Skip to main content

Toby's first Christmas

He was hardly old enough to appreciate the wrapping paper, never mind the presents, but nevertheless 2010 was Toby's first Christmas, and he had the outfit to prove it.


It was also our first Christmas in our own house, in Texas, so it was quite exciting to decide how we wanted to celebrate it. In the event the celebrations got spread over several days, which might not be normal but was certainly fun! The original plans had to be reworked when Mom's flight was cancelled due to snow at Heathrow, so instead of arriving a week before Christmas she actually arrived the day after. We were just glad she could come at all, so cheerfully moved the big Christmas meal to Monday. It's still in the 12 days of Christmas, right?



Mom with children and grandchild

Christmas Eve is the day all the churches have services - one local place advertised five identical services, which made me think that their choir must have all had sore throats on Christmas Day! Our church plant had too few people around to have a service, so we went to their supporting church instead and enjoyed the good music and family atmosphere.


Toby meets Grandma

Christmas Day kicked off with cranberry orange muffins for breakfast, courtesy of
Nigella. I'd made cranberry orange muffins to a different recipe before, but these were definitely superior. I have to admit the cooking did have a bit of a Nigella theme this holiday; I'm a big fan of her recipes. We opened our gifts to each other in the morning, then John and Kristal arrived from their long road trip in the afternoon and we had another round of present-opening.


Next day we Skyped Graham's family, who had managed to rig up a webcam at his aunt and uncle's. Technology is wonderful - they all grouped on the sofa at that end, and we felt almost as if we were sitting in the same room! They enjoyed seeing Toby "live", having only seen photos up to that point.

Monday was Christmas Mark II, with more presents and much cooking. The star dish was ham cooked in Coca Cola (yes, a Nigella recipe) . This didn't quite work as planned; by the time it had finished simmering the meat was falling off the bone and it was all we could do to heave it out of the pot in one piece. It was beautifully tender, and besides, I didn't actually have any mustard powder or black treacle for the glaze, so we ditched the idea of finishing it in the oven and just tucked in.
Toby enjoyed all the extra company and seemed to develop by leaps and bounds just in one week. He's definitely smiling at people now, can lift his head up very well, and even gave us his first coo (though he still prefers grunting and wailing as means of communication). He's getting big, too - we just moved him into 3-6 month size clothes, even though he's not quite 3 months yet. It's sooo much easier to get him into slightly baggy than slightly too tight pajamas, and besides, I needed some new designs to look at! I know you all love them, so here's plenty of Toby-photos to finish with.



Snuggling with Aunt Kristal



Look at my toys, Uncle John!



Smiley happy baby



Zombi-i-e-e-e!



Big blue nappy (yes, he's mostly in cloth diapers now)



All dressed up for a winter walk

Family photo


Just cos I's cute!
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Nice to see that you guys are doing well. Take Care.

David G
11 January 2011 at 15:03
Anonymous said…
Hi Martha

lovly to see you all looking so fab, Toby looks a bundle of fun

Bristol's just been cold and wet for ages, hoping for a little spring sun soon

have bought myself a brevill cup cake cooker, 8 cakes cooked in 10min - yummy, wonder where i got a taste for those?

love
Su, from the Cafe
26 January 2011 at 04:19
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

National Forest Way: The End!

The National Forest Way finishes at Beacon Hill, Leicestershire, with beautiful wide-ranging views in all directions. I'd been hoping for a sunny day, and this one certainly fit the bill. The frosty earth lay under a glorious canopy of shining blue sky. I parked at Swithland Wood, close to where we finished the previous walk. Finding the waymarker on the first gate was bittersweet - this was the last time I would be following these familiar circles.   Swithland Wood had been acquired by the Rotary Club in 1931, and later passed on to Bradgate Park Trust. The lumpy terrain was due to slate quarrying. I skirted a couple of fenced-off pits. As I left the wood, I passed a lake which I assumed was another flooded quarry, but with an odd little tower next to the water. I followed a road up a steady hill towards Woodhouse Eaves. Many of the houses were surrounded by walls of the local slate. Woodhouse Eaves was a prosperous-looking village with some nice old buildings. Crossing the wide ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Original Limestone Way

Back in March, I finished a blog post with the words: "If I disappear for two sunny days, I'll be walking from Matlock to Castleton." And on a hot sunny day in August, Mom and I put on our hiking shoes and did exactly that, following the original route of the Limestone Way. Day 1 First, there was a hill: a steady climb through fields and along holly-enclosed paths, with a wide view up the Derwent Valley as our reward. We dropped down again on a stone-paved track and emerged in the village square at Bonsall. The cross was decked with rainbow ribbons, and bunting fluttered above us. All very cheerful. Another ascent took us to Upper Town, and then we were out into open fields heading towards Winster. The Limestone Way seemed a little shy of villages; the official route often avoided them. Mom and I preferred to visit, though, and enjoy such delights as public conveniences, postbox toppers and the local church. Winster is a pretty little place, I'm glad we didn't mi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Monthly Munch: July

The weather this month has been beautiful, so we've been out enjoying it as much as we can - fruit picking, fete attending, gardening and walking.  Preschool is finished for the summer; I've planned weekly themes in an effort to stay sane during the holidays, so expect a few activity posts coming up. Toby He wanted me to make a box into a TV.  Here he is eating his lunch in it. - has made friends with the girls next door, and is getting much more confident socially - still insists on always wearing odd socks - has been loving the sandbox our neighbours gave us.  Apparently they nicknamed him "The Sandman" at preschool due to his love of digging - pounced on a writing practice book I bought him, and worked his way all the way through to P, doing really well at tracing all the letters. - won the hula hoop race at his first preschool sports day Athlete in action One of his great big Megabloks trucks Drawing a car with about a million wind...
Post a Comment
Read more