Holidays - 2010

It was wonderful to experience the holidays with Q. He was so much more engaged this year, and when asked, he can now tell you that Santa says, "Ho, Ho, Ho!" We learned that he is a very careful unwrapper (i.e., a shredder), cherishing each tiny piece, and even occasionally tasting the wrapping and tissue paper. With family members in several locations, we survived 8 days of travel, which included the drive to Dallas, an airplane to Philadelphia, a trip to the doctor with a double ear infection and not enough sleep. All in all, it was wonderful, though we were very happy to return home to recuperate prior to returning to work.

As usual Q was the star of the show, whether we were with aunts and uncles, grandparents, or random strangers in the airport. Q is always ready with a smile and wave, and now either a cheery "Hi!" or a defiant "No!".

Here are some pictures from our holiday adventures.

We started early with an advent calendar made up of mittens. Each day (almost) Q found a little treat. One of his favorites, naturally, were Mint M&Ms.

Q helped his Mom make gingerbread cookies for her class. He liked rubbing the flour around on the counter and eating the dough.

Mailed presents were fun because they stretched the gifts over more time. Q loves his bike sent by Mossil and Fossil. So far he "rides" it up to the park and around the block.

Also arriving early was a tent from Pops and Nona Stina. The tent has a tunnel attachment that Q loves crawling through and tries to get his Mom and Dad into as well.


We started Christmas in Dallas with Grandma MJ and Grandpa Roy. Q had a great time visiting with his grandparents, as well as his Auntie Liz, Shawn, and Auntie Jenni.

New special monkey chair, check. My very own laptop, check. Life is good.


Thomas, James, and Percy too.
Trains are awesome!


Q got all sorts of toys, but Grandma's new salad spinner still looks pretty fascinating.
(Come on, can we cook now?)

After the time in Dallas, we flew up to Pennsylvania on Christmas Eve.


Q did great in the airport and on the plane. He really likes the Southwest boarding area which had blue stripes on the posts. Blue!!!



Christmas morning at Mossil and Fossils. Sick and tired, but happy.
At this point, he was getting pretty good at unwrapping presents and was ready to volunteer his services to other people who had things to open.



Sunday morning.
During one of our most interesting moments, Q put himself down for a nap, on the floor. He was a tired little dude.

It snowed while we were there. It was very different than last year when we got some snow in Dallas. This year's was a lot of very light and powdery snow. Q thought it was fun.

We spent somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes outside, which wasn't too bad since we had a great jacket but not good pants or shoes. Q desperately wanted to stay out, until he decided he was finished and wanted to be carried back in, which happened to be an instantaneous decision.




The video of snow fun!

After the snow was shoveled and plowed we were able to visit with Pops and Nona 'Stina at their place where Q got to open yet another present. :)

A new bowling set!!!!!

All in all, it was an awesome trip, surrounded by friends and family. We had a great time, and obviously, Q did, too!