While it is usually our practice to put up the Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, we made an exception this year because we were expecting some special guests for that weekend, and we wanted to have our decorations in place to enjoy! While this is E's second Christmas, it is the first time he has really gotten involved with putting up the tree. He LOVED this activity (as he did pretty much every holiday activity...except for visiting Santa that is...more on that later)! We started trimming the tree by placing the star on top. We read a story about how the star is what led people to where the Christ child was and talked about how every time we see the star atop our tree, it will be a reminder to us that points us to Jesus, the reason we celebrate! After the star was in place, we added the rest. Somehow we forgot to take a picture of the finished product.
With decorations in place, we were ready to celebrate Thanksgiving and visit with our friends. Our Thanksgiving celebration started out with Mommy's side of the family. While the gathering was smaller than usual, the crowd still overwhelmed E a bit. He started out sitting quietly playing with Little People. Then he chowed down on a plate full of some of his favorite foods. Once his belly was full, he was ready to mingle and entertain. Everyone enjoyed him very much.
After a delicious lunch and a quick nap, we headed to Grammy and Papa S's house for time with some of Daddy's family. Little Cousin L wasn't there because she went to Florida to see Aunt J's family, but E's big boy cousins, D & Z were. E was so excited to see them and had great fun playing with them. We enjoyed some left overs for dinner that night, then we got up the next morning and headed to Oak Ridge for E's first train ride with the whole family. When we pulled into the parking lot and he saw the train tracks, he started saying, "I ride choo choo, I ride choo choo!" This went on (literally) until the train ride began! The three boys had a wonderful time on the trip, despite of the man who found it necessary to narrate the ENTIRE trip almost. He did get off the mic for the majority of the return trip, which we really appreciated.
The boys could hardly wait to board the train.
He continued saying, "I ride choo choo!" until the train ride began. Cousin D posing with part of the crew.
Z had a great time on the train. He loved watching the world pass by from the window. He is such a cutie!
Aunt B and D teach E to talk with his belly button near the end of the ride. At the end of the trip, the boys were able to blow the train whistle. They loved that!
After the train ride, we said goodbye to the family and headed home to get ready for some out of town guests. One of mommy's seminary roommates and her husband and little one were coming to stay with us as they passed through town. This was the first time E met any of them, and the first time J and I got to meet Baby P. It was a great visit, although we wish it could have lasted longer!
