12.29.2009

Jack's First Christmas

Jack had a great first Christmas! We got to see a lot of friends and family, and spent a lot of time with my sister and Greg, who were in town from New York.

The first holiday event was a happy hour with the family friends for the Mizzou/Illinois basketball game. We didn't make it to game time (8:30 pm) since it was Jack's bedtime, but we did spend several hours hanging out with our friends. Laura & Paul were in town from San Francisco, Jules was in town from Chicago and Angie & Eric (and kiddos) were in town from South Carolina. And Jack met a few people he hadn't met yet too. It was a fun night.
Future beer drinker - it's definitely in his genes:
On Christmas Eve we went to my parents' house, first to just hang out and exchange gifts with my parents and Kelly and Greg (Jack slept through most of this), then for the Gibler Christmas (my mom's family). Again it was a fun night - Jack took a good nap despite the noise and played with his new toys, including a football and a floor mirror.

Family photo - yes, Jason had on a Hawaiian shirt - he had a little cream soda incident and had to take his shirt off. He raided my dad's closet and this is what he found. (I think the Woodford Reserve whiskey he had been drinking had something to do with his selection):Jack's new football from Aunt Kelly & Uncle Greg:
The new floor mirror from Great Uncle Mike and Great Aunt Kathy:
All bundled up and ready to go home:Christmas morning, we went over to Jason's sister's house to watch our nieces and nephew open their presents. The morning is always chaos, but it is so fun to watch. My favorite was Mia's enthusiastic "Oh my gosh!" as she opened each and every gift. It was a hoot. Jack had a good time too - spent some quality time with Grandpa and Grandma and was a happy man even though we woke him from his nap to go there.

All the grand kids with Grandpa and Grandma:
Daddy and Jack watching Grandpa's train:After we went to Grandpa and Grandma Clayton's house to exchange gifts and play with Grandpa's train, we went home for a few hours. Jack got a little nap in and he opened his presents from Santa. He was in such a happy little mood and loved to eat the wrapping paper. So fun!

We headed to my Uncle Jim and Aunt Ree's house in the afternoon to celebrate with my dad's family. Again Jack got to meet a few of my uncles and cousins for the first time, which was fun. We skyped my cousin Sarah and her husband Phil who are living in the UK for a year while Phil obtains his MBA from Oxford. It was cool to catch up with them and they got to "see" everyone, including Jack. Instead of exchanging gifts with the Langs, we adopted a family and then just played rob your neighbor. This year's theme was funny hats, and there were some good ones!!

Me holding Jack in front of the webcam - look at Sarah & Phil's faces on the big TV. Too cute!
All the cousins (and spouses) displaying our new hats:Jack wearing Daddy's "hat":We ended the night with dinner at the Claytons' house. Jack received a very special gift from his grandparents - his first train! It is an old classic Lionel (older than Grandpa, they said) and they gave us a nice wooden chest to keep it in, complete with custom-made (by Grandpa) trays to hold each train car. We can't wait to put it up next Christmas - Jack will love it!
Jack in his train conductor's hat:
Saturday, we met up with my college friends. Alison, Mike and Giana were in town from New York, so we saw them, as well as Lisa, Michael and Ella and Emily and Adam. It was a fun night. It's always fun seeing the babies together. Jack and Giana were even holding hands for awhile. So cute, future husband and wife.All in all, we had a great holiday. Jack is a lucky little man - he got a ton of fun toys and clothes, including a Nike, a Puma and an Adidas track suit and a Mizzou sweatsuit.

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