Merry Christmas!!

Before I had kids, holidays passed by in a blur without much distinction from one year to the next. Not in a way that implies they were not special or meaningful, but a way that is without a frame of reference. I remember the Christmas I was pregnant with Lucy distinctively. She kicked like crazy when she heard my nieces and nephews going bonkers over opening presents. The next Christmas I remember her awake at all crazy hours of the night, sitting with her and looking at the Christmas tree, her first tooth peeking out of her gums shortly thereafter. Last year I was pregnant with Josh and had become slightly manic about getting Lucy this specific stuffed Elmo which so opened on Christmas morning to look at at shake her head and say, "no" repeatedly until I put it out of her sight. This year it all came together and the guy with the big red suit and Christmas in general made a big impression on Lucy.

These days it seems like right after Halloween the stores and the population in general sees Thanksgiving as a speed-bump that just happens to be before Christmas. And by Thanksgiving, stores are decorated to the nines, the radio has certain stations that go to an all Christmas music format and the machine that makes kids ask for certain things has already put the master Christmas plan into motion. I think we started talking about Christmas at the beginning of December. Nana and Pappa had gotten Lucy an Olivia Christmas book which she immediately adored. And by the second week of December our bedtime routine was reading The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and Olivia Christmas. We talked about what Lucy wanted for Christmas and from the beginning she pretty much stuck with her guns and would say, "a camera and a xylophone." Michael and I asked her what Josh wanted and she would say, "bubbas."

We got our Christmas tree early this year so we could look at it and enjoy it for a long time. Lucy liked looking at all the ornaments and "helping" to hang them on the tree. She called them "toys" just like her father and made the whole crew of the little snowman nativity set talk to each other and play. Lucy and I went to the Cape to visit Nana and Pappa and looked at the lights and the Christmas display at The Cape Codder hotel. There we had dinner and then waited to see Santa. As we were in line waiting Lucy was definitely suspicious about how things were going to go down. When it was her turn, she sat on Santa's lap and told him in her nervous voice that she wanted a "camera and a xylophone." She had her "I am repressing showing how scared I am right now," smile on her face as Santa's helper wrote what she wanted in Santa's big book. Then she got her first candy cane and it made the whole experience worth it. Who can blame her for being a little wary of Santa, he's big and hairy and sneaks around peoples houses in the dead of night. One of my nieces used to make her parents block the stairway with a chair on Christmas Eve to be certain Santa couldn't get up the stairs.

Josh got his first tooth and first ear infection right on cue around Christmas. He was pretty mad to have his first pearly white painfully poking its way through his tender gum. He'd chew on the chilled teething toys I'd give him for maybe two seconds before Lucy would rip it out of his hands overcome by curiosity. Both of them got dragged around while I did my shopping. We braved many a public restroom and I used my Dunkin Donuts bribery tactics when all else failed. I still somehow managed to wait too long to order the kid digital camera for Lucy. I found it online, only to log-in to check on the shipping status to find that my order had been cancelled because the camera was out of stock. Flash forward to me ranting to some poor customer service lady about Santa and camera and xylophones. I bought a book for my niece at Borders with Josh screaming full tilt and Lucy tossing things into the stroller basket as I shopped, she is fast but I can usually keep up with her. So far we still have a clean record. I brought the book home and discovered as I prepared to wrap it that I bought the Spanish version. Good times.

A few days before Christmas we had worked ourselves into a kind of cooking and baking frenzy. Lucy and I made cookies, cut them out and decorated them to leave for Santa. I remember one morning putting red sprinkles on a sugar cookie angel. I looked at the clock and it wasn't even 8:00 a.m. We made white chocolate chex mix and both proceeded to eat it until we (and by we, I mean just me) were totally ill. I sweated and stressed over our lack of a Christmas card photo and using lollipops as my currency bribed Lucy into cooperating on one snowbound afternoon. We trekked out into the snow to pick them up, getting festive tins so we could deliver our chex mix to neighbors. I mustered all every ounce of holiday spirit I had and it was fun but exhausting.

One of our new traditions that we started last year is going to this little park in Nonantum and walking around and looking at the lights. They have a big mailbox for letters to Santa and a sleigh and reindeer that you can drive. This year Lucy and Michael worked diligently to write Lucy's letter to Santa. Lucy and her Dad wrote down what she and Buddy wanted and she randomly included people and things that she thought would be appropriate for Santa to bring. It was pretty funny and nice. We got everyone bundled up in snowsuits and boots and mailed her letter to Santa, drove the sleigh and then went to Dunkin Donuts for munchkins.

On Christmas Eve we hung around, made more cookies, went sledding and then got Lucy and Josh into their matching reindeer footie pajamas. I know, I have become that Mom that dresses her kids in matching jammies, but I just couldn't resist. They looked so freaking cute I don't regret it for a second. Lucy and Michael got to work on a letter to leave with Santa's cookies, thanking Santa for all of the presents and wishing him a safe trip. We left him egg nog, cookies and carrots for the reindeer. Every now and then we would look out the window for Santa, Michael would run into the other room and jingle some bells and Lucy would put her hand to her ear and eyes wide with excitement say, "I hear him." It was pretty magical. Everyone went to bed and Michael and I decided that we were too tired and had too much wrapping to finish to make the fancy prime rib dinner that we had bought for our Christmas Eve dinner. We drank wine and ate more chex mix and we wrapped presents and talked about how fun it was going to be to watch our kids in the morning. It was a great night.

On Christmas morning we had ourselves a good flop around in the big bed and then walked into the living room to see what Santa had brought. Lucy was carefully checking things out, immediately spotting the candy canes he'd left for her. She and Josh set out to the business of opening presents and helping Michael and I open ours. She got fun things like a cowbell and miscellaneous percussion instruments so we could have some serious jam sessions. Santa also knew Lucy's fondness for CVS shopping so he brought her some hand soap and toothpaste which were equal crowd pleasers. Every time she washes her hands after going potty she proudly tells me that Santa brought her the soap and how much she loves it.

After we played at home we packed off for the rest of the day and night to visit our families. At my sister's house Lucy joined in the mix with her cousins and had a blast. She and Josh were piled with so many presents they were a little overwhelmed, but happy. Josh looked around and smiled and cooed in his little striped suit with the reindeer on the butt. Lucy ate a piece of chocolate cake that was as big as her head. We went to Babu and Dedu's for dinner where Lucy played animal bowling and ate salty fish. Josh just sat and smiled and made goo goo eyes at his Babu. When we left, everyone was asleep one minute into the two minute drive.

The next day it looked like the house had exploded with toys. We played, and we played hard. Lucy and Josh had a wonderful Christmas. When all was said and done there is something just magical about Christmas for kids. I remember as a kid waking up on Christmas morning being totally convinced that I had seen the glow of Rudolph's red nose outside of my window and heard the reindeer on the roof. That ability to believe in something so pure and so good is what I want to pass onto my children. The idea of a season where people do good things and give because it is a nice thing to do. You see family and are as excited to watch them open what you have gotten for them is as exciting as opening your own presents. The best presents really is seeing the excitement in the eyes of you children, that is what Christmas is all about. That and being able to eat chex mix and drink wine for dinner and it being perfectly acceptable.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!