'll be able to put it in the back of their SUV (it won't all fit into our car) and drive it up to Springfield.

One of the highlights, however, happened on Christmas Eve. For the past two or three years, we've let Scooter open one present early. He'd been asking for a particular Lego set for months, the only specific item on his wishlist. We decided to go ahead and present it to him on the 24th. And a good thing too. When I told him that he got to open a gift that night, he immediately asked, "Where's my Lego set?" He opened it up, put the pieces together, and then refused to let it out of his sight for his bath. It even slept with him that night.

On Christmas morning, I spent a good amount of time helping Scooter get his gifts out and putting things together. Later in the day, we played games, read books, played trains, and did puzzles. More of the same today, plus lots of wagon-pulling outside. He's sleeping hard right now!

[Moving away from toyland, my favorite gifts demonstrate my ultimate nerdiness. Trillian found binder clips with designs (butterflies and flowers) on them and a new book stand. I have already started to make use of the binder clips and will use the book stand when I study tomorrow.]