The McJannets have survived their first holiday season with baby. It only gets better from here, right? (All the parents of toddlers are saying "HA" out loud about now.)
This year we went to FOUR family gatherings with upwards of 40 people at one of them. Aidan was Mr. Social Butterfly. He played with his cousins and charmed the great aunts. He must have had his picture taken hundreds of times with great aunts and uncles he's never met before-- but he took it in stride and smiled in his "My First Christmas" outfit and Santa hat. He napped between parties (man, I wish I could have done that) and attempted to catch a few Z's at our last gathering of the evening, but who could sleep soundly when you've got a rousing game of charades downstairs?
Paul and I were pretty much exhausted by the time we got to his parent's house. Aidan, fueled by his naps, was wired. We didn't get to bed until 2 a.m.!
It was that night that we decided to take it easy and stay in for New Year's Eve. We were invited to watch the fireworks from our friends' condo in Queen Anne, but the thought of getting stuck in Seattle traffic with a baby at 1 a.m. was too much for us. We're not really partying folk anyways-- when we used to live in Eastlake, we'd watch movies (actually, Paul would watch the movies and I would fall asleep) just step outside and take in the fireworks. Then we'd go to bed while everyone else whooped it up.
New Year's Eve day was spent putting up baby gates at the foot and top of the stairs because Aidan has become quite the stair climber. The problem is that he is less proficient going down the stairs and when you're not looking, he will do it whether you are there to catch him or not. I am not in any hurry to see him walking. I'm still getting used to this stealth crawling he's doing.
He got loads of toys for Christmas, but his mainstay favorites continue to be our metal end table (which he likes to teethe on and hang on to) and an empty Huggies diaper box he likes to smack his hands on.In less than three months, Aidan is going to be a year old? How the heck did that happen?
I'm looking forward to the antics the little guy has in store for us this year. And I resolve to post about them on this blog.
