We woke up that brisk Christmas morning with the intent to head over to my parent's house as soon as possible. I'd say we accomplished that. As soon as Aaron saw me packing my bags, he protested all things breakfast and continuously and obnoxiously yelled "walk!" (his word for any time we leave the house).
The Kohl house was already buzzing with action as they had already made and eaten some sort of fancy breakfast wreath. My Grandma and Jack drove up the day before from their winter home in Mission, Texas. My brother Matt was in from NYC, and my sister Jenny and her husband Barrett drove down a few days earlier from Dallas, bringing their two hounds.
Last year Aaron wore snazzy new pajamas for Christmas morning and I thought it was precious and hope to repeat that every year. So while Daddy was out shopping he found this years pj's and luckily there were no accidents in the middle of the night and Aaron showed up at his Grandparents looking festive and ready to roll... of course him and Grandpa Kohl had to get in a little "trucks" action before gifts...
Surprisingly my parents managed to take a decent picture... mom's eyes are open and dad is not making a silly face! Mom's beautiful tree was a nice backdrop.
Matt was up and down all morning continuing to prepare portions of the meal we would consume later, but here he looked pretty relaxed...
Aaron was thrilled to learn that on Christmas morning most bets are off and he was suddenly allowed to climb on large wrapped presents, tear things apart, and throw paper across the room. Believe me (see video below) he took advantage of his temporary mischief allotment.
Once he opened that big green present, he found these two Tonka trucks from Grandma and Grandpa Kohl. He immediately tried to carry them around, despite their heavy plastic and metal construction, and began filling the dump bucket with all sorts of things including little gifts that belonged to other people.
He gave each one a full inspection...
Then he had to show everyone in the room...
Once he opened that big green present, he found these two Tonka trucks from Grandma and Grandpa Kohl. He immediately tried to carry them around, despite their heavy plastic and metal construction, and began filling the dump bucket with all sorts of things including little gifts that belonged to other people.
He gave each one a full inspection...
Then he had to show everyone in the room...
Here's Matt opening one of the Alton Brown cookbooks we gave him. 
After gifts Matt went back into the kitchen to continue his magic. I went in for a peek and found Alan helping him with the bread...
When Aaron woke up from his nap he (we) opened his presents. Unfortunately my early shopping and wrapping had one negative effect, I had forgotten what was in each package and Aaron somehow chose the most exciting gift first, which inevitably meant a lack of overall interest in the subsequent ones.
A short montage of Aaron being goofy and then running out of steam...
"Oh yeah, this shinny one, it must be for me!"
Jack and Grandma soaking in all of the action...
Aaron sneaking an attempt at Matt's rip stick. Oddly enough he knew where to put his feet and what to do with it, of course it was still slumped over the whole time, which is understandable considering grown men have trouble functioning this strange device...
After all of the craziness, Aaron very abruptly said "Dada" a few times in his cute and quiet voice, with his arms in the air, and assumed this position for several minutes while he tried to reset from his morning. Daddy's shoulder is the safest place.
Back to mischief... "why is this creature wearing a human sweater? And poor thing, look at the size of that propagandous collar they are making her wear! I wonder if she will let me poke her in the eye?"
Aaron sneaking an attempt at Matt's rip stick. Oddly enough he knew where to put his feet and what to do with it, of course it was still slumped over the whole time, which is understandable considering grown men have trouble functioning this strange device...After all of the craziness, Aaron very abruptly said "Dada" a few times in his cute and quiet voice, with his arms in the air, and assumed this position for several minutes while he tried to reset from his morning. Daddy's shoulder is the safest place.Back to mischief... "why is this creature wearing a human sweater? And poor thing, look at the size of that propagandous collar they are making her wear! I wonder if she will let me poke her in the eye?" My incredibly happy little man and me, playing with Maggie...
After gifts Matt went back into the kitchen to continue his magic. I went in for a peek and found Alan helping him with the bread...
Jenny was enamored with one of Aaron's new words: "apple," which tends to come out sounding more like "a bowl." And for unknown reasons it always requires ridiculous over articulation and lip movements...
Break time... back home for a couple of hours to unwrap our family gifts and let Aaron take a much needed nap. Since Graycie has been gone, Hayley has periodically lost her mind under quite normal and common circumstances, like us leaving her in the house while we are away. It was especially cold that Christmas morning so we needed to leave her in the house and decided to put her in our master bath so that she wouldn't break loose and wreak havoc on the house. We made her extra comfortable with her two blankets, a sheet, and water (in an old pasta pot). She, quite surprisingly, did not cause any damage and even left us a gift... With her odd dexterousness and innate strangeness, she managed to stuff her sheet into the water pot in a perfect bundle of wetness. That dog is just weird.
When Aaron woke up from his nap he (we) opened his presents. Unfortunately my early shopping and wrapping had one negative effect, I had forgotten what was in each package and Aaron somehow chose the most exciting gift first, which inevitably meant a lack of overall interest in the subsequent ones.
It was a die cast model Jeep and needless to say, he loved it.
After a week of intense loving, the Jeep is still, for the most part, intact. If we listed it on Craigslist it would read... "2007 Jeep Wrangler Sahara. Like new white paint, gray hard top. In very good condition with the following exceptions: driver's side view mirror missing; hood latches no longer attached; loose, but still functioning steering wheel; back tailgate has buckled under the weight of the ill-placed spare tire and become a bit unstable; back window intact and included, but not installed. Note: one previous owner, a very passionate, Jeep-savvy toddler with limited driving experience."
Then there were a few wooden puzzles of fire trucks and trains...
Back to the Kohl's for dinner. Here is Mom's beautifully decorated table...
Impromptu picture of Jenny, Aaron and me...
Random picture of Matt perfecting his rip-stick skills... too bad his girlfriend, Fi (giver of this gift) wasn't here to watch...
And number sets...
And books with built in tool puzzles...
Daddy almost immediately tried to do his thing and modify the Jeep, it appears to be worrying Aaron...
Back to the Kohl's for dinner. Here is Mom's beautifully decorated table...
Impromptu picture of Jenny, Aaron and me...
Random picture of Matt perfecting his rip-stick skills... too bad his girlfriend, Fi (giver of this gift) wasn't here to watch...
Christmas was a fun filled-day of family and relaxing and celebrating. My grandma, who would be heading south the next morning, said to me as we were leaving... "I'll see you in a few months (when they return to Iowa)." And I immediately thought of how much our lives will have changed by then. I said "so much will be different." And she, very importantly noted that I will look a whole lot different... provided this next little man is a hungry milk-man like the first, that is the plan :) I think of how different next Christmas will be, but then a couple of months (or even weeks?) down the road will bring all sorts of change in this dynamic stage of our life. One day at a time... today is a present from God :)
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