Christmas has always been our favorite time of year. This Christmas was that much more special because Caleb was with us! Wow! What a terrific 1st Christmas for Caleb. Last year, he received gifts from friends and family, but didn't actually get to open them because he wasn't home yet. This year, boy did he get to open presents!! He has gotten very good at opening presents, whether they are his or not!
We have several different Christmas celebrations with different sides of families. It was a little overwhelming...needless to say, his schedule was quite messed up. He had several late nights and not many naps.
He sat on Santa's lap, but screamed his head off. The picture is still cute, though. When we left, he waved goodbye and blew kisses to Santa, though. His next encounter with a real-live Santa (as opposed to pictures and stuffed ones) was at Brad's parents' house. Every year in Kirby (even when Brad and I were little) Santa comes around on a fire truck in a parade and throws out candy to the children. Ashley and Caleb both enjoyed waving to Santa (from afar!) Now, everywhere he sees a Santa, he yells "Anta," whether it's a picture, stuffed toy, or even Colonel Sanders on the KFC sign (ha-ha!)
We had a couple of special surprises for Christmas. We received a wonderful package from Rod, Kym, and Aray all the way from California! It was filled with yummy treats and a toy drum for Caleb, which he loves! Then, on Christmas Day, we had a message from them wishing us a Merry Christmas. We returned their call and spoke to them on speaker phone for quite a while. We had a lot of catching up to do! It was great hearing their voices, including Aray's!! They are probably going to visit in March on their way to a wedding. It'll be exciting to see each other again and to see in person how much the children have grown!
Anyway, Caleb and his Mommy and Daddy had a wonderful Christmas! We have a lot to be thankful for!
As I type this, one year ago today, Brad and I were somewhere between Amsterdam and Taraz on our way to see our Caleb for the first time! What a year!!!!
