Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime

Antonio had a great Christmas. He saw friends. He saw family. He dressed up like Santa. He scored tons of great gifts. What more could a one-year-old ask for? Pretty much nothing.
The trip to Oak Harbor started with a journey down to Mamma and Bonk's house. Bonk has officially gone mad. Take a look at his Christmas display.
Although he assures me, this is "green," I'm not so sure about it.

There was plenty of time spent with cousin Elijah, who has a habit of bursting into tears whenever Antonio comes near him. I think it's because Antonio conveys an image of pure strength, that he intimidates everyone he encounters. But probably not. It's probably because Antonio likes to grab his younger cousin's face all the time. As we waited for the actual big day to arrive, Antonio got to spend some time with cousins on the other side of the family.
As well as watch Dad rest from a long day on the picket line.Another big event was the arrival of his tent from the upstairs kids' bedroom. Finally Antonio has someplace to get away from all the craziness and read in peace and quiet.
Then finally the big day arrived. Antonio donned his fanciest Santa suit and got ready to open some presents.
You know what the best presents he got were? These ribbons.
Wait, I take it back, it was this leash and this string. Those were the best gifts.
Elijah got into the Santa mentality too. He enjoyed rockin' his maracas. (I don't know if that's an actual saying, but if it's not, it is now.)
Hello, cousin. I think Antonio likes his older cousin.
Havana tried to help with the gift un-wrapping. But she's not as skilled as Antonio is and got a bunch of paper and tape stuck in her fur. It's hard being her.
While Antonio can't decide what the best gift he received was, he knows what the best gift he gave was. Antonio and Elijah got together and created a giant frame of some of their best picture. Grandma and Grandpa loved it. It will hang with pride in their home.
You can see it too, if you want. Of course it's $10.00 to get in, and there's no flash photography allowed.

Here's Antonio trying to cheer up Preston. It's a long video, but he just wanted his cousin to feel better. He's such a sweet kid.

Antonio says, "Merry Christmas!"

Actually, he says, "ba boo doo doo," but he's working on "Merry Christmas."

But first things first, Antonio had a very busy week with a lot of visitors. First, his Great Uncle Doug visited. Too bad Antonio didn't have any fun playing on his lap. I mean, look at the kid, he looks absolutely miserable.

Then, Antonio had a play date with his friend Charlie. She enjoyed his recliner and jumped in and started to read right away. As much as he loves playing with older kids, he enjoys when older kids read to him just as much.

And then the presents started. First came a wonderful goodie bag from Brenda. The bag was great in and of itself, but there was cool stuff in it, too. And the coolest of all, candy canes for Havana. (She was so happy to be included. It happens so seldom lately.)
One thing he didn't like, however, was when Mommy and Daddy told him he wasn't allowed to eat the doggie candy canes himself. That part sucked.
After he calmed down, he knew it was time to see the Jolly Fat Man, but since he sees me every day, I thought it would be fun taking him to see Santa instead. he did a great job, he wasn't scared at all. He squirmed a bunch, and it made getting photographic evidence of his visit with St. Nick hard to get, but we still got a few good ones.

(Yes, that is my bald head at the bottom of the picture.)

And here's a preview of how much fun he's going to have with all the boxes he gets for Christmas. Enjoy.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

Book 'em, Antonio.

I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but Antonio likes books. He likes to read them. He likes to have them read to him. He likes to read them to you. He likes to throw them. He likes to eat them. He just likes them. A lot.

Sometimes he just doesn't want to read one book at a time. Why should he do that when he can read ALL his books at the same time, right?

Sometimes, when he's kicking back in his reading chair, he'll spot someone with a camera aimed at him. Then he does the only thing in the world he likes more than reading. He poses.

"Oh, you're taking my picture? Let me smile a little."

"Zoom in. Get a close up."

"That's it. This is my good side."

"This one's headed to the Sears Catalog."

After his photo shoot was over, he discovered a new fun game. Stacking books. Watch how high he can build his book tower.

Antonio Has a Murse

There's nothing Antonio likes more when Mom comes home from a hard day at work than to walk around with her... I mean his purse. He loves it. And he looks pretty cute... er... handsome when he's doing it, too.

When he's not carrying his murse around, Antonio's new favorite thing to do is to kick back in his comfy chair and read a book. Right now, his Cars book is his favorite, but he pretty much likes anything Cars, so that's not a big stretch. I'm pretty sure he's going to be a big reader.
We also have had some fun weather lately. First it was the snow, which Antonio was very interested in. He wanted to grab the flakes. Then, there was the monsoons. Antonio didn't like that as much, but he did try to grab some rain anyway.
At the end the end of the long day, after he's played and read and grabbed precipitation and chased the dog around, Antonio likes to settle down with a stiff drink, sing some songs, and start tossing stuff around.


The boy gets out of control sometimes.

Oh, and Havana's getting in the Christmas spirit.