Here's the birthday boy playing taking a break from playing with the new Christmas toys to mug for the camera. Per tradition, Santa came while we were sleeping and we opened those presents before heading to Christmas morning Mass at 9:30 a.m. Afterward, Lego construction was the order of the day, with John helping Ed and me helping Daniel.
Since it was (relatively) warm and sunny and we didn't feel we should force a rest/quiet time on the birthday boy, we headed out for a bike ride after lunch. The boys were sporting their new face-mask hats (Christmas Eve gifts from Mom and Dad) which fit pretty well under bike helmets. Edward also decided he needed his new firefighter goggles to complete the ensemble.
In addition to riding the bike path, we were also able to test out two Christmas presents--walkie talkies from Santa (impressive range over a very large park) and rocket balloons from our Arizona cousins. After losing a surprisingly high flier to our neighbor's roof, we thought the open park offered a better launching spot. The wind caught one though and carried it to the top of an extremely tall tree. It was impressive while it lasted, but I guess they're meant to be indoor toys (no worries--there were 30 in the package, so the loss of two was not devastating.)
Edward had requested "vanilla cake with blue frosting and Buzz Lightyear" so this is what my meager skills (and an Amazon search for "Buzz Lightyear cake topper") allowed.
Presents! Again, with the theme, here he's opening a Buzz Lightyear sleeping bag with the Buzz Lightyear Lego from Grandma and Grandpa in the background.
After a birthday meal of bbq pulled pork with peas on the side, it was time for the big moment.
He went to bed VERY happy, but we were totally exhausted. I always thought a Christmas birthday would be hard on the kid, but at least so far he hasn't seemed to mind a bit. I think it's really the adults that draw the short straw.
