Jason and I packed up the car on Friday night so that we could leave bright and early Saturday morning. By 7:15 (may not sound that early to you, but with a very active toddler, I was pretty proud of us!) we were on the road. Christmas Eve was spent enjoying time with Aunt Kristen, Mamere, and Papa, as soon as he was off from work. We all caught up while watching our crazy little guy (who almost didn't nap at all) run around. After riding in the golf cart, we enjoyed a yummy traditional dinner and then lounged around enjoying Christmas movies.
"Door! Why didn't I get to open it??"
On Christmas Day morning, we opened presents. Reid still didn't really get the whole 'rip off the paper--it's a gift!' thing, but he sure knew how to enjoy the toys! This one was a cute little truck that makes reactions and noises (even has facial features that move), then lets the little cars race out of the side.
But even more interesting than his gifts was the tree (or should I say, "Tee! Tee!" as Reid does?). Thankfully, Mamere thought ahead and had kid-proof ornaments. Reid was quite enamored with this one in particular.
Papa showed him some more up top...
I realized later that Mamere was so busy behind the scenes that I didn't get a picture of her with Reid. She cooked dinner, dessert, and breakfast, and wouldn't let us help clean up since we were guests. It was very sweet of her to let us be true guests and enjoy everything!
On to Aunt Laura's house for Christmas lunch! We swung by to get Grammy and Grumpy since they knew the way (and we tried out Grammy's new GPS that Santa brought). I should have taken a picture of the food spread--it was crazy good! All 12 of us enjoyed the delicious food...and kept on enjoying the delectable desserts the rest of the afternoon. Everyone did their own thing while Reid and Alex napped. Amanda showed us amazing pictures from her Machu Piccu trip, some napped, some watched a movie, some cleaned... then present unwrapping time was on! Reid got his very own big trucks which also apparently double as riding toys, by his own doing. Pretty sure the manufacturer didn't intend for them to do that. He loved moving them around and manipulating all the parts. The Kirkhams also were so sweet to get Reid his own gift box full of goodies, too, including Pez (his very first!), Eric Carle watercolors and book, a talking Cars car, and other goodies.
Aunt Laura and cousins Ben and Alex:
With people from both sides of their family, we had someone to take pictures! Here is the Shepherd side:
And the Kirkham side:
Reid stole some quality time with Grumpy over a snack. Grumpy would make silly noises and faces, then Reid would (attempt to) imitate or point.
One of Reid's favorite things that day was the new bubble machine Santa brought his cousins. I guess he heard the word "bubble" a couple of times because this boy was shouting "BUBBLE!" over and over. I didn't have extra clothes for him (nor did I want him to end up knocking over the bubble machine and spoiling the cousins' fun), so we enjoyed the bubbles from inside.
And then it was back to Grammy and Grumpy's for Christmas number three. It had been a long day and Reid had been a great little guy. We decided to let him open one present that evening and then enjoy the rest in the morning so he could fully appreciate them all. More cars! (Are you seeing a theme here?) These cute little cars are soft (yay for the walls, since he throws everything!), wind up to go, and some make neat jingly sounds, too.
And the next morning, more presents!! This was probably the most "in" to the unwrapping Reid got. I have a feeling that next year will be a little bit different...
But what did Reid like even more than his other gifts? My gift...a new stepstool! I have a feeling he knew it wasn't meant for climbing, but that didn't keep him from trying it out.
Jason left later that morning while Reid and I stayed one more night. It was fun for them to see a happy Reid since the times before this, he'd either been under the weather or just plain cranky...his norm. We enjoyed a nice dinner at Luby's since Jason isn't a fan, nor is there one in the McKinney area. A big treat for me! Tuesday morning, Laura came to pick up Reid and me for some sister/cousin time. We squeezed all three boys into the middle row. They were good little travelers. We stopped at a McDonald's halfway that has a play area (great for getting out some energy for the rest of the trip!) and they enjoyed movies on the portable DVD player.
Back in McKinney, we had naptime/snacktime/playtime and decided to take all the boys to the park. Jason had dropped off my car to get new tires (or so I thought!) so we went to pick it up. Little did I know he had "pimped my ride" with a DVD player and new stereo! So what do you do with three kids in the car while the technician explains everything to me? Have glamour shots and goofy pics!
Then we all headed to the park for some fun. Reid's new favorite has been the slide. He just can't get enough!
Alex loved the tightrope type thing. He wanted to do it over and over.
And Ben just did a little of everything. This park was great and had so much to do for a variety of ages. The second afternoon we were there, Jason and I even found a toddler area with a miniature version of things.
It turned out to be a beautiful, crisp evening...sunset and all.
And the next night, it was fun in the bathtub for all three cousins! Can't resist a few naked jaybirds! We took a million pics, but I think this one was the best:
Laura and the boys left so they could have some quiet family time before school started back up. We did the same, enjoying Jason's time off, too. And Reid's new trick? Dancing! He will dance for things (Cheerios, cheese) or to things, like his new Sesame Street Ipod from Aunt Laura (and pardon my singing...I always seem to forget that I need to just be quiet when I'm taping! But those songs just get stuck in your head!).
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