We were lucky this year that we got to spend the holidays with both sides of our family. The week of Christmas was spent at my parents house in Tennessee, and the following week Erik's family came to visit us. Two weeks of family time (and having Erik home on vacation) was pretty awesome.
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| Arlo and Grandpa the day we arrived |
The week of Christmas was pretty low-key, as usual. Arlo had so much fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house and loved "helping" Grandma do chores around the house. Here he is peeling potatoes and washing dishes:
And then dish time turned into "put the toddler in the sink and call it a bath" time, ha!
Playing Santa on Christmas Eve was so fun. There were gifts for my parents, sister, Erik, me, and Arlo (something like half were for him!) so there were a ton of presents under the tree when we put everything out. I thought Arlo would be a little more excited than he was on Christmas morning, but he just kind of blankly stared at all the fabric-bag wrapped gifts for a minute before being distracted by the tree. I think if we had put out a few unwrapped toys he would have been more excited as I don't think he had any idea what the gift bags even meant! As we slowly worked our way through the pile it became obvious that Arlo was a bit overwhelmed with all the new toys. He would open one thing and just want to sit and play with it, not caring about opening anything else. Here he is playing with some of his gifts:
Erik and I bought him the Ikea car rug and Melissa & Doug garage (which is highly recommended if you are ever looking for a toy like this) and a bunch of books. He also received a submarine, helicopter, clothes, dump truck, farm set, giant slinky, and stacking car garage, among other things. Stockings have always been a big tradition in my family, and we usually wait until afternoon to open them. Arlo's was huge this year, filled with so many treats and treasures. Here he is opening it up, the thing was big enough for him to climb inside!
Other random photos from the Tennessee trip:
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| don't get used to this kid, only allowed with Grandma is in charge! ;) |
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| eating lunch hipster baby style at an all-vegan restaurant in Asheville on our way home |
A few days after we got home, Erik's family arrived. I feel terrible that I didn't take many photos while they were visiting, but we had a great time with them and were glad they could be here to celebrate Arlo's second birthday. Arlo received double presents on his birthday because we also did our Christmas gift exchange with Erik's family that same day, and was given a wooden block set, chalkboard/dry erase box, train book, and boat. Does anyone see a theme here? Do you think he's a kid that likes cars/trains/boats?? ;)
I hope in years to come that we are lucky enough to spend time with both sides of our family around the holidays. It is certainly one of the most wonderful times of the year ;)
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| Christmas "cheese" face |
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