We spent Christmas in Georgia this year. We celebrated with Pop, Mimi, MeMama, Uncle Rob, and Aunt Kristi on December 22. Mason got so many toys . . . I don't even know where to start! Pop and Mimi gave him a beautiful toy box. It matches the furniture in his room and sure is great to have something to hide all of his toys in. Mimi had a train underneath the Christmas tree, and Mason enjoyed playing with that. He would sit there and crouch down to see the train as it went around the back of the tree.
Pop likes to watch deer hunting shows on the outdoor channel after supper. Although Mason has seen the deer on the wall at PawPaw's and at Pop's, he has never really been too fascinated with them . . . until now. He could hardly wait for Pop to find the deer channel. I've never seen anything captivate his attention like that and keep him so still for so long. Every time a deer came across the TV screen, he would get all excited, point his finger at the TV, and say, "Dee, dee!" One evening his Daddy took him for a walk through the pasture and to the woods behind Pop's house, and Mason was able to see 3 deer. Of course, he let it be known as soon as he saw them, and they took off running. Seth really hasn't been hunting the past few years. I'll bet he'll soon start spending more time in the woods since it seems we have a little hunter on our hands.
We celebrated Christmas Eve with the whole Connell family at Grandmother's house. All of our aunts, uncles, and cousins - a total of 31 this year - were there to enjoy BBQ and a lively White Elephant swap. We even had a visit from Santa Claus . . . or, as Carter (my 6 year old second cousin) so eloquently put it, "Awww, that's Scott" (my cousin). Grandmother was standing at the door awaiting his arrival, and Mason was standing with her. He actually thought he could convince her to take him outside. Anyway, Santa came up the steps, and Mason grabbed Grandmother around the legs and held on for dear life when he saw him! And then he started screaming. Grandmother picked him up and gave him to Daddy. I then tried to get him to sit with me beside Santa, but he would have none of that. He wanted to be as far away as possible from Santa. Hmmm . . . wonder if Santa will remember that next year when he passes Mason's house?
Mason's cousin Avery got a couple of dance CDs so we put them on and watched Avery, Beau, and Abbie dance to the Y.M.C.A. Mason was not about to let his cousins show him up. He started dancing, too. I wish I could adequately describe how he was dancing, but I really can't. All I can say is that it reminded me of that crazy stuff Bill Cosby used to do during the opening credits of "The Cosby Show." When Mason realized he was the center of attention and that everyone was laughing at him, he just got even sillier. It was a lot of fun.
Knowing that we were going to Georgia for Christmas and knowing he was not bringing Mommy a Suburban to haul a bunch of toys, Santa visited Mason a few days early. Mason woke up from his nap (okay, so I dressed him in his Christmas PJs before I put him down for his nap so he would be wearing them in the pictures!) the Thursday before Christmas to find a lot of cool, new toys under the tree.
His "big" Santa present was a Little Tikes Swirlin Sawdust Tool Bench. Santa also brought Mr. Potato Head (51 pieces!!!) and some food (100 pieces!!!) for Mason's shopping cart. Mommy's favorite was T.M.X. Elmo . . . I think all of the adults have enjoyed him more than Mason has! I think Mason was a little scared of him at first. He wouldn't get too close and surely wouldn't tickle his tummy. But he is finally warming up to his furry red friend. Mason's favorite toys that day were the Lightening McQueen and Mater vehicles (for those of you who do not have little boys, those are the stars from the movie "Cars").
Mason is wearing his Christmas pajamas that his Mimi sent him all the way from Georgia. They have a snowman on the front with a bunch of little snowmen on the pants, but you can't see them because Mason wouldn't let go of his favorite blanket for me to take the picture.
Mason loves animals. He can even say a lot of animal names now. But most times when I point to pictures of animals and ask him what they are, he tells me the sound they make instead of telling me what they are. My favorite is his pig snort . . . it's the best! Besides animals and his books, Mason also loves building things so his Mega Blocks are a favorite toy right now. He also loves cars and trucks. He rides his cars and trucks around and says, "Beep, beep!"
We are definitely looking forward to Christmas! We can't wait to see Mason's reaction to his big Santa present this year.
We got our Christmas tree this past weekend. I wasn't sure how my rambunctious little one was going to react to the sight of white lights and colorful balls everywhere just waiting to be plucked off by little fingers. I know some Christmas trees are decorated only on the top half. And others grace the tops of tables instead of the floor.
I prepared Mason for the arrival of our tree last week by putting his tree in his room. It is decorated with fishing ornaments and blue and silver balls to match his room. It was there for several days before he even touched it. And then it was only because his friend Anna came over and enjoyed talking the balls off that he realized he could do it, too. My plan was that he would play with the tree in his room and not the big tree in the living room. So far this plan has worked. He loves looking at the lights, but he hasn't been interested in plucking anything off. Of course, the presents aren't under there yet either.