Another Stokes: Traditions, Cookies and Happy Times

Christmas has come and gone and it was a busy but wonderful holiday. Over the past month we have kept ourselves busy, I wrapped up a busy semester at school and have been rewarded with several weeks off, Gavin and I baked cookies, we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas, we enjoyed the Living windows downtown, we put all our decorations out and added new ornaments to the tree along with new traditions for our family.

Gavin is starting to understand Santa and the whole Christmas meaning. I attempted to have a conversation with him while riding in the car about the meaning of Christmas and how it is better to give than to receive, 5 minutes into the conversation I saw him gazing out with window followed by 'mom look... a plane'. Although I know he's too young to fully understand I still feel it's important to pass this message along as it's how I feel, maybe I'll try again next year!!! I am a big fan of traditions and the warm feeling they give, therefore, we made our annual Christmas cookies (twice), we put the tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving, we put up new Christmas ornaments, and we went to the annual Living Windows. Along with old traditions I love starting new ones and I'm very excited about this one, I received as a gift 'The Elf on the Shelf' which I have been wanting for a long time. I read the story to Gavin and he chose to name him Rena but we'll see how long that name last. For those that don't know the store of The Elf on the Shelf, I will explain. The elf was sent from the North Pole to watch over the kids and report back to Santa whether they have been good or bad. He will then return the next morning in a different spot as the day before in which the kids will attempt to be the first to find the elf. Gavin realizes now that Rena tells Santa Claus whether or not to bring him "presents" but I'm not sure whether he fully gets it yet but I hope its a tradition that will stick and give some good memories in our house.

Gavin is growing and showing what a smart cookie he is. I just love our little guy. He has started singing Christmas songs and it's amazing how well he knows them, 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' seems to be his favorite. We had a great Christmas and Gavin proved what a good boy he was this year with the loot he made out with. I personally do not think we could get one more Thomas item in our house as I think he has just about everything there is. He got two more Thomas tracks so I think between the 3 tracks he has plenty to play with. He also got a big boy bike, powerwheels jeep, books, puzzles and games. He is going to have many things to keep him busy or so I hope!!!