Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Christmas Cuties

Although Christmas was a while ago now, I am just getting around to putting up some pictures. I'm pretty sure there are 400 pictures of Christmas, so I just picked a few that I thought were worth sharing. The boys absolutely loved getting new toys. They didn't really understand about unwrapping gifts, so they didn't really enjoy the getting of the gifts, but they sure do love the new toys they have to play with.
James takes control of the packages at Grandma & Papa Joe's house. The kids loved the blue package for Aunt Mandy. Every day when they went in to look at the Christmas tree, one of the kids would take a little sit down break on her package. Thankfully, it wasn't breakable.
Mommy's boy, Ryan, stops by for a quick snuggle while checking out the action. Bob's family and mine do things very differently - my family has a present free-for-all while Bob's does the one at a time method. I find them both exciting, but I did spend most of my time at Mom's chasing the kids around the living room rather than package opening.
Ryan switches allegiances to Aunt Faith. This was certainly the year of Faith El. She got a bike, a phone, and tickets to go see Toby Keith. I'm pretty sure she cleaned up in the present department.
Although it's a little out of focus, here James helps Uncle Joseph open his gifts. Mr. Coffee is definitely Uncle Joseph's friend. I'm pretty sure that it's his favorite food group.
The horse of a different color. The boys love this horse. They each will take turns riding their horse, and he makes all kinds of wonderful noises. Their current goals include mounting and dismounting their trusty steed without help from adults. There are a lot of limbs being extricated from interesting places on their horse, but I'm pretty sure they're gonna get it soon, and then who knows when the climbing will stop. This horse does have a wonderful light activated whinny, and every time we turn off the lights to go to bed, he tells us good night. Such a polite horse.
Our musician, James takes a stab at drumming. The boys got a drum and a guitar for Christmas. I'm pretty sure that they are going to be the next great boy band. They also got a Yo Gabba Gabba dance mat for practicing their smooth moves.
The train table is a lot of fun, but it's even more fun to sit in. The kids love to chase the train around the track and place all kinds of obstacles in its way. I'm pretty sure that this is the little engine that could since it is put through a variety of torturous paces. The kids also got a talking Thomas from Uncle Joseph. This inspired me to put on Thomas the Tank the other day, but I just haven't taken enough drugs yet to enjoy the shenanigans on the English rails.
One of the boys favorite things in the world are the Muppets (I think this is due to the influence of their father). Since the Muppets haven't been popular for years, I scoured eBay for gently loved Muppets. We have two Kermits, Gonzo, Rizzo, Animal, and the Electric Mayhem (the four band members). I wont disclose the unreasonable amounts spent on these gems, but the kids love them. I catch Michael laying underneath the table Grandma & Grandpa Newhouse gave them playing with his Muppets. Animal is by far the most popular of the Muppets and seems to like jumping around the house, shouting his own name, and rubbing his furry face all over the kids. What an animal.
Checking out the Gabbas and their boom box. Bob and I got a couple of mega bloc sets that came with the "YGG" figures. The kids love them. I think that they are getting to be much better builders, but I have to admit that my somewhat obsessive personality has issues with keeping all of the pieces and parts together.
James helps Daddy open a fancy package. This year was a big year for Ranger gear. For the first time, I'm pretty sure that the amount of Rangers items has overcome the number of Cowboys items opened in our home. Jerry better watch out, he might not be getting his fair share of the Newhouse revenue if next season is anything like this season (of course as I look down, I see that I'm sporting a new Cowboys shirt, so it might just be a hollow threat).
Ryan takes a dive into the pile of packages. The number of packages under our tree was almost grotesque. It's amazing how many presents we buy and are given every year. No wonder companies rely on the 4th quarter for maximum profits.
James sports Daddy's World Series hat. I'm sure that this picture warms the heart of my husband. His love for the Rangers (win or lose) is pretty intense. I can only be thankful that they didn't play the Dodgers in the World Series, or I'm afraid I might be a widow now as Bob would have died from pure joy.
Michael oversees the Newhouse Christmas. The opening of the gifts is quite long, and the boys spent most of the time playing with their new toys and absconding with adult gifts. Despite my worries, they made it through the whole Christmas and even stayed up late for our big family dinner on Christmas night.
James decides that he would like to try and open a gift. None of the kids really understood the joys of tearing the paper off of the gifts and throwing it about. I think by the time their birthday rolls around, they'll definitely have the hang of it. If only we could figure out how to overcome their fear of the man in the red suit, we'd be golden for next Christmas.
Ryan takes a ride on his new plane. Aunt Sue got the kids a ride on plane. At various times throughout the day, you can find a random child zooming around the kitchen on their plane, slamming into the gate at the end of the kitchen, and taking another lap around the island. I think it's a hit. Grandma bought the kids a huge outside teeter-toter airplane. They love it. Michael shouts "wheeeeee" every time he goes up and down on his big plane. James and Ryan love to "drive" the plane. Mommy likes when they balance their weight as a lopsided teeter-toter is quite a challenge to balance.
His name is Tempo the Tiger and he's a real funky Tiger. This guitar is probably the most fought over toy in our collection. He is very vocal and might somehow find his way to the top of a closet somewhere when mommy's ears need a rest. Of course, the kids love it so much, I'm sure they'd search the house for it. I guess I should just start praying for the batteries to run down.

No comments:

Post a Comment