Christmas in the Bayou

This year, we weren't able to travel to see family for Christmas. Jon really didn't have the vacation time, and Brighton is still too young (and constantly hungry) to make a long car trip. We had a relaxing Christmas at home in Louisiana. We have now really started settling into life with a new baby. Will is now sleeping in his big boy bed once again (YES!), and there seems to be some semblance of a daily routine taking shape. Getting Will into his bed took much planning. I gave Will a 10-day countdown for getting out of his "crib," and we promised him he could open one of his big Christmas presents early if he successfully stayed in his bed all night. We even showed him the present each day to remind him of what he was "working" for. Mom and Dad had brought his train table down when they visited, and they even managed to wrap it. It served as the perfect motivation for little Will, and he sleeps beautifully. He is really enjoying the train table too. Unfortunately for Jon, it took 3+ hours to set the whole thing up once Will tore the paper off. (Not exactly just snapping the legs on, Dad!) Both Ed and Dad got a laugh out of Jon's pre-Christmas toy construction this year. Will received a Powerwheels John Deere tractor from Grandma and Granddad (Ed and Caren). He is still a little hesitant about riding it. He has really enjoyed his new Cars, especially since he has so many now. We thought this year we wouldn't have many presents under the tree, but we should've known that the Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles wouldn't let that happen! Thanks to everyone that went to the trouble of mailing gifts down here--Will had a ball tearing into his gifts. Brighton did a great deal of sleeping on Christmas day, which was fine with us. In fact, I got the BEST gift of all--two children taking a nap at the exact same time for over three hours, oh, it was phenomenal! We did get out a little over the holiday. On Christmas Eve, our neighbor, Kathy invited us to her sister's home for their annual family gathering. Her sister has seven children and 18 grandchildren, mostly under the age of five. Kathy only has one daughter and no grandchildren, so she has kind of adopted Will and Brighton as her grandchildren. We had a wonderful time. Will got to play with kids his age and we met several couples our age. Just being able to socialize with other moms was great. We actually met a Hokie there too! The house was an old, enormous Southern home and their were fireworks and lots of yummy food. We really appreciated being included, especially since we couldn't be around our own families this year.
I am looking forward to New Year's day, if for no other reason, than to be able to take down Christmas decorations. For some reason this year, I am chomping at the bit to get going on a new year. I think that I am craving more organization in my life, and I'm ready to establish more of a routine for this little operation I'm running. I've begun planning Will's preschool lesson plans, and I'm anxious to see whether we will be able to function as teacher and student. I think we'll be ok as long as I keep a sense of humor. :) I'm actually looking forward to trying this arrangement because I've been looking for an outlet for my need to teach. I would welcome any advice from homeschool/preschool moms on how to keep things running smoothly. For now, I will keep in mind that I may be overly ambitious, and Will is a smart boy who is already proving to be a quick learner. He is also very very sweet with his new baby sister, and I couldn't ask for better children. They are absolutely the most beautiful things to wake up to each morning, and I'm so thankful for my family (including my very hard-working husband) :)