Christmas time is my favorite time of the year because I LOVE decorating the house! And this year was especially fun because we got to put outside lights in our yard and etc. Living in Florida for so long, we forgot how it was to see Christmas lights on houses. The majority of people in Florida (or at least where we lived) live in Condos or Townhomes and no one really decorates outside not to mention it is warm normally so it never feels like Christmas really. Another joy of Christmas is taking Chase to see Santa Clause. To jog your memory, last year Chase slept from the moment Santa held him to the moment we placed him back in his stroller. NOT THE SAME OUTCOME THIS YEAR! Chase was not happy when we handed him over Mr. Clause. He freaked out and started screaming right off the bat as he was pushing and trying to escape from the grip of this poor jolly fat man. In conclusion, the picture (I'm sad I didn't get a digital copy) was hilarious and we loved it! It totally showed my little protesting one year old's new "my way or the highway" personality. I have my work cut out for me already!
Christmas Day was so much fun! Even though Chase did not really grasp the concept of Christmas morning yet, we did try to make it special. We walked into his room once he woke up at 8 am and he had the biggest grin seeing both of us (as opposed to the usual one of us while the other one sleeps)! We walked down the stairs trying to hype him up. We had the tree lit and the presents from Santa unwrapped under the tree for our little man. My wonderful Husband put together a talking/singing rocking horse that we got for Chase and Chase LOVED it! Well, for a second. He then was busy playing with the assortment of balls we bought him. The kiddo LOVES balls of all kind! He loves them so much that his first word is ball! Well, he says it more like "baaaah" to be exact. We preceeded to show him the wrapped from Mommy and Daddy that were still under the tree and he watched me open each one with a sense of excitment. I really cannot wait until next year when we get to actually use the "Elf on the Shelf" and hopefully he will understand how fun this time of year can be!
Another thing we did last month was try out MY GYM and join GYMBOREE. Both are just glorified mommy and me's. Lots of singing and bubbles and fun stuff like that. The only difference from these and our mommy and me in Florida is that they work on strengthening your baby's muscles in a sense. My Gym is kind of like baby gymnastics. Chase seemed to really like it but I thought the moms were a little weird. Maybe it was just the class and time we went but the vibe was all off for me. The teacher (who was wonderful) did put Chase up on a mini high bar that he held on as she helped him do a flip. He was so proud of himself (and so was I). Gymboree on the other hand is more like crawling through tunnels and learning how to go down slides and etc. And there are balls all over the classroom so you know Chase was happy! There is one thing that freaks me out about these classes, my son has a very short attention span. Both teachers said it is perfectly normal for a baby Chase's age to not want to sit and listen for a long period of time (they have several times where you all sit in a circle throughout class) and boys are less attentive than girls are. AND let me tell you, my son is ALL BOY! Now, I want you to imagine all these moms (and some dads) gathered in a circle and me holding Chase while he's kicking, screaming and throwing his head back until I put him down so he can escape and play with a ball. OH YES. It's awesome. I could see a mom of a little girl glaring at me out of the corner of my eye and I was MORTIFIED. Apparently I am raising a total Alpha Male. I am told this is just him showing his independence and trying to test me. And it's normally only me he tests! He's an angel when I leave him with the caretakers at our gym or his grandparents or anyone who is not me (haha). (On the flipside, he loves giving me hugs and kisses which I love!) I did read that children who are strong minded at a young age tend to be great leaders so hopefully that is just the case! LOL!!!
