Nicholas’ First U.S. Christmas

Nicholas was a very blessed boy this year. We didn’t go out of our way to buy too many presents because we knew he would get them from family as well. And, he did. Our house just shrunk again. It now has more trucks, a dinosaur, play food, remote controlled car, games, books and stuffed animals. We also got a great table and chairs set that Nicholas will get a lot of use out of for years to come.

We spent Christmas Eve with my mom’s side of the family. Nicholas is the first great-grandchild/grandchild/great-nephew/3rd or 4th or whatever cousin on this side of the family. Basically, he’s the first child in awhile, so he received a lot of presents. He behaved exceptionally well for his age. He checked out his new surroundings and may have touched a couple of things he shouldn’t, but he listened very well, didn’t overeat or overindulge on sweets, and thanked everyone that gave him presents.



We also had a “Happy Birthday, Jesus” cake. We let Nicholas blow out the candle, hoping that he understood that it wasn’t his birthday and he wasn’t Jesus. I did catch him sticking his finger in the icing a couple of times. This particular icing stained his fingers thus incriminating him.



Thankfully all of the excitement of Christmas Eve helped him fall asleep within five minutes of putting his head on the pillow. We wondered how long he would sleep, but I ended up waking him up 11 ½ hours later. He actually said to me, “Nicholas tired. Nap.” He wasn’t ready to get up, but I needed him to so I could attempt to give him an afternoon nap before our Christmas activities in the afternoon.

We had a handful of presents for Nicholas and his stocking on Christmas morning. He received a SuperWhy backpack and a dump truck(which I had purchased before last Christmas since we thought he may be home by then), along with some other little things. SuperWhy is a show on PBS that he really enjoys.


Evan and I just did stocking stuffers for each other.


The car that Evan is holding was not originally intended for him, but somehow ended up in his stocking.






Everyone loves a new toothbrush.

He also received a SuperWhy mask, cape, and wand. I could probably post a series of pictures of all those that weren’t Nicholas that wore those items, but I will only post one for now (The rest of you can wonder whether or not I’ll post yours). He really liked the backpack because he always watches Evan take his to school, so I think he felt that he had something just like his daddy (although Evan’s is sans SuperWhy).





After playing with all of his new toys for a few hours we attempted the nap. Unfortunately, a nap wasn’t on his agenda. After an hour of playing in his room and trying to fall asleep, I let him come out. He ended up doing pretty well most of the day. It wasn’t until about 6:30 or 7:00 at night that he showed signs of being tired. But, we had a good Christmas with Evan’s family. Nicholas got some new clothes, books, and a garbage truck. Trucks, and cars, and things that move seemed to be a huge hit with him this year.



One thing I noticed about Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is that he didn’t overeat. I could see how having all that food in front of him would make him want to, but he was more interested in playing and being with people. I don’t think that would have been the case a few months ago. This is a positive change.

Evan and I are very thankful for our Christmas gift this year. Even though it arrived about six months ago, we are still enjoying it today.



Kristin