Mommy’s Christmas Gift
Every Christmas I try to make my wife one homemade gift. We do stockings for each other, and we buy each other little things we probably don't really need. But on top of that, I like to make something a little more special. This year I drew a picture of Baby J. I framed the picture, and I wrapped it up. We leave little clues on our presents for each other, so we can try to guess before we open them. My clue to her was: Mommy's Little Monkey.
Mommy's Little Monkey
D.
Santa’s Little Helper
After Christmas day, Baby J. and I assembled the big gift we received, one of those baby carriages you pull with your bike. It was the big gift from Grandma. Baby J. tried helping me unload the box. She lost interest, when I actually started assembling the carriage. Then later when I tried testing it out by putting her into it, she had a meltdown. Oh well, she'll get used to it. We can't use it for a few months anyway, the snow has finally arrived in our region, and there won't be any bike riding for awhile now.
Santa's Little Helper
D.
Christmas Gifts Abound
christmas gifts everywhere
Baby J.'s first Christmas consisted of a LOT of presents. I think she received more presents this Christmas than I have in my last 10 combined.
Despite ball poppers and mega blocks and bath toys galore, despite bongos and books and new teddy bears, despite stacking cups and board books and a pretty purple purse, despite toy phones and toy puppies and toys, toys, toys, she loved most of all the wrapping paper and the boxes. And yesterday, she was back in the kitchen playing with tupperware lids while her toys sat unused in another room.
Maybe next year I'll just wrap some empty boxes.
D.
The Santa Claus Debate
Do you know people that say once they have kids or once their kids are older, they won't be telling them about Santa Claus? I know a few. They claim it's lying to your kids. Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?
Come on, seriously? Listen, there's only a short while in your life that you believe in things like magic. Why would you rob your kids of that? Think about it, when you hit probably 10 years old at the latest, you don't believe in Santa anymore, you don't believe in magic, flying reindeer, you don't believe in wizards or elves or magic. That's not a long time in one's life to believe in the impossible, to believe in something fairy-like and wonderful.
Why would you take that away from your kids? So what if it's a big fib? So what if Santa Claus isn't really real? Does it matter? Do any of these people actually resent their parents for telling them that fib? I can't imagine a single one of them, upon discovering that Santa Claus was make believe was angry with their parents. They probably didn't care. The discovery is usually so gradual, that hardly any of us could really mark the occasion upon which we figured it out. I think I kind of gradually came to the conclusion, but I remember keeping the lie going for awhile even after I knew, because I enjoyed the fib enough that I wasn't ready to let it go.
So, if you're a reader and you're one of these people who thinks parents shouldn't "lie" to their kids about Santa, can you tell me your reasoning? You can't act like we're always completely honest with our kids. We can't be. We make things up all the time. "Oh yeah, it won't hurt that much at the dentist" or "it's just a needle, you won't even feel it". We fib all the time about little things. I don't think it's such a big deal to fib about something magical and wonderful.
D.
Picking Out a Dress
What, me?
Yesterday was daddy daughter day, and it went really well. Baby J. and I had a lot of fun. We took a long walk together, and we played a lot of games and read a lot of books together. The older she gets, the more fun she gets. I loved it when she was a newborn, but I will never understand people who prefer newborns over older babies; I really think they get more interesting and more entertaining with each passing day.
Today, my wife and I are bringing Baby J. clothes shopping. We're going to pick out a Christmas dress for her. The plan is to find a good dress, set up an appointment to have her pictures taken for sometime soon, and then pick out a great picture for Christmas cards this year. We want to start a tradition this year where Baby J. is on the Christmas cards we send out.
D.
