Christmas with a toddler

I think that title speaks for itself doesn't it ?!?

Wow ... just, wow.  Now of course, this wasn't T man's first Christmas, but I'm calling this his first REAL Christmas.  This year we got to do all the fun Christmas-y things.  Lights, presents, Santa, the works.  But what I loved the most was getting to experience all the joys and wonder of the season through the eyes of my son.  Everything was magical to him.  Every house with lights on, every snowflake, every gift wrapped package, every bobble and ornament on our tree.  It was a world full of enchantment and surprises. 

Christmas morning, we woke at 8 and nursed like usual.  Then, after a quick diaper change, daddy and I guided our little sleepy eyed angel down the hallway towards the living room.  Watching his beautiful face change from curious and confused to amazed and delighted was the best Christmas present a parent could ever wish for.  His smiled stretched from ear to ear as he (still a bit cautious) crept over to his gifts.  His Little Tykes car, his mega block building set and his Elmo indoor play tent. :-) "Where did these come from?" his expression seemed to ask.  He was both confused and excited at the same time.  Daddy and I shared a glance, thinking "success!"  One Christmas down, a lifetime to go ;)

That was the fun part of Christmas with a toddler.  But this is a 2 part story and the second part is a bit more ... exhausting.

We celebrated Christmas eve with my family and Christmas day with Hubby's family.  Now, T man does really well with his beloved grandparents and cousins, etc.  But shoving every family member into a 24 hour period, with enormous amounts of food, candy (hey, it's Christmas, don't judge me!) and of course gifts, can become extremely overwhelming for anyone, especially a one year old.  By the time we got to the in laws house, T man was already on Christmas overload.  All I can say, is thank goodness for breastfeeding! :-) halfway through the seemingly endless pile of toys and clothes, T man decided he'd had enough.  He simply walked away from everything and everyone and asked me for a boobie (sign language)  So right there in the middle of the room, amidst the chaos and celebration, we snuggled together and reconnected.  Sometimes T man just needs to recharge his batteries, so to speak.  He gets so overwhelmed with the world around him and he doesn't know how to process everything.  BFing is his way of slowing down and catching his breath.  So, there we sat, while his cousins continued to rip open package after package, oblivious to what was happening 3 feet from them. :-)  (I absolutely love how completely normal BFing has become for our whole extended family.)  When he decided he was ready, T man rejoined his cousins in the carnage of paper and ribbons and bows.   We nursed again several times that day before finally loading up the car and heading home. 

After a whirlwind Christmas we were looking forward to settling down for a peaceful evening.  BUT WAIT! What about all these gifts?  All these toys?  All this new laundry =( sigh .... no rest for the weary!  Time to clean house, rearrange furniture and find places to put ALL this stuff!!! .... sigh ..... no rest