Merry Christmas

This Christmas had to have been our favorite so far. Mason was very into the holiday this year. He was excited for Santa to come and loved opening presents (and there were plenty for him to open - thanks everyone!).

Another Tradition

Tonight we took part in another holiday tradition, this time with our friends.  Each year my friends and I make the trek to what is now Macy's on the Nicollet Mall to view the holiday display on the 8th floor.  This year's theme was "A Day in the Life of an Elf."  

When this tradition started, there were no kids.  Tonight, it was 7 girls and 4 kids.  Sadly we did not get all of the kids in a picture, but did get Mason and Henry nearby one another for at least one shot.

A Holiday Tradition

Today Mason and I took part in an annual tradition in the Wadley family, cookie baking.  It consists of making sugar cookie rollouts followed by decorating such cookies as if we are professionals.  Needless to say it is quite a process, but the end result is always delicious and festive.

On the First Day of Christmas...

After your ride on the Polar Express, we headed to Red Wing to celebrate Christmas with the Holden family (celebration 1 of 5 for the week).  Mason had a great time handing out the gifts to everyone and even enjoyed opening a few himself.

      

Polar Express

Today Mason, Grandma Geralyn, Corey and Megan all went on the Polar Express (AKA the Minnesota Zephyr).  Mason enjoyed his train ride very much (Thanks Grandma!).  

 

 

There was a visit by both Santa and some carolers on our ride.  Mason again made no eye contact with Santa, but got very excited when the carolers wanted to sing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and even sang along.  We captured this on video, but due to technical difficulties could not upload.  

What Didn't We Do?

Today we had a jam packed day full of activities.

1.  SNACK WITH SANTA.  We started our day at the Minnesota Zoo for the "Snack with Santa" event.  There was holiday music, a "snack,"coloring, ornament making (by me anyway) and of course, Santa.  Santa visited each table and gave each kid a gift (see stuffed giraffe below).  This is Mason's first close-up encounter with Santa since he was 4 months old.  As Santa got closer, Mason got more nervous.  When it was finally his turn to talk to Santa, he did end up sitting on Santa's lap, but did not make any direct eye contact.  He told Santa that he wanted Geotrax for Christmas and that he had been good, but again, made sure not to make eye contact.

2.  THE LITTLEST YETTI.  After our visit with Santa, we headed off to the zoo's monorail for a special ride/story called the "The Littlest Yetti."  Mason could have cared less that they were trying to tell a story during our ride, he was just more excited to be riding a train.

3.  DISNEY ON ICE.  After a short break, Mason and I headed off to Disney on Ice:  Mickey & Minnie's Magical Journey with Grandpa Mike, Grandma Geralyn, Auntie Emily and Tyler.  Mason watched intently through almost the entire show and clapped after every song.

I tried to get a nice picture of the boys at the show, but they were more interested in the spinning Mickey Mouse flashlight, which was compliments of Grandma & Grandpa.

4.  GOPHER HOCKEY.   After Disney on Ice, the entire Voth family headed to the Gopher hockey game versus Colorado College (compliments of Chris).  We were unsure of how the game would hold his attention, but to our surprise, he made is flawlessly through three periods of hockey and was quite the good fan.  Mason and Corey even banked some TV time in the process (again, compliments of Chris).  They were on both the Fox Sports broadcast and later on the sports portion of Fox 9 News.  During the game, Mason asked if he could play hockey with the Gophers, which may be Corey's proudest moment.

Mason very quickly caught on to the Minnesota chant that occurs after the Rouser is played. We captured two videos of this, the first one is of Mason chanting with the crowd and the second is he saying it by himself. 

5.  VISIT WITH CHRIS & MANDY.  We ended our busy day with a nice, but too quick visit with our friends Chris and Mandy.  Mason got to open his first Christmas present of the holiday season, which was a kid's digital camera.  Since Saturday, he has taken over 100 pictures and very much enjoys his gift.

My First Trip to the Denist

Today Mason had his first dentist visit.  Corey and I had very low expectations for the success of this visit.  Mason completely surprised us with how well he did, I would give him an "A" for this activity.  He cooperated with x-rays and the exam with no issues.  I hope all future visits go that well.