Hi, everyone!
Last Saturday, it really started to seem like Christmas was coming. Grandpa got the Christmas tree out of the garage to put it up. Guess what? The water in the bin around the tree was frozen! Grandpa had to break it up with a hammer before we could put the stand on the tree. EUS and I helped Grandpa make sure the tree was standing up straight, then we unwound the baling string. All the branches opened up, just the way they were supposed to!
Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara and James came on Saturday afternoon. The first thing we had to do was make sure the house was safe for James. Grandpa put childproof latches on the kitchen cabinets and safety plugs on all the electrical outlets. James helped sort the outlet plugs! On Sunday morning, Uncle Steven put the lights on the Christmas tree, and Grandma put the decorations on in the afternoon and evening. This year, everything within James’ reach on the tree had to be safe for him to play with! When Grandma was finished, the tree looked very nice!
On Monday, EUS and I helped Grandma and Grandpa host their annual holiday bread and soup party. EUS and I made sure the stollen were rising properly, and I showed EUS how to make the Christmas tree shape. James had his soup on a plate: he mostly ate the corn and black beans out of Grandma’s Freezer Soup. My buddies Joe-san and Nancy-san came to help, but Moose-san forgot to come! EUS was really excited that Papa Dick-san brought his friend Rudy to the party to sing Christmas songs
Tuesday, Christmas Eve, was really busy! While Grandma was making croissant dough, James took me to Lamberton Conservatory with his parents and Grandma Ginny. There are some very nice benches to sit on to look at the flowers, but James mostly wanted to run around. It was hard for me to keep up with him! I did get a chance to say hello to my turtle friends before we left.
Then, after James had lunch and a nap, we went out to play in the snow! James had new boots and was just figuring out how to walk in them! When he got it figured out, we had fun making tracks in the snow. Then Uncle Steven gave us both a ride on the sled. It was very cold out, but James remembered to keep his hat and mittens on!
Everybody else went out for Christmas Eve dinner, but EUS and I stayed home. Aunt Kara brought James home at bedtme, while everybody else went to church. After James was asleep, EUS and I helped Aunt Kara put the presents under the Christmas tree. There were a LOT of presents!
On Christmas morning, James had some yogurt and grapefruit to eat while we waited for the croissants to bake. Then James opened the presents in his stocking. He really liked the oranges and apples he and his parents found in the heels of their stockings and almost didn’t pay attention to the other presents! He liked his new building blocks. He especially liked the empty Japanese postal service box and climbed in and out. James likes boxes, too!
James had so many presents that he couldn’t open them all on Christmas morning! I was in charge of James’ unopened presents all day. At dinnertime, he did open some more. There were more building blocks and a bin to keep them in. James got a Tonka truck from Bill-kun and Karin-chan!
On Thursday, James had ANOTHER Christmas with his cousins at Grandma Ginny’s! He came home with even more toys! He showed EUS and me how to make cars with his building blocks, and he let us play with his magnetic slate and ride on his new rocking horse. And the dining room table is full of snacks that were presents to somebody in the family. There are a lot of yummy foods to try!
EUS and I are wishing all our friends a Christmas that was as merry as ours, and we’re looking forward to a happy new year with many adventures!
Love,
Lion-san
Moose-san really felt bad about missing the party on Monday. We all had a great Christmas. It went by too fast though. Before we knew it, it was time to go to someone’s house for dinner and conversation!