David's First Christmas!

"I'll be Home for Christmas"

I sang that song a lot during my drive back from Washington, and I'm so thankful it came true! It was great to be back and celebrate with family, and so much fun this year with a kid around! As my mom says frequently "he's really stolen our hearts!"

After I walked in the door, he was a little shy with me at first, but luckily that only lasted a short while. We got to play and read books for a bit, then I needed to unload my car so I could dig out clothes to wear to the Christmas Eve service. When I got back from the Christmas Eve service at my parent's church, and we all had dinner, David and I hung out at the table for a while. He's such a goofball, the way he'll often turn his head to the side, curl up, and grin.

David, Julie, and David came over around noon on Christmas Day to hang out. At one point David needed a change of clothes (I'll let you guess why) so Auntie Kari thought it was time to bring out a gift she brought from Seattle. At first he wasn't sure about ripping this paper, since he's often told not to do that, but when we kept encouraging him, he just went for it.
Here he is looking pretty snazzy in his new digs! He pulls himself up so quickly now that if he's not found crawling fast across the floor, he can be found standing next to whatever is close by that's a good height for him.

After a bit Julie and I decided to venture out into the beautiful snowfall to see our great neighbors across the street. We've known them since we were little kids and they've had fun getting to know David a little now too. Brrr.... it looked cold out! Better bundle up! Later, Daddy stopped by with David's first sled so he could try it out for the trip back across the street. Fun!!

Even though there's no big grin in these pictures, he really liked it!

If you ever eat a meal at my mom's, you're bound to be in this type of picture:

This year after dinner we didn't have to finish the dishes before starting anything else. Everyone was worried that bedtime might come before we were done, so for the first time in the Swanson Family Christmas Celebration, dirty dishes sat on the counter for the evening. Wow! We then took our annual pictures in front of the fireplace, but someone was a little antsy, so this is the only non-blurry one I'll post. Here's what my parent's tree looks like this year.

Then, it was time to open presents. Our tradition has been to do this on Christmas Eve, but since I had only rolled into town hours before, my family was great enough to wait until Christmas Day this year. It's amazing how selling my house and getting rid of so many "things" made Christmas not at all about presents this year, but about being with family instead. And, it was definitely the most fun to just watch David enjoy his first Christmas! The true test of every present is the taste-test. This one must've passed.

Laughing at Grandpa playing with the new train set.

This toy wasn't from Christmas, but he loves pulling himself to stand behind it. He'll try and take a few steps, but sometimes it gets away from him and he'll hold onto the bar but "walk" on his knees instead. I wonder how long until he's actually walking?

After a bath and pajamas, it was time to share a few secrets with Auntie Kari,


Then have Grandpa read a bedtime story, then head home to bed. Merry First Christmas, David. It was fun to watch you enjoy it!