When you have a new baby, you spend the entire year going through the 'first's'. First smile, first tooth, first step....pretty much everything is a first!! One of the things I was looking forward to for 2009 was Mason's 1st Christmas! Christmas over the years has becomes more commercialized and less about family and I knew that having a child would bring back that wonderful feeling that has been missing for so long. Getting excited about every details from the visiting to the tree! I really feel that Mason should grow up remember Christmas to be a time for family and giving, rather than heaps of surrounding a giant tree.
Although Mason is too young to understand what the holiday is all about, he had a wonderful visit at his Grammy & Poppy's, got to spend tons of quality time with Uncle Mikey. Spent some time cuddling with Mama & Papa (G-Grandparents) and Grama too (G-Grandma), met Uncle Bud for the first time and got to see Auntie Cheryl too. As well as a quick visit with Auntie Sylvia and last but not least spent tons of time with tons of Cousins! Cuzzie Leanne and her wee one Joni (Carl too!), met Cousin Sherry for the first time (and her boyfriend Shawn too) and Auntie Carol and cousin Brian. Wow! Lots of visiting. Since Mason is a vegetarian, he didn't enjoy any turkey but got a great taste of smashed potatoes!
Christmas day was a lot of fun! Mason had a great time ripping the wrapping paper open (a favorite past-time) and was spoiled by the gifts he received...
The Fisher Price Chatter Phone
A childhood flashback! Did you have one of these?
Mason LOVED this toy (thanks Auntie Faye & Uncle Warren!). This classic roll-along pull toy has a friendly face with eyes that move up and down when they pull the toy along the floor with the string. No batteries needed (yay) but does make a ringing noise when the rotary dial is used.
Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Tool Bench
Another great gift from the Tuttons! The red, blue and yellow shapes light up when pressed and the little people pop up as well. If you pull the on the green 'measuring tape' a cute little song plays. The hammer is removable (not great as it will end up lost) to help your little one smash the shapes along with anything else in sight :). Use the slider to select between a-b-c's, numbers, counting, colors and shapes. Requires 3 AA batteries (included)
Little People Rumblin' Rocks Dump Truck
A fantastic toy from Grammy & Poppy! This cute little yellow truck plays a song that will help Mason learn about “in” and “out” as he gets the “scoop” on how a real dump truck works! This toy comes with a removable 'boulder'' and Roberto little person figurine (also removable). Requires 2 AA batteries (included)
Playskool Busy Basics: Busy Poppin' Pals
Sophie the Giraffe & Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Learning Phone
Sophie was on Mason's Christmas Wish List! The perfect teething toy from Cousin Leanne! Sophie was born in 1961, made in the French Alps with natural rubber and non-toxic paint, She is soft, light, and easy to grasp and fits perfectly into little hands. Sophie makes a squeak when squeezed. Caution! Not a great toy around dogs, they want it!
The cell phone was a pressie from Uncle Mikey :) A colorful toy with music, sing-along songs, and lots off activities, it teaches: alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, words, opposites, actions and textures. 12 cell phone tunes, fun sounds and a light show. 3 AAA batteries required. (included)
Cars the Movie - Custom Cruiser
Note: Obviously that ain't my kid but I did not take a clear picture of the whole thing. I'll replace this photo with another one as soon as we inflate it after transport.
This was an awesome idea by Mommy and bought specially for Mason from Grammy & Poppy! The colorful ball pit comes with 20 soft flex balls which in my opinion was pretty cheap of them! We bought an additional 100 balls which filled the pit up nicely. Luckily Poppy had an air compressor in his garage or it would have taken hours to blow this sucker up. There are several air pockets which needs to be blown up individually. There are two walls that have extra features such as windows and open pockets (which we crammed balls into and pressed them to 'pop'' out. The ball pit lost a bit of air the second day but still held up quite nicely. This is a great toy as it will last for many years and the balls are relatively cheap.
My First Go Diego Go! Rescue Center Ride On
Mason's first ride on from Granny & Grandpa! We had to assemble this toy but it was worth it in the end because Mason loved it! It was perfect for his size and had a lot of buttons, sounds and movement to keep him busy! Has a removable plastic cell phone which instantly went into Mason's mouth but we had to take it away as the sticker (of the buttons) quickly disintegrated and started to peel away exposing glue. This little plastic piece is so small, I can see it easily getting lost or swallowed by the dog. The steering wheel moves the front two wheels.
Thanks to everyone who spent time picking out such great gifts for the monkey, he (and we) really appreciate it!
As you can see, that wasn't a TON of gifts and Mason also received some nice clothes too! He's well taken care of by everyone who loves him :)
For future Christmases I'd love to really involve Mason by:
- Helping Mommy and Daddy participate in buying a Christmas hamper for a family in need
- Picking out a Christmas tree from Evergrow Christmas Trees Co. which is a great service started this year by two UBC Foresty Grads who thought that renting out potted Christmas trees would be a great idea!
- Serving Christmas dinner at a homeless shelter
- Writing personal thank you notes for everyone who bought him a gift
- Watching traditional Christmas Movies with his a family
- doing a lot of other cool things that I can't think of right now!
In closing, I had a wonderful Christmas with Clayton, my immediate and extended family and great friends! I thank Mason for helping me see what Christmas is like through the eyes of a child (once again) and look forward to many many future holidays with him.