A White Christmas

We were in Portland for Christmas and it was a busy and fun week. Here are some highlights, lowlights and general observations.

Highlights:

It snowed on Christmas!!!! Marco's first ever real snow and it was on Christmas.

We saw lots of family and Marco thinks all his uncles and his aunt are great. Way more fun than mom and dad. Aunt Heather showed him her kitties and showed him how they like to sleep on tissue paper. At one point, she asked Marco if he wanted a present. He said "Okay" and she gave him a little bag with tissue paper and a Blue's Clue Blue Puppy. Everyone thought he would love this gift, but instead of getting really excited with the gift he grabbed the tissue paper and ran off. He took it into Heather's room and gave it to her cat! Then he came back out and got his new toy. How thoughtful.

There are lots of dogs in Portland as both sets of grandparents have dogs. This was great news for Marco. He enjoyed feeding them, playing with them and I think eventually liked getting kisses. They of course enjoyed it when he dropped food. Marco quickly learned where the dog food was and that he should not eat it. Grandma has a stuffed puppy and he loved this. At some point I caught him shoving the puppy's nose in the dog's water bowl and trying to put food in its mouth. He had already learned what fun it is to feed dogs by giving them treats. If they did not eat fast enough, he would assist them by pushing the biscuit into their mouth. He loved playing chase with Jackson. Endless circles around the family room.

Marco definitely knows what presents are now and how to open them (maybe that should be a lowlight!)

Marco got to play with Jayla. At first, they didn't really seem to get along, but when we were leaving, they got all lovey-dovey.

We went to the Grotto for the Festival of Lights. Marco loved the lights and really had fun at the petting zoo. He got to feed the goats and sheep.

He learned to play the most important game he'll ever learn.

Lowlights:

We got on the plane to Portland and the first thing Marco did was climb under his seat and pop his head up behind him. Then he proceeded to get stuck. On the flight back, we had the worst landing any of us have ever experienced. The wind was horrible.

Marco discovered what presents are. He found one for Becky the day after Christmas and got really mad when it was taken away from him before he could open it.

He also discovered how yummy cookies are. When Brian took a bite of his cookie he cried and cried. Then Brian gave Marco a bite of his cookie and Brian cried right back at him.

General Observations:

On Wednesday we went to Beni Hana for lunch with Grammy, Grandpa, Ben, Brian, and Dan. Marco fell asleep on the way to the restaurant and proceeded to sleep through the entire meal. I ended up putting him in the Ergo on my back while I ate (we didn't bring a stroller) and he just slept and slept. Sleeping didn't go all that well in Portland and with so much excitement, it's no wonder he was really tired.

Well, I think that's all I will write about Christmas since I am writing this only two weeks late :-) We hope you had a great Christmas and New Year's.