Ian’s “Rockin’ Around the Citrus Tree” X-Mas Tour Part III (of IV)

Another quick update: Ian was in rare form this evening. He’s trying his hardest to master walking and mostly succeeding; he’s also trying to mimic the sounds we make and I have to say he’s impressive. When we’re done with the Christmas story, I’ll post a video I took tonight. I’m still smiling from having shot it.

For now, however, on with our tale: We got back to The Villages from our trip to see Great Grandma Betty, Chris, and Anne Marie with Grandma Sue on the 23rd. For details about those exploits, and our stay at Granny Sue’s house, see Parts I and II, below.

We arrived at Grandma Barb and Grandpa Ray’s on the morning of the 24th, and unpacked for our 4 day stay. Aunt Melanie, Uncle Ben, and Cousins Kaylee and Connor arrived late that night, just in time to get a few hours sleep before Christmas day; which went a little something like this:

We awoke the morning of the 25th to a pile of Santa’s handiwork and Cousin Connor hunched in a starting position as if awaiting the pistol to begin an Olympic sprint! In this image, is it me or is Ian quietly stuffing letters into his pajamas to play with later? See this image larger.

Cousin Connor was kind enough to distribute the presents and here takes a break to watch the babies open some of their gifts. We had a lot of fun together this vacation, building a Lego plane with Uncle Ben, and playing checkers! Grandma Barb also enjoys the show. See this image larger.

Ian – “FARMER JED! MA SAYS WE’RE SHIPPING YOU TO MICHIGAN! I’LL PLAY WITH YOU WHEN WE GET HOME, OK? I’LL MAKE DADA POKE BREATHING HOLES IN THE BOX, BYE!” In other news, train conductor Fred “Sparky” Burns is in stable condition after falling from his train engine. Best known for his trademark red hat, eyewitnesses say he was not fully on his safety nub before the accident. See this image larger.

“So how’d you do?” “Good, good. You?” “Great, check out this pile” “That’s my pile.” “No your pile is that puzzle.” “No, that’s YOUR pile.” “MAAAA!” Seriously these two got along so well, it was great to see them play. See this image larger.

Are they drinking or pretending to be the horn section of a band? Speaking of eating, we all had a good meal on Christmas day, and Grandma Sue joined us for the festivities! See this image larger.

Ian’s facial expressions have become more and more complex. Take, for example, this one, which can be roughly translated as “Pardon my intrusion, but I wanted you to know that I’m embarrassed about the state of my diaper at the moment.” See this image larger.

Did I mention these two got along great? See this image larger.

Mama and Ian share a giggle for the camera, before heading back in to play s’more with new toys. See this image larger.

Grandma Barb took this image a day or two after Christmas, and I knew immediately that this was going to be a great one. It is easy to assume that having a baby is only about the baby. But look at this pure, innocent joy; it’s infectious. He’s laughing at splashing water; and we laugh with him. See this image larger.

Ian liked Kaylee’s floppy hat, and spinning in the pool with Grandma Barb! This was his first time in water deeper than a couple inches. See this image larger.

The two-baby float was meant to be for one baby, but supported both of them nicely. It all worked out fine until Kaylee went to bite one of her toes and it turned out to be Ian’s. Perhaps that was for stealing her hat! 😉 See this image larger.

Wiped out from a long day of fun in the sun and stuffed with full tummies, falling asleep in the car didn’t take more than a couple minutes on this drive. See this image larger.

Kaylee – “Hold on a sec there, Mr. Boy…” (Ian – “ooof.”) Oops, I guess that lil’ Kaylee needs a couple more shots in the blog, don’t you think? See this image larger.

Hey Kaylee, what do you think of that Florida grass? Was that a raspberry? Well… you won’t think much better of the snow when you get home, I imagine. 😉 See this image larger.

No trip to The Villages would be complete without your first golf cart ride! Grandpa Ray carefully worked the pedals and steering wheel, while Cousin Connor acted as the restraining harness. See this image larger.

Don’t worry kiddo, we didn’t forget about you. See this image larger.

We had a blast getting members of the Johnson/Kunze/Chapman families together for Christmas, but it was finally time to head back for the frigid north. Grandpa Ray was kind enough to drive us to the Sanford airport at 4am in the morning. Thanks much, and great seeing you all! See this image larger.

The end? No, not yet! Part IV of our tour covers our visit with Grandma Marcia and Grandpa Dave, stay tuned! See this image larger.