Rollin' with Ronin: So Let Me Tell You About My Christmas...

Christmas started early this year, in more ways than one! I got to go see my Nana D and Pap on Christmas Eve, and I got to open presents, even though it wasn't Christmas yet! Nana also made me lots of fruit salad and special cupcakes, which everyone kept saying were muffins, but I know a cupcake when I see one. I got to play with my Mom-Mom and Pappy, and my goofy Uncle Scott, Aunt Pam, and cousin Megan, and was so worn out from the morning that I was asleep in the car before we got home. I felt refreshed after my 15-minute car-nap, so I wanted to play with my new engine, Rosie, but Mommy and Daddy insisted I go to my bed and take another nap. This is where my stall tactics came in handy - they let me take Rosie to bed with me, so I had something to help me pass the time until they decided my quote-nap-unquote was over.

Our tree - I made my first Christmas ornaments in school this month, so we put them on the tree!

As for Christmas, all week long, Mommy and Daddy were talking about how Santa Claus was coming and that I had to be good and listen, and he'd leave me a bunch of presents while I slept on Friday night... well, then why were they surprised when I woke up at 4:15 a.m., ready to open presents?! I'd been really good all week, but they still made me go back to bed! But, at least I managed to go back to sleep in THEIR bed, hahaha....

Four hours later, they finally said it was time to go downstairs - and they were RIGHT! Santa Claus DID come, and he left me all kinds of presents to open! But of course, I can't do anything on an empty stomach, so the first order of business was breakfast. COOKIES!!!!! with chocolate kisses... yum! I'm beginning to like the "Christmas version" of Mommy and Daddy - they let me get away with eating dessert for breakfast!

Daddy helped me open some freight cars for my train set.

It was hard to be patient, but I managed to control myself! You'd be surprised at how distracting my Mommy's cookies are!

This was the coolest Thomas set I'd ever seen (and the biggest!) Once Daddy takes some pictures of the new-and-improved track, I'll post some pictures.

The only frustrating thing about getting Thomas presents is that I had to wait while Mommy and Daddy struggled with getting everything out of the boxes! I don't understand why every piece has to be locked down with four different steel ties, plastic bindings, and super-sticky scotch tape.

Anyway, Santa brought me lots of cool stuff for my Thomas the Tank Engine set - my Nana D gave me a little engine named Rosie the day before, and I got the big tender engine, Spencer, and some neat freight cars with aquarium and zoo animals in them. Santa also left me lots of supplies to do my artwork, including a big Ironman art book and an easel of my own!

This book has markers, stickers, puzzles, coloring pages, and all kinds of other stuff, and it's all about Super Heroes! Of course, I had to take a few of the IronMan and Spider-Man stickers out right away :)

This is my new easel. Priceless works of art forthcoming...

I LET the Grinch steal my bean bag - this is RoninGreyWho, waiting for the Grinch's heart to grow three sizes so I can get my bean bag back. In the meantime, I'll be playing on my living-room-sized Thomas track that my Daddy set up...

I had lots of fun playing with my stuff all morning, and then after I took my nap, we all went up to Nana K's house - we ate lots of yummy food (my favorite, of course - the dinner rolls), and I got to open even more presents. I had so much energy after dinner that my Aunt Michelle and I played "Ring Around the Rosie" in the kitchen about 100 times! I was the only one falling down, though, until Daddy joined in - he always has fun falling down with me :) We were having so much fun that we got home WAY past my bedtime. I still wanted to play when we got home, but since it was really late I had to go straight to bed. It's okay, though, because we've had a couple of days to play since then. It's going to be tough to go back to school tomorrow and away from my toys, but I get to see my friends and my teachers, and we can talk about Santa's visit!