A Lovely Little Christmas

This Christmas was technically Calvin's second, but really it was his first with any awareness of what was going on, considering for last Christmas he was not even 4 weeks old yet.  We had so much fun with him this year!

To kick off the season, we put up our tree, and Calvin was very excited to "help" decorate it.  To his credit, he paid little attention to the tree overall, but he did manage to pull it down once.  Thankfully it did not fall on Cal, we only lost 2 ornaments, and I was only mildly injured trying to catch the tree (a badly broken nail).  I just happened at that moment to be taking pictures of him with it (at least, trying to), so I actually have this 'action' shot of the tree on its way down.

thankfully the only catastrophe of the season

Also, we went to the Columbus Zoo's Wildlights the week before Christmas.  It was quite cold, but we were all bundled up, especially Cal, so it wasn't too bad. The lights were beautiful, and Calvin was alternately excited and hypnotized by them.

The Saturday prior to Christmas, we braved the crowds and went to see Santa. We waited a little over an hour in line (which actually wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be), and though Cal started to get a little restless toward the end, overall he was very good.  When it was finally his turn, we couldn't wait to see his reaction. Of course we hoped for the best.  When I sat him down on Santa's lap, Calvin stared ahead at the camera with a deer-in-headlights expression.  

Then, he looked up at Santa, who looked down at him, and they snapped a shot right at that adorably precious moment.

Finally, after we danced little jigs and waved our arms while standing just beside the camera, we managed to coax a big smile out of Calvin (Santa looked pretty bemused as well).  As much as I loved the previous shot, this one's my favorite.

After all that fun, we stepped into a nearby Hallmark store to pick out a special heirloom ornament for our tree.  Definitely starting a little tradition here.  I LOVE the one we picked.

On Christmas Eve, we traveled up to Cleveland to visit with Brian's family on his mother's side, and Calvin of course charmed the pants off of everyone.  It was wonderful to see everyone, and other than having to chase Cal constantly (lots of stairs + no baby gates = Cal off to the races), Calvin did great.  We came back home that evening with Brian's sister in tow (she lives in D.C. and had flown into Cleveland for the holiday).

Calvin cheesing with his Auntie Kristy

clapping with his Great-Grandma I

Off to sleep so Santa can come!

Christmas Day was so nice.  We invited everyone to our house for the celebration, the only downside of which is the vigorous cleaning necessary, which is very nicely offset by not having to travel anywhere.  After everyone woke up, we all opened presents, and Cal immediately started playing with his new toys.

We then had breakfast, and relaxed for a while.  My mom, sister and my sister's boyfriend showed up.  We worked on preparing food for a special Christmas dinner.  Brian debuted a glorious roast beef (absolutely nailed it on his first time ever cooking one!); I made manicotti (it's not a fancy meal without an Italian dish!); my mom brought a ham and sweet potatoes, and Brian also made yukon gold mashed potatoes, and mouth-watering fresh green beans smothered in toasted butter-bread crumbs, from his mother's recipe.  What a feast!  Cal LOVED it all (as did the rest of us) and ate so much food!  :)

I love setting a fancy table.  I don't often get to do it, but I really enjoy it when I do get the chance.

After dinner, we lazed in the living room and enjoyed each other's company a little while longer, before calling it a night.  Calvin really enjoyed getting loved on by everyone, playing with his new toys, eating yummy food and getting lots of special time with mama and daddy.

All in all, it was delightful, and I'm just so grateful to have Calvin in our life. He makes these holidays (and every other day) so much more joyous.  Merry Christmas!