Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve re-do

The Troescher family has always celebrated Christmas together on Christmas Eve.  It started (for me, at least) at my grandparents house and has now moved on to my Aunt Louie's house.  The traditions haven't changed:  Same artificial tree, same ornaments, same decorations, same candy dish, same candy (yep, the candy has been stuck in the same jar since the 70's), same food, and mostly the same people.  There have been a few additions along the way, but it seems as though this family doesn't really like change.

So, this year it felt a bit strange when my mom stayed home with a stomach bug and my sister's family was three hours away in their new town.  Add in a mix up with the chicken wings, and Christmas Eve felt just a bit off this year.  

Don't worry, all was not lost.  We still managed to squeeze in a few old traditions and we created a few new as well.  We even got to stretch out the Christmas celebrations with a birthday party/Christmas Eve re-do on the 28th.  Overall, it turned out to be a great Troescher celebration.  

Every year since I can remember, it has been my job to put the chips (always Husmann's) and dip (always Trauth) into the same old chip n' dip tray.  I'm sure it began as a way to keep little hands busy and distracted while we waited to open presents.  There have been a few recent years where other little hands needed to be distracted, and I happily shared my job with my nieces or nephews.  But this year the job belonged to Jack.  He quickly learned the benefits of being the chip n' dip maker:  taste testing!  Your Great-Grandma Troescher would have been proud, Jack!

Jack missed having his cousins around, but don't worry:  he still got plenty of attention!

Christmas Eve Re-do:

Santa paid the Troescher house a visit on Wednesday night.  It was nice of him to stop by after his busy week!  He tried to read the Christmas Story, but poor Santa's glasses kept fogging up in the warm house.  It's a good thing he knew the whole story and was able to share about Jesus' birth!  

Not a happy kid.  Poor guy!

Drew

Lily

Mara

Sam

Titus

The whole crew

Christmas time with Cousins

Last week Jack and I took a road trip with my Aunt Louie to visit some of the Koesters clan.  West Lafayette is a far drive for one day, so we met in Indianapolis.  It was my job to research a good place to meet up, and I absolutely missed the mark.

I found Circle Center Mall in Indianapolis, which I assumed would have a Santa -- or at least a place to play.  We did find an arcade inside the mall and this is how we spent our time together:

These two pictures made me giggle.  Next time, I'll find a Santa!

We did find some more 'family friendly' games, too.  

We even managed to snap one group shot before we left -- thank you Talbots for lending us the backdrop!

Climbing and Gates

After weeks of army crawling, Jack is branching out and trying to climb.  He's interested in the steps at our house, but can't seem to get past the slippery hardwood.  So, when he found a box pinned up against a corner, he thought it was the perfect place to pull up and climb!

Man, this has been fun!

Jack is obsessed with doors and gates these days.  He likes to open and close them and play peek-a-book with anyone behind them.  On this day he figured out that you can throw toys below the gate and send them down the stairs.  I think that by the time he was finished his whole basket of toys was gone.  

Golden Lamb 2011

The Samad Family has been dining at the Golden Lamb every Christmas season since Jacob was about five years old.  So, if I'm doing the math correctly, this year was their 25th trip to the historic inn

Last year Jack was sound asleep through most of dinner, but tonight he was wide awake and a part of the festivities.  He did a great job sitting through a long evening, and was willing to try everything we fed him.  He even ate the pickled watermelon rind with not so much as a grimace!

My handsome men

Every few years our timing is perfect and we get to hear the carolers that perform in the restaurant.  Jack really enjoyed listening to them sing and clapped after each song.  

Joe and Christy

Carl and Mom

Christmas Tree 2011

  

Jack was a great helper when we picked out our Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving.  He pointed to the one he wanted, and we bought it.  It's a good thing it was a good looking tree!

I choose that one!

Samad family tree 2011

Jack was very curious about what Daddy was doing with his new tree...

Watching Daddy work

Jack has a few ornaments of his own

Uh Oh!  Jack figured out that there is water in there!

Thanksgiving 2011

We are lucky to have two Thanksgiving Day meals - lunch at the Troescher's and dinner at the Samad's.  The day couldn't have worked out much better with Jack's schedule.  He was able to eat, nap, and eat.  Perfect.  He loved both meals and ate everything we gave him. 

After watching his first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Jack was ready to eat some turkey!

His bag was packed and he was ready to go!

Jack was happy to be dressed like Grandpa Jack...but not so happy to be dressed like a turkey.

Grandpa Jack would have loved the sweater vest.

Jack was able to enjoy his first schnibble - the Samad term for sneaking pieces of turkey while it's being carved. 

Yum!

Thank you to our parents for the great meals!  Our bellies were full and we lived on great leftovers for a week!

Learning to express himself

Jack has recently been giving us a look when we tell him 'no' or when he's upset.  Here's a few shots of his new expression:

Tired and hungry on Thanksgiving

Who knows why he's giving me the look here...

After I told him to stop eating all of the chicken!

All finished with pictures

It's hard not to laugh when looking at these pictures,  but it's not always funny when we're in the middle of one of these looks.

More fun in the kitchen

Jack is a great helper in the kitchen.  He seems to enjoy it and I love that we have something to do together.  I'll often bring all of the ingredients and bowls down to the floor and give him the chance to pour and stir. 

Sometimes it gets a bit messy...

Making pancakes - the spill was accidental. I was proud of myself for rushing for the camera rather than the broom.

He loves to play in the spice cabinet

Sometimes it's hard work....

Assembling a quesadilla

And sometimes it's hard not to sneak a bite....

Someone was hungry!

But it's always fun to clean up....