Merry Christmas, 2006!

What a fun Christmas we had! Evan is at a very fun age this year to really be able to experience the joys of the season. We were very busy celebrating. Evan loves Santa again this year! He sat in every Santa's lap that we saw. Mimi won a silent auction for a Private Santa Party at her house so that was tons of fun. I really enjoyed taking pictures. Email us for a link to Shutterfly to see them. We have some that are just priceless, like Evan wearing Santa's hat and Evan hugging Santa and sucking his thumb.

We really enjoyed all of our Christmas traditions as a family; it's hard to believe that this is Evan's 2nd Christmas home. Boy time flies now that he is home. He is such a joy! I know... you're right...I always say that...but I mean it. He has so much love to share and loves to hug and kiss us. Whenever we've been gone, he greets us with the sweetest smile and says, "I been missin' you!"

Christmas was GREAT! Evan had so much fun...and loves everything Santa brought him. He told us on Christmas Eve that Santa didn't come see him when he lived in Russia. Boy, did that throw us foTryingrve...trying to come back with something to say to that. We later found out from Judy Holmes, (who was visiting her son over Christmas at the baby homVladimirr. Validimir (the director of the baby home) dresses up as Ded Moroz (Father Frost) and delivers an apple or orange (a treat) to the children.

Christmas night the three of us laid on the floor together watching The Santa Claus with Tim Allen. Evan was lying in the middle of us and I asked him what his favorite Christmas present was. He rolled onto his back and put one hand on me and the other on Clay and said, "My Mommy and My Daddy." How sweet is that?!?! I believe that he understands so much more than we give him credit for about what it means to be in our family. We then asked him what his favorite toy was and he said that it was his Art Easel.

He loves to paint pictures on his art easel. His first picture was of an airplane flying over our house and Amm and Ampa's house. And it is very good...I believe we jusfuturet have a futrue artist on our hands. He also painted a picture of our house (which is "Bulldog Red, Yellow Jacket Yellow, and Green") next to Aunt Carol, Hannah and Uncle Mark's house. He painted dots on the house and when I asked him about them he looked at me like I was crazy and said, "They're windoooows, Mama!" He also added a door and steps. I dictated onto the paper what he said about everything. When he painted the airplane at the top, he said, "Tell Aunt Carol, Uncle Mark, and Hannah that we are in the plane...as to say...you can't see us and I'm not going to paint us but we're in there.

He also got a 4-wheeler for Christmas from his Amma and Ampa. I agree...he's just three! I lost that battle LOL! "A 4- wheeler, Reeeeeal 4-wheeler!" as Evan would say. He is so cute riding it through the pasture, with his helmet and head bouncing with every bump.

One of his favorite gifts was from Momi...a Dare Lion like the one that Mr. Ken Malcom gave him when he first got home. The Lion from Mr. Ken was Evan's favorite stuffed animal, he loved to play with it's hair. After MUCH use...the hair "wasn't soft" anymore. When Evan opened the bag and saw the Lion he held it so tight and said, "My needed a new one of Every nightove him." So now...everynight we have to make sure that he has his Monkey, "Monk", his hairy ball, and both Dare Lions.

Much to his Pop's liking and much to his Daddy's disliking...he is all about the Georgia Bulldogs right now. He even asked Santa for a Bulldog hat for Christmas...and to Mommy's surprise, he got one! Everything red is "Bulldog Color" so much in-fact that I had him start saying "Bulldog Red" because he wasn't going to say just red. ;-)

Merry Christmas,
The Hodges Family...Family of Three!