It's the most wonderful time of the year....

Our Christmas tree! (and Kemper, trying to get into his present)

Christmas is upon us here at the Hayes household! We decorated early so that Kemper would have a Christmas tree at his house for his first Christmas. We will be taking the tree and other decorations down on Sunday in preparation for our trip to the States. Kemper LOVES his Christmas gifts from James and I - we went ahead and gave them to him so he could play with them before we leave. We initially planned to give them to him on Sunday but since he wouldn't really get to play with them before we leave, we thought we'd cave and give them to him early.

With his presents!

In the past 2 days, we seem to have gotten a little break in the sleep department, but of course, with our trip to the States, I'm sure we'll have to start all over when we get back to Germany. I'm scared, to put it mildly, to see what the time change does to Kemper's schedule. My dad has joked that he's going to nap the night we fly in and when we get to their house, he'll be rested and can stay up to play with "the Kemperman". Um, Dad, I hope you're serious, we'll take you up on that offer! ;)

He's a handful

The logistics of packing for an 8 month old for two weeks is mind blowing. I mean, packing for a weekend trip with him, I feel like I pack the entire house minus the kitchen sink. However, anyone who knows me know that I cannot pack light for anything. I'm driving James nuts with my planning of what bags will be our carryons and what we will have in them. He's ready to kill me, I'm sure. Making sure we have room for the bottles, formula, food, Cheerios, diapers, wipes, extra clothes, toys that will entertain Kemper but not annoy all of the people around us, a change of clothes for us in case Kemper explodes on us during the trip, the camera, passports, computer and the list just goes on and on.

So, Monday, if you happen to be in the Detroit airport and need a laugh, just look for us. We'll be the family with a baby in a stroller, probably crying from being cooped up on a plane in our laps for 8 hours and exhausted because there will be entirely TOO much going on around him for him to sleep, and two parents who look like pack mules with bags hanging off of us as we schlep our way through the airport trying to find out next gate. Merry Christmas, we're on our way shortly!

Before Church last Sunday

Santa Baby

The tree is up, we've done as much shopping as we can online, and Kemper's ready! He hasn't tried to mess with the tree much, but he's beginning to get more curious about the large thing on a table with lights hanging off it. Those lights are just mesmerizing! We wrapped on of his gifts and put it under the tree - it took him all of 10 seconds to figure out what he was supposed to do with that wrapping paper.

Looking forward to seeing everyone over Christmas - as usual, we're going to be very busy and will need a vacation from our vacation when we return to Germany.