I was so excited on Christmas morning when I heard little Jimmy stir from his monitor. The gifts from Santa were all ready for him under the tree and his stocking was stuffed to the brim with fun bath toys, things he could chew on and more. I had such a vision in my head of how that first Christmas morning would go, fully aware that he was only 9 months old and not quite capable of excitement or understanding. The night before, we read "The Night Before Christmas" and dressed him in adorable Rudolph jammies. He was irritable the entire day Christmas Eve, especially during Christmas Eve service, but I thought nothing of it. His appetite was also quite different, but the rush of events never raised a red flag in my head to think anything more of it.
But when he began to fuss Christmas morning, I heard something I don't usually hear through the monitor: congestion. Coughing. Sniffling. I figured it was just from the heat being on in the house (we enjoyed temps in the 70s just days before Christmas.) When we brought him down to see his toys and open presents, he ignored everything and went straight for the lights on the tree. Typical. He grabbed the entire bottom strand and yanked them off the tree and put them right into his mouth. For the remainder of present opening, the tree lights were off so he wouldn't be distracted. :)
And then, while we prepared a delicious Christmas breakfast, he sat in his highchair and began looking miserable. His eyes watered and became more and more red. He snatched his pacifier and layed his head down, something my little boy NEVER does. I swooped him in my arms and rushed him upstairs to his crib for a nap. Four hours later, he awoke just in time to play with his grandparents, uncles and aunt. His nose was runny all day and his cough got worse as the day progressed, but he was a little trooper and toughed it out. He even joined us for Christmas dinner, smiles and all.
It was such an indescribable joy to watch him on Christmas, though. Despite the cold that set in, he was so happy and loving. We explained to him that the day was really a celebration of the birth of Jesus, our amazing Lord and Savior. And filling our new home with the Kintigh and Fraser families made the day all that more complete. It was bar none the best Christmas I've ever had. The warmth that filled our home, along with laughter and spectacular food, was something I will not soon forget. I hope to have many more Christmases at our home!
And so here we are, a few days after Christmas. Jimmy and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary with dinner and a little bit of shopping (baby-free) but we worried about him the entire time we were gone. His cold still lingers and he has yet to return to his rambunctious self. My house is chalk-full of of toys that light up, make noises and sing. The upstairs smells of Vick's Baby Vapor Rub. Tissues and burp clothes are strewn about. It's the first time Jimmy has been sick in almost 10 months and it breaks our heart to watch him suffer. Life is returning back to normal, with Jimmy enjoying a long break from work and me continuing to stay busy with working from home. Baby Ethan kicks up a storm and makes his presence known to all, much like his older brother did. I'm getting bigger by the day and more and more ready to welcome him into the world. God has blessed us immensely in the past year and we can't even begin to fathom how amazing 2011 will be with Jimmy's 1st birthday and the birth of our second son. We are so thankful for such a wonderful 2010 and we warmly welcome 2011!
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