Daniel,
Tonight we had a special time celebrating Christmas with our little family. All week we have been preparing for Christmas, day by day, adding new decorations to our house. Last weekend your dad put up the house Christmas lights. He got down decorations from the attic. We also started to light Christmas candles that smell of evergreen and other festive scents, and you enjoyed seeing and smelling them. On Monday, I washed our special 12 Days of Christmas drinking glasses and moved the ceramic lighted tree into our kitchen to see. On Tuesday we strung a garland of snowmen together and hung it in the kitchen near the table above your high chair. We also read a Christmas book with several traditional Christmas icons and taught you the vocabulary. On Wednesday, I hung two more Christmas wreaths on doors. I also put out the small nativity and we practiced saying Jesus. On Thursday you moved the window clings we'd put on the patio doors around. You enjoyed the train stickers, but you really enjoyed the nativity. You carried Jesus and his parents around the house and told me their names. I also put out a small Santa and you started to call him HAT (or AT? or Hatch?). On Friday I got out some more decorations, which included a set of nesting gift boxes. You played and played with them. I also bought a small tinsel tree for your bedroom and you watched as I hung small ornaments on it for you. I put two other small, artificial trees in the living room and a few other decorations on door knobs. You were delighted!
And on Saturday, we planned a date for our family. We started by reviewing Christmas vocabulary, but you have really mastered it. We ask you to identify Santa, Jesus, candy canes, wreaths, etc. and you can easily do so.
First we made hot cocoa for everyone and watched the opening scenes of a Christmas movie your dad loves, Christmas Vacation. You LOVED the cocoa! It was only warm for you since I cut it with half a cup of whole milk. You slurped down twelve ounces, and I shared some of mine with you, too. Here you are with your father. Note that you are wearing a special, Christmasy outfit.
Next we went to Bass Pro, a local outdoor equipment and sporting goods shop. They have a special Christmas area with Santa. They also have many motorized vehicles, and you stopped to explore them. You will not ride on these things alone for quite sometime based on your size and your impulsivity! But it was fun.
This store has many different decorations and lots of animals that have been taxidermied. You liked this lighted deer, though I am surprised you could identify it as a deer since it looks like a bundle of sticks! But you are a clever fellow.
When we went inside, the store was so crowded. There were lots of sales to see, but we were there on a mission. We wanted you to go and visit Santa Claus. The Bass Pro Santa did look friendly and his costume was nice. However, there was no line at all. You did not have an opportunity to get warmed up before we took you to see the Santa. Look at your expression.
We told you several times it was Santa, and tried to distract you by getting you to smile at your dad or listen to jingle bells. You just wanted the man to put you down. You kept pointing to the ground and saying, "DOWN!".
And then you started crying.
It was a fit. We couldn't help but laugh though. You looked really funny. The Santa didn't think it was so funny.
We did not order any of the professional photos. The free photo we received was good enough! And I did not want to torture you by making you pose again.
The Santa area was very loud. There were so many children playing shooting games, running around the ATVs, making crafts, and playing with other displays that were set up. You were quickly distracted. You noticed everything.
Your dad showed you the remote control cars. You can see he thought they were pretty neat. I think you did, too. You could not look at the controller and the car at the same time, so I don't know if you really understood what was happening. But your dad had fun!
He tried to explain this to you by putting you on the table to look at the cars as you pressed the button. But you grabbed for the car and broke the antenna off. I took you away so your dad could try to fix it. I guess you are just too young for a car like that!
Next we looked around some more. You liked the special Christmas train set that was on display. When other children left, we showed you it and let you press some of the buttons.
I think you liked the whistle noise, too. Your father and I both like the idea of a special Christmas train and town display, so maybe someday we'll have a trainset like this one. You will probably think its neat then, too.
The next photos are beautiful. They are not of you looking at Santa or his beautiful workshop area. You are looking in wonder and astonishment, the same way many children do look at beautiful Christmas decorations.
But you are looking at fish in a large aquarium. You waved to them, said, "HI!", and loved seeing them swim. We looked at fish for a very long time. You can say the word fish in your own way, and it sounds like 'Ffffffsh". You have been saying this word for two months, since your 15 month checkup, but these fish are much more impressive than the fish at our pediatrician's office. They are neater than the ones in your books, too.
After going to Bass Pro, we went to a restaurant to eat. This is a rare and special occurrence. Though we really do love you, it is stressful for us to take you to a different place to eat. You are a little picky about the food and you are VERY distracted by other diners, sounds, and decorations. This time you spent a little time coloring with crayons and sitting in the booth in our laps. You ate maybe five bites of food from our plates, and we were under pressure to eat quickly to get to our next destination and to be kind to your dislike of sitting still and quiet in a restaurant. You weren't TERRIBLE, but you were not a calm, peaceful diner, either. You made eyes at a table full of college girls and caused them to giggle. You pointed and loudly said,. "THAT!" at all the decorations on the wall and at every light. You fussed when we tried to get you to eat anything other than a French fry (and you only had two or three of those).
We next drove to our church to see the Christmas program. Last year our family was in this program, and I remarked at how much you've grown since you were Baby Jesus. This time, you were interested in all the decorations and you danced a little to the music. Unfortunately, we had to leave early. You soaked two diapers (all that cocoa!) and had a leak on my lap. You were also too talkative to be a good audience member. I think you did enjoy the time of watching the singers and also in seeing the church decorated so much. You did not notice either thing last year!
On our way home, we looked at many houses lit and decorated for Christmas. We could see many lighted trees in the windows. Our tree will go up later this week, and I think you will like it, too. You are so interested in our house lights and in the lighted nativity scene we have in our front garden. You are able to point to Mary and Joseph when we ask you to point to Jesus's mama and dad, but you can say Jesus. It sounds like 'Chu-Je-z-s" or at other times 'Jees".
This was a very lovely afternoon for us as your parents, and it was so pleasant to hear you sing along to the Christmas carols in your high pitched "ahhaaa"s and "ooooo- ou-ou"s. It is wonderful to see you delight in our favorite holiday as well.
Love
Your Mom
