Liam's First Christmas

We had a wonderful first Christmas as a family of four. As expected, Liam was most excited about the playing with the boxes and eating the wrapping paper, and Evan thought all toy-like presents were for him. The Brothers YZ brought lots of joy to parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle, great-grandparents, and extended family who shared the holiday with them. The Brothers YZ are certainly very lucky to have so many family fans nearby. And, Mommy received a new digital camera with videotaping capability which should bring this blog to a whole new level for those family and friend fans living afar.

On Christmas Eve, we had a nice dinner at Nana and Grampa's house and exchanged gifts. Then, we all went to the Candlelight Service at our new church. Evan wore his new firefighter coat and brought along his blood pressure cuff from his new doctor's kit. If anyone fainted at church, the junior paramedic was prepared. Considering the service was an hour long at 7:00 PM, the Brothers YZ behaved very well with no escapes from the pew and minimal noise.

Of course, Evan was a little wired with the anticipation of Santa's arrival in the evening, but a second airing of Rudolph calmed him down. We left some candy can (not cane) cookies, chocolate milk, and carrots on the mantle, and out of Finbar's reach, for Santa, and Evan went to bed with little ado. A very devoted Santa, a.k.a. Daddy, got up at 1:30 AM to set up the presents and sleep on the couch in the living room to make sure that our crazy yellow labrador didn't tear into the gifts.

I actually had to wake Evan up the next morning at 8:00 AM so that we would be able to be ready for our 11 guests arriving at noon. Evan's first words to me were "Merry Christmas," and then he hopped out of bed and dashed downstairs. Of course, he proceeded to notice that Santa and Mommy had the same wrapping paper. He looked skeptical about my response that "Mommy and Santa shop at the same store." That kid never misses anything. Evan showed remarkable stamina for opening gifts from Santa, Grammy and Grampy, and the California Cousins. Liam was most thrilled with his freedom from the gated family room.

Evan and Liam had about two hours to rest and play with their new toys, while Mommy and Daddy scrambled to get the house back in order for our Christmas brunch. Evan showed remarkable restraint for a three year old and waited until after we ate to open the next wave of presents. With all of his practice with gift opening in the morning, he was too fast for Mommy to keep track for thank you notes so some blog readers should be forewarned.

In the midst of all of the holiday reverie, Liam has acquired a few new skills. He is walking holding onto one hand with great ease. He has taken one step before tumbling onto his bumble. And, tonight at Uncle Brian and Aunt Meg's house, he learned how to crawl up the stairs. As Evan is fond of saying, "How exciting!"

Speaking of exciting, check out my first video footage from my new camera. The quality and content will only improve with practice.