Waiting for Santa: December 22, 2012

You better watch out
You better not frown
You better not push your sisters to the ground
Santa Claus is coming to town!

We don't have an Elf on the Shelf here, mainly because they're trendy and therefore overpriced.  We have mommy's way with words and sense of humor if Devon needs a reminder to be good.  If His Twoness happens to be struggling with something in particular, we make up a verse and sing it to help him remember.

We "do Santa" at our house.  Our cookie plate is ready for Christmas Eve and Devon enjoys watching the classic Rudolph movie.  We don't think it steals Baby Jesus's mojo.  He's God.  He won't be superseded.  Not a chance.

We're letting our kids delve fully into the world of imagination.  C.S. Lewis believed that fantasy stories prepared children's hearts for God because it helps them grasp the concept of there being more to life than what we can see.  Sooner or later they'll learn what is reality and what is made up, and it usually isn't a problem.  So for right now we're listening for reindeer on the roof AND pushing the step stool up to the manger scene so we can play with the pieces.

The kids met Santa at the Vero Beach Museum of Art a few weeks ago.  Melina struck a Good Little Girl pose, and Carrie pouted and tried to arch her back when placed in his arms.

We didn't think poor Santa could hold all three kids in his lap at once, a feat that only Mommy attempts on a regular basis.

Devon and Santa put their heads together, having a sweet whispered conversation that Mommy decided to keep private.  Devon said he asked Santa for "A Surprise!"

Now that's going to be a tall order.  They say there are no secrets in a house with small children, and Christmas is definitely no exception.

Three weeks ago a Little People Disney Princess Castle and a Lightning McQueen Wheelie Car Rampway arrived from Uncle Tim and Auntie Bojana.  Mommy opened it late at night when she was up with teething Melina, who forgot her sore gums and jumped out of Mommy's lap to throw her skinny arms around the box and hug it tenderly.  When Mommy finally put her down to sleep she was too tired to clean up.  The presents ended up in the pack-and-play in Mommy and Daddy's room.

The next morning's first ray of light found Devon stumbling into Mommy and Daddy's room, finding the new toys in the pack-and-play, and shrieking with delight.  He leapt over the side and held the box over his head, kissing Lightning and Mater Car and exclaiming "Oohh, it's so beautiful!"

I didn't see the point in faking him out or, worse, telling him the toys would have to go back to the store because he had spoiled the surprise.  I calmly told him that the toys were for Christmas and he would have to wait until then to have them.  He took it pretty well.  Ever since then he visits the toys once a day, kissing them and asking me when he will open the box. He's found nearly all his other presents in similar fashion.  While helping Mommy unpack the groceries he opened a bag to find Dumbo the stuffed elephant.  When Mommy told him not to chase the kitty, he chivalrously decided to "go tiptoe" and open a door so she could crawl under the bed.  The kitty was left to her own devices when he revealed a row of brand new engines waiting to be placed in his Christmas stocking.

Daddy painstakingly wrapped his presents and stocking stuffers this afternoon, placing them neatly at the bottom of his side of the closet.

These are Mommy's presents and stocking stuffers.  It's not just a personality difference, although that may be part of it.  Mommy had fifteen minutes today to wrap presents, if she did it while keeping track of two wiggly girls fresh from a nap.  Daddy had two hours to himself this afternoon while Mommy and Devon got their hair cut.

Devon is not a fan of haircuts, but he bravely endured one this afternoon for Grammy.

Or not so bravely.  Poor guy.  Not even one of the brand new engines from Mommy's stash could keep all the tears away.

Grammy and Grandpa flew in late Sunday night.  It was a strange reunion for the girls, who remembered seeing Grammy and Grandpa in North Dakota just five days prior, but the first time Devon had seen them in four months.  When they walked up to the car window he shrieked with recognition, waving his arms and rocking in his car seat.

We started celebrating right away.  We enjoyed Devon's TOTS Christmas Party.

We walked through the McKee Botanical Gardens at night.

Devon attended his last night of Awanas this fall with Grammy.  He's learned so much in just one semester.  One recent breakthrough is that he willingly stuck his hand in paint to make a handprint for a craft.  He's usually squeamish with non-food squishy things.  

Mommy and Daddy enjoyed attending a Christmas Party with only two kids to chase around.

Devon still needs reminders to be gentle with his sisters.  Carrie and Melina link hands and start running around the house.  Devon follows them making choo-choo noises.

"I'm making a train!" he shouts.

When they finish a lap and slow down, I'm pleased to see that he lets them instead of reaching out and grabbing them to make them hurry up.  Suddenly, Devon reaches into the open dishwasher, grabs a butter knife, and takes a step toward Carrie, laughing.  Horrified, I grab the knife out of his hand and we have a talk.

You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not chase your sisters with knives
Santa Claus is coming to town!