christmas 09

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It really becomes more magical the older my kids get. Isaac is a giant sponge, soaking up anything and everything Christmas. And, Luke - well, aside from the continual references to Halloween - seems to have caught on to the excitement of Christmas. I have always loved Christmas (who doesn't?!), but there is nothing like experiencing it through the eyes of your children. Here are a few memories from this Christmas:

1. So, once Isaac found out that red and green were the official Christmas colors, that meant EVERYTHING red or green was a Christmas decoration. A phrase that was repeated over and over, was: "That's green (or red), like Christmas."

2. He was also very concerned about Santa being able to see ALL of our Christmas decorations. Again, some frequent questions were:
Isaac: How will Santa see our ginger bread house?
Me: We can leave him a note to go into the kitchen and see it.
Isaac: Will Santa see that ornament over there?
Me: I'm sure he will check out all of our ornaments.
Isaac: The star is crooked. Can you fix it so that Santa doesn't see it crooked?
Me: There. Done.
Isaac: Do you think Santa will like our lights?
Me: Of course. I put them up, so they look spectacular.

And, the list of hundreds of more questions, goes on and ON. Thank you Isaac, for making sure everything was in order before Santa arrived.

3. Isaac and Luke watched Santa Buddies a few times, and picked up on the important message in that wonderful movie. After the "grinch" dog catcher has a change of heart at the end, Isaac asked, "Now does he feel the true meaning of Christmas?"
Luke answered, "I can! It got in my body. It gets in my boots (he was wearing his snow boots during the movie)."

4. True to form, Isaac had a million (no exaggeration) of questions about Santa Claus. I decided that I need to buy a fact book about Santa. I'm all for filling my children's heads with "lies", but I worry about how I answer his questions. It's got to be confusing when his classmates have completely different facts on Santa... does he then question me, or his friend's parents? If the questions are this tricky now, I hate to think what sort of interrogation I'm going to get over the next few years. Some questions that I remember are:
"Will Santa die like us?" "Will his elves die?" (So, he's a little morbid) "Does Santa speak Spanish?" "Can Santa walk through walls?" "Can Santa see us all the time" And, after opening presents: "Does Santa buy some of his presents?" (after noticing bar codes on some boxes) "Does a mailman take the toys (that he buys) to him?... maybe he has a train that does." "How does Santa go to the store?" There were some pretty good ones, but I can't remember them all.

5. Isaac's list for Santa: Monster truck - fast with remote, finger lights, dominoes, robotic arm, and lava lamp (he saw one in a magazine that looked like a volcano).
Luke's list: Spark scooter, lion, monster truck, finger lights.

6. On our way out to the car the other morning, Isaac was stopped looking at the snow. Of course, I tried to hurry him along to the car, when he says, "Mom! I just found a clue! I see footprints in the snow." When I asked him who's footprints he thought they were, he said, "Santa's!"

7. Grandma Loveridge made all of the 24 grandkids pajamas for Christmas - as she does every year. As I was explaining to Isaac that she made his pj's along with all of his cousin's pj's, he says, "She must have been really tired making them all. Did she take a lot of breatheses (that's not a typo, that's how he said it)?" As in, if you get tired, you are out of breath... I love children's thoughts!

Christmas pictures:

All but two of the grandkids (Jack and Asa)

Gifts for Santa. Isaac had a few pictures - in addition to the treats - to give to Santa. When Santa left a note, saying how much he like the pictures and that he couldn't wait to show Mrs. Claus, Isaac was very excited. When I told him they might hang them on their fridge, he was surprised that Santa has a fridge.

Christmas morning. Santa came!

Asa loved his new toothbrush.

Isaac and Luke were THRILLED that Santa gave them fingerlights. Santa could have stopped with the lights and the grabbers (robotic arms... pictures not included), and that would have been more than enough for them. Maybe Santa will remember that next year.

They also got the remote control monster trucks (well, one was an ATV). Luke was so excited as he was opening his; then as soon as he had it unwrapped, he says, "Oh, got to open my tootsie roll!"

As I was checking on the boys during an abnormally quiet moment, I found this. Isaac was "reading" his new book to Luke. It makes my heart swell.