It Wouldn't be Christmas Without a Cold

  Yesterday we had an enjoyable Christmas as a family. Benjamin developed a cold this week and it seemed to really get worse on Christmas Eve. So much so that it felt like Christmas Eve 2007 as we were getting up every two hours tending to our little guy.

  So Cathy and I were a little weary when morning came around. We ate breakfast together as a family before going to the front room to open gifts. I don't think Benjamin understood what was going on as he just wanted to run around the house. 

  We had fun exchanging our gifts and watching Benjamin play with the toys he received. I think his favorite toy was a train that my Aunt Dorothy sent him. He was a bit impatient as Cathy tried to remove it from the box. Eventually he went down for a nap and allowed Cathy and I to prepare for the grandparents.

  By the time the in-laws and my mom arrived Benjamin was up from his nap and had a hearty lunch. He came running out to see his grandparents as if he was a fit of health. It looks like this kid already knows how to work his grandparents. 

  The lunch was a nontraditional one. Cathy baked a lasagna and we had the grandparents bring some side dishes. After lunch we headed back to the living room for round 2 of gift-giving. 

  We told everyone not to buy Benjamin any toys this year as he has too many already. But that didn't stop the grandparents from getting him things for him with which to play. Thankfully he did receive clothes and books which were on the gift list.

  Last night was a bit rough trying to get Benjamin to go to sleep. It too felt like last year as we headed out to look at Christmas lights in the hopes of calming Benjamin who was exhausted and unable to go to bed due to his stuffy nose and coughing.

 It worked thankfully and in the process I think solidified our family's first tradition. You see I've been thinking about what traditions I wanted to start with my family. When I was a kid my mom and I had a tradition of going to the movies on Christmas day. My dad and I made a tradition of going to watch the Bucs' training camp every August. These traditions are sentimental to me as they help me define my childhood. These types of traditions are things I wanted to try and create with my family. I just never expected it would be Benjamin who would be the one to establish the first tradition. Life is truly special when it's unexpected.