Times flies

When you're having fun, and fun we did have these past three days!

The drive went smoothly, just a wee bit of snow as I got closer to D's and fog in the valley. We had the car unloaded, the presents put under the tree, groceries unpacked, and my bags tucked in Eli's/my bedroom and I was sitting down with a cup of tea by 9:30 a.m. I got away from the city earlier than I expected. 

D's friend M had sent two large bags of clothing, that her youngest had grown out of, for Eli. She sorted through the clothes as we chatted and I folded other clothing from the dryer. After the "new to Eli" clothing was washed and dried, we both went upstairs. She to put the clothes away and I sat down to crochet. Eli has recently sized out of the small sizes and most of these were medium with a few large pieces as well. After putting the clothes away, she gave a huge sigh of relief, as there is enough clothing to last through the next year or so. Except underwear...but Santa came through with a package so he's set. :)

We also made a quick visit to the park. Eli had fun with a dollar store toy that flies. Then a younger girl came by and played hide and seek with him for a bit before we headed home.

After an early dinner, we set out to see the Christmas lights around town. My goodness, there are some beautifully decorated houses!  Most of my photos didn't turn out, but here are a few.

One of the local businesses has been doing a float since 2020, when during the pandemic the annual events were cancelled. They've continued the tradition, and Eli loves seeing the float. He was disappointed when we first drove out as he could hear but not see the float (we were going the wrong direction). However, we eventually caught up to it, not once but twice! I was able to capture the video on our second pass by. Listen for the little voice at the end.

Christmas Eve morning, Eli woke asking if Santa had come and was a bit disappointed to hear he had to wait another day. Throughout the day we watched some television, he played video games, and more laundry was done. (It seems to multiply in this house). Eli and D went out for a bit in the morning, so he could go skating but were home earlier than expected as he wasn't feeling well. In the afternoon, I headed upstairs for some quiet time with my book.

Bedtime came early, with Eli and I reading books. He settled quickly, but spent much of the night wriggling and twisting himself up in the blankets. Suffice to say my sleep was interrupted. About 6 a.m. I sent him downstairs to his mother (she was awake about 3:30 a.m.) and I managed to doze off until 7.

My mother always insisted we eat breakfast before opening presents - I had the same rule and D has carried it on. However, Eli did get to open the gifts in his stocking (of which there were many). He had eaten before I made my way downstairs but waited patiently while D and I had ours. More fun ensued as he handed out the gifts, most were for him, but he was quite willing to lend a hand to us to unwrap ours, so he could move onto the next gift. Another rule: one present is opened at a time so everyone can see what the gift was and appreciate it. I didn't think to take any photos until his mom was busy putting together his best present from Santa (with some help from mom), a Gabby's Dollhouse. Gabby's Dollhouse is an animated cartoon, of a little Hispanic girl who turns herself in an animated version of herself and plays with her kitty friends in her dollhouse. My daughter says the show emphasizes kindness and manners. It's certainly quite a different experience from some of the videos he watches about video games!

D went upstairs to catch a nap while Eli played on his new table, and I watched a movie, Daddy's Home 2. It wasn't the best movie I've ever watched, but it certainly had some fun moments. Of course, being a Christmas movie, it all worked out in end and the Christmas spirit shone through.

We had our Christmas dinner: pork loin roast, dressing/stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, and gravy. For dessert, though I didn't need it, I had one of the delicious rum butter tarts my daughter made for me. After dishes were loaded in the dishwasher, we sat and watched a bit of television and let our dinners settle. Later, in bed Eli and I watched a few shortened versions of America's Funniest Videos. He particularly enjoyed the videos of the cats versus Christmas trees. 

This morning, we've got some chores to do around the house, and then we're heading out to do a bit of Boxing Day shopping. The options aren't many here in this small town, so it won't take long. In addition, unlike city stores that open at o'dark in the morning, the earliest opening hours here is around 9:30. Much more civilized, don't you think?

I expect we'll head to the park later this afternoon as the temperature is expected to rise to 0C/32F. I'm planning to head back to the city tomorrow, though I'm not certain what time I'll get away. It's been wonderful having lots of time with Eli (and his mom) though I do wish he wasn't such a wriggler in the bed.

Happy Boxing Day everyone!