Leif Magnus (King of the Legos): Christmas Day

Our new tradition (started last year...two years in a row qualifies as a tradition, right?) is to host Aaron's in-town family members at our house on Christmas Day, which is also Granny G.'s birthday. Granny, Grandpaw, and Auntie Sarah came over around 3:30 and played with Leif for a few hours while I puttered in and out of the kitchen, finishing getting dinner ready. Since Granny G. has a history of showing up to babysit with a Matchbox car or two hidden in her purse, Leif had a *hunch* that some of the presents piled in the corner of the living room might possibly be car-related. Smart kid. Suffice it to say that Leif's collection now contains just about every variety of Matchbox car, truck, and van under the sun, and he is happy as a little clam -- that is, if there are any clams out there that go "Vroom, vroom, honk, honk, honk!" all day long. I am truly curious to see how long this car obsession lasts and what (if anything) will eventually displace it. For now, it makes him happy and keeps him occupied, so I am all for it!

Once it came time to sing "Happy Birthday" to Granny later in the evening, we discovered what a good device singing that song was to make Leif pay attention and smile for pictures. He LOVES the song and consistently grins, claps, and exclaims, "Yaaay! Again, please!" after every time it is sung. We probably sang it a dozen times over the course of the rest of the evening, either at Leif's request or for a photo op. I hope he still likes the song this much by the time his own birthday rolls around at the end of February!

Leif with the birthday girl