This was Jude's first Christmas spent away from home and he had a blast. This is the first time he has spent with his cousin Lily where they were really able to play together. They did so much together (and we have dozens of photos of everything). On Christmas Eve we went to the local mall where they had a Santa (Jude wasn't into Santa at all this year) and a train just for kids. Jude and Lily rode the train together and they looked adorable sitting together in their little compartment. I snapped this photo just after the train ride was over.
Jude didn't fully understand Christmas this year but he knew it had something to do with presents. He received lots of presents at home before we left for Des Moines, and he received many more from his Des Moines family. My favorite was the matching chef outfits for Lily and Jude. If you look closely you can see they are personalized with their names. Lily and Jude also received a toy kitchen, but Jude is not going to officially get his until we move later in 2009. Jude really enjoyed playing with Lily's fully stocked kitchen while he was there.
Jude was lucky to have his very own room at Mandy & Nathan's house. He slept in a crib just like he did at home and for the most part he slept pretty well. Unfortunately he started to get a cold just as we were leaving so he was coughing and sniffling a lot but he was in good spirits most of the time. He loved playing with Baba and Grandpa, but most of all he enjoyed Lily's company. We took many, many photos of the two of them together but I think the one below is my favorite.
