Christmas Recap

My dad wanted a picture of his grandson with 2 of his 3 granddogs (our dog didn't make it in the picture as she stayed home on Christmas:)

In the last month or so, John Harrison has started doing this scrunched-face "smile" when you ask him to smile
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Sitting on the bench Granddad made for John Harrison (my dad made John Harrison this bench based on how much John Harrison has enjoyed sitting on a similar bench at their house...John Harrison will often take your hand and lead you over to sit with him on the bench at Grandmama and Granddad's house)

John Harrison stepping into his Little People school bus from his Granddad and Grandmama (this toy seems to be one of his favorite Christmas gifts)

taking a ride in the Tonka truck from Granddad and Grandmama

Hugging Aunt Margaret and Uncle Matt's dog, Myles (very good-natured dog, I might add!)

Adorable tunic dress for Elise from Caroline and James....I can just imagine our sweet baby girl in 2 years from now wearing this dress with brown leggings and brown mary janes:)

David quickly learned that John Harrison didn't care too much about gifts when they were called "presents"....but when we called presents "toys," John Harrison suddenly was interested in opening them.

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. John Harrison seemed to have a much better grasp about what was going on this year than he did last year. We talked to John Harrison a lot about Jesus' birth so hopefully some of what we said will stick and his understanding of God will increase in the coming year! John Harrison has started saying "amen" when we pray to Jesus. It is SO, SO evident that John Harrison is soaking up everything around him and we often see him imitate us ...we want him to grow up seeing Christ in us and through us, desire to know his Savior! We pray that learning to obey and submit to his parents will help John Harrison one day be able to submit himself to and obey Christ.

Here is a recap of our recent weeks---

December 17--David's parents watched John Harrison overnight while David and I had a night out. We ate dinner at Texas de Brazil (probably our favorite restaurant) and went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (80s rock band and string orchestra meets Christmas concert with pyrotechnics, laser lights, and dramatic monologue).
December 19--Sunday before Christmas--our local church had a Christmas service at night and during the service, all the children went to the front while our worship leader read the Christmas story from The Jesus Storybook Bible. David sat with John Harrison at the front during the reading...trying to keep our very busy 21 month old still and quiet proved to be quite the challenging task.
December 21--We had our master bedroom and bathroom painted (completed Christmas Eve evening...goodbye brown walls and ceiling from the former homeowners!).....we also moved up to king-sized bed!! Bedroom makeover pictures coming soon!!!
December 22--This day marked the one year anniversary of David's paternal grandmother's death. We miss Grandmother and spent some time with David's Grandpa.
December 23--We spent the evening at my parents' house for our family's traditional Christmas dinner (beef tenderloin, yummy veggie sides and desserts).
December 24--My siblings and their spouses and my brother-in-law came over for a "siblings get-together" at night. We also set up the Little Tikes playhouse that we got John Harrison for Christmas. Excited about being 27 weeks pregnant....one more week marks the beginning of the third trimester!!
December 25--We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at home with our little boy and let him see his new playhouse after breakfast. John Harrison LOVES his playhouse....(David and I set up the playhouse in the bonus room and John Harrison asks to go "stairs" (upstairs) several times a day to play in his playhouse)!! David's parents and brother came over for lunch and John Harrison opened several gifts from his grandparents and uncle. We quickly decided to save many of John Harrison's gifts for later days so he wouldn't be so overwhelmed by so many new things to play with (he still has 6 gifts to open!). Before taking his nap, John Harrison, David, and I went and saw Aunt Lisa for a little bit to wish her Merry Christmas. After John Harrison's nap, we went to my parents' house and exchanged gifts with my parents, grandmother, and siblings. Elise even received several gifts!!! David's brother joined us at my parents' house and then also joined us at a family get-together. We only stayed for a few minutes at the family gathering as John Harrison was getting worn out from a busy day and was ready for bed. After we put John Harrison down to bed, David's brother stayed at our house for a little while so we could spend more time with David's sister, Lisa Marie. We so missed having you with us during the day, Lisa Marie!!
Christmas Day marked three calender months till Elise's due date!
December 26--At night, we had our siblings (and their spouses) and first cousins (and their spouses/fiances) over for an informal get-together.
December 28--We (along with my cousins, dad, and siblings/spouses) spent the evening enjoying a delicious dinner at my aunt and uncle's house. My mom and sister were sick and had to miss:(

We have taken John Harrison to look at Christmas lights MANY times (including tonight).....he LOVES Christmas lights and I'm sure will be quite sad once this weekend is over and Christmas lights are taken down (yes, David did put up lights at our house...John Harrison gets so excited about our lights every time we drive home). These past few weeks have been busy, but so meaningful and memorable.