Christmas memories - part 3

A few more pictures from our Santa visit earlier in the month...

Santa is actually a very nice man named Poppy. He and his wife run one of the seasonal campgrounds by the water in the coastal city of Seward (2.5 hours away from Anchorage). I told him we'd try to come and see him next summer! I've known him from many years, ever since we hired him to come to my workplace annually in December. He's THE BEST Santa. So sweet and always knows just what to say to the kids.

Boyd was SO MAD when we sat down with Santa. OMG!

OK, all better now.

Christmas memories - part 2

More photos from Christmas morning!

D was a gift-giving rockstar this year. He gave me extremely thoughtful presents - some that I didn't even expect. I was really touched.  Boyd wasn't too into opening gifts - he would rip the paper once we prompted him. His favorite gift of the day? The $0.50 pack of crayons that D slipped into Boyd's stocking. It was really comical to see our kid pass over the cool stuff we bought him, just to go back to coloring!

The magic of Christmas morning. Daddy put crayons in everyone's stockings, so Boyd got to check them all out.

A mini-Drift figurine from Daddy! Crayons in hand.

Seriously, all he wanted to do was play with the crayons all morning.

Cool Pillow Pet from Grandma and Grandpa Patrick. I love these things - Boyd sleeps with his every night.

Na na na na na na na Batman (hat)!

Unveiling our big gift for the kiddo...

Melissa and Doug wooden play kitchen! It took me hours to put together (by hand). I'm sure D could have completed it faster but I'm glad I did it.

He likes it!

We also got him some nice wooden kitchen accessories, and added some play food that he already had in the house.

Super cool learning toy from Jim & Barbara. He loves the buttons. :-)

Big thanks to our families and friends for the gifts and edible treats that we received. So generous of you all to think of us, and especially to provide wonderful gifts to our son. We love you all!

Christmas memories - part 1

Christmas was really lovely. A quiet one, and we were missing Gabe (who was on the slope), but nice nonetheless. My mom and sister joined us on Christmas Eve for our annual holiday jambalaya dinner. This is the 3rd or 4th year that D has cooked up this dish on December 24th, so I think it's officially a Patrick family tradition! The next day they were back again and we relaxed while a prime rib slow-cooked in the oven. Dinner was so delicious: prime rib, mashed potatoes, zucchini, brussels sprouts, and cherry pie/ice cream for dessert. And of course, watching a marathon of "A Christmas Story" on TV!

These are just a few of the photos from Christmas Eve/Day - the rest are on my regular camera. Will download those soon!

Boyd assisted me in putting together his big Christmas present! He's a super technical toddler - something he gets from both the Whalens and Patricks in his family.

Holy moly - for those of who think our kid is a perfect angel all of the time, I present to you: this photo from Christmas Eve. Boyd was super cranky after a late nap that we had to cut short. 

He finally calmed down and helped Risha draw some kitties at the counter.

A great present from his great x2 Aunt Barbara and Uncle Jim. He loves this learning toy! His new play kitchen is in the foreground of the photo.

Modeling Risha's fun hat.

This was so funny - we took a few selfies with Risha holding up her mustache finger tattoo to Boyd, then.....

...he held up his finger to his own nose to imitate her!

Uncle Gabe very helpfully purchased a disc-shooting gun for Boyd to torment his parents with.

Kisses to Grandma Mim and Grandpa Don for Boyd's cool new Batman hat! Super warm and snuggly with room to grown.