Christmas with people who have at one time or another had the last name Grammer

Well, except Lukas. He’s never officially been a Grammer, but his middle name belonged to a Grammer (my PaPa, Robert Oliver Grammer). Kevin spent the night with us Friday night and we watched Ice Age 2. It was cute.

Saturday, Nanna, Grandma Barb & Kellie came over, followed by Grandpa Grammer (aka Pappy G). We did the gift exchange thing with all of them and had lunch together. Lukas got more great stuff – he’s a lucky guy.

After G’ma Barb, Nanna & Kellie left, Lukas took a nap and G’pa Grammer and I disassembled the dried-out Christmas tree. It’s hard to undecorate a dried-out tree. The branches clamp down and don’t want to let go of the ornaments or lights. It’s especially bad when you just crammed the lights in toward the trunk all over and then came back over the first strands with more strands. Glad it’s over and G’pa even hauled the tree to DeWitt for me.

Rich missed all this fun because he was at work. He could *see all the pictures if he clicked here* and feel like he was there.

Christmas in Alexander

Not quite as far a drive as Purdy, Missouri – hooray! Friday afternoon we lunched with Grandma & Grandpa Holt and had Christmas with them. Lukas had spent the night Thursday night and stayed up way past his bedtime. Uncle Ricky, Aunt Amelia, Aunt Whitney, Cousins Kolby & Devon, and Whitney’s guy-pal, Steven, were all there at some point in our visit.

Lukas scored big time with a tent & tunnel system from G’ma & G’pa. He knew just what to do with a tent – crawl right in. We hooked up 2 tunnel sections to another tent and he had no problem going through the tunnel. He also got a flashlight to help him find his way in there. I got a picture of him in one of the tents, but managed not to get a picture of the whole setup. We’re leaving that at the Grandparents so all the boys can enjoy it together. I’m sure Devon will be crawling in no time.

Aunt Whit & Devon got Lukas a very cool bouncing spinning zebra that he can ride on. He can get on and off of it by himself – he is so big.

*Click here for the pictures*

Christmas in Purdy

Lukas on Christmas Morning

We drove to Purdy, Missouri Saturday night after Rich got off work. Grandma & Grandpa Holt and Devon came over to see us before we left. They gave Lukas dinner and a bath while I loaded the car and Rich got ready to go. We pulled out about 7:30pm, which was about an hour sooner than we'd expected. It was midnight-ish when we arrived and Lukas got his second wind. That was good though, he got to do some late-night visiting.

He went to church with Grandma & Grandpa Haddock and Uncle Kenny while Rich & I slept in. We had Church again on Sunday night and then Rich's cousins and thier spouses & children came over. We played dirty Santa - Rich & I are pros. We worked together to get what we wanted! Lukas received many swell gifts including toys, books, and clothes. We ate dinner around 11pm. Lukas was up way past his bedtime.

Santa came during the night and brought Lukas some lovely gifts. Lukas wore his "Santa Claws" jammies Christmas morning. They have lobster Santa's on them - how appropriate.

Grandma & Grandpa gave Lukas a "keepsake" train set. It is to be put around the tree for Christmas every year and Lukas will be able to pass it down to his kids. Wow, that's a long time down the road! It's a very elaborate train set with many moving parts, sounds and lights. It didn't work too well on the carpet, so we didn't get to fully experience it. Next year!

We drove home on Christmas Day - huge mistake. Luckily we found gas stations that were open to fill up, but there was only 1 restaurant chain open - Waffle House. I was tempted, but I wanted to eat & drive. We got home about 10pm.

We had a nice visit, too bad it was so short. Work was waiting for us and we had to return.

Want to overload your eyeballs with pictures? Click Here.

The Colbert Report

Stephen Colbert's secret is out - and I'm outing him. He was a baby model. Here is the proof:

Adult Colbert

Baby Colbert

Adult Colbert

Undeniable.

Making Christmas

Lukas made Christmas ornaments for relatives, and it was quite an ordeal. I used a Magic Eraser (Target's knock-off anyway) to clean the tub and the baby. I cleaned too hard on his leg and gave him a bit of an abrasion. Oops. He let me do it! *clickety-click for more messy pictures*

Christmas With Nanna

We celebrated Christmas with Nanna & Tinker on Wednesday before Christmas. We made it a casual affair with pizza from my now favorite, Damgoode Pizza. If only they delivered to our house...

Lukas enjoyed a slice of cheese pizza and some sort of fruit that I can't remember now - probably a clementine because he loves those. He got lots of great stuff from his Nanna, including his first "video game". It's the Little Leaps from Leapfrog - it works with the DVD player and has a baby mode (3 colored buttons) and a toddler mode (2 buttons and a joystick). After some difficulty setting it up, including a 20 minute call to Leapfrog, Lukas didn't quite get that the TV and the controller were related. I think he'll get it as he plays with it more.

Ah, 1 Christmas down and 3 or 4 more to go!

*click here for all the pictures*

Busy Bee

Christmas is almost here and it's rush, rush, rush. So, all I have time for today will be new photos...

Lukas & Daddy rake leaves and Lukas goes with Nanna to the Metro Christmas Party & rides a horse

Castle Stroud Christmas Party 2006

Ashley & Tom's Baby Shower

Merry Christmas!
jenn