Beer, Bread, & Baby: Baby's First Christmas

Kind of like Thanksgiving, this little guy's first Christmas was a bit of a parade for his parents. We spent Christmas eve with my family at Antie (purposefully spelled this way instead of Auntie) TuTu's house. When we got home Brian and I exchanged some gifts. As usual, Brian was an amazing present giver. He knows my taste so well and is so thoughtful, it is seriously hard to keep up with that. We got a good night's sleep and then we got up for the big day. We spent a nice quiet Christmas morning at my parent's house. We did the usual traditions, big breakfast (we always eat the same thing; scrambled eggs, sausage, coffee cake, grapefruit, tortillas, and lots of salsa and ketchup!), then we open stockings, which my Mom always does an amazing job on and start the presents, which she also is so thoughtful with. Once we were done we loaded up Jake and the car and headed to the Lanter house to do the same thing. More family comes over for them on Christmas night and Diane always makes a huge, delicious dinner. It was a great first Christmas for Jake, but my Christmas wish for next year is a little less moving around, it is all such a blur!

Having a child does make you think a little differently about gifts. Brian and I are very fortunate and we have a lot of "toys" and clothes, and generally just stuff that we have collected over the years. I am certain we will always find other stuff to buy, but there isn't much we really NEED. It will be fun in the coming years to watch Jake enjoy gifts, and if the other little kids we have been around are any indication, it is really all about the box and ribbons anyway. More is just more, I hope we can raise little Jake to appreciate, enjoy, and take care of a few nicer toys rather than just a bunch of stuff. This practice might just be something Brian and I should be doing as well, quality, not quantity!