Merry Christmas!

Since we finalized the adoption, so many people have said "You know you'll have the best Christmas this year." Guess what - they were right! It's about 8:15PM and we've finished our bath/bedtime routine. He's in his crib and I'm listening to him through the baby monitor. He alternates between his "drilling" noise - a noise he makes when he's falling asleep - and babbling to Tigger and the mobile. He clicks and babbles and giggles and I wish I knew what he was talking about. He does eventually fall asleep and is great about sleeping through most of the nights.

He's had a great Christmas so far and we've got one more day of fun. We're going to see my folks tomorrow and after speaking to them today, I know we'll have a fun day. Unfortunately, my Mom was very sick last week with a stomach bug, so we had to change our original plan of going down today and spending the night with them. She's better and feeling up to company, so we're going there during morning nap and coming back during afternoon nap. Then some friends are passing through and coming over for dinner before heading home. They have two kids who love to play with Scott - and vice versa. It should be a great day.

We've had 3 days of playing, baking cookies, wrapping presents and generally enjoying ourselves. We've spaced out the presents - some on Christmas Eve and some this afternoon so we wouldn't overwhelm him. Last night was a bit crazy - he was fussy and didn't quite get all of the presents and attention. Dave's folks came over and we had a lovely dinner, of which Scott didn't eat much. It's all food he's typically loved - ham, mashed potatoes, green beans - but lately he's not been as interested in dinner. He ate some, but not nearly what he'd normally eat. I ended up making him some rice cereal, and he gobbled that up. He did it again tonight - once again rejecting a meal he used to love. Go figure. I'm hoping that once we get back on a regular schedule he'll get back to eating normally again. We're trying to maintain his schedule, but that's not always easy to do during the holidays.

There were some truly wonderful moments this weekend. My mother-in-law and I made cookie-press Christmas tree cookies and they turned out perfectly. The look on Scott's face when he was riding his new rocking horse. The delight on my father-in-law's face when Scott walked right into his arms and giggled. Dave telling me something really funny and Scott starting to laugh because I was laughing. Watching Scott see more new toys this afternoon and shaking his arms and gasping with excitement. Callie letting Scott chase her and even "catch" her tail a bit - and his shouts of joy when he did . Playing with both of them because the furry baby is getting a little jealous of the bald kitty. I made up a game where I trot through the house with her purple string while holding Scott. He giggles as we dart around corners and she comes racing after us to catch the toy. It requires balance, quick manuevering and strength. It's really building up my upper body strength - although it's a game I can't play for very long. He's getting heavier!

I'll admit that this Christmas has been one of the very best ever. It's not exactly what I expected in some ways. I guess I don't really know what I expected. I've just tried to enjoy each and every moment. I'm seeing Christmas through his eyes - all of the wonder and joy and that has been delightful. We gave Scott "The Polar Express" book and while he did look at the pictures with me, he's too little to enjoy the story. I took a bit this afternoon while he was napping to sit down and re-read that story and it brought tears to my eyes. If you don't know the story - a little boy is selected to take a special train to the North Pole with many other children. He gets picked to receive the first Christmas gift from Santa and he asks for one of the silver bells from the reindeers' harness. Santa gives it to him and it makes the most beautiful noise. Unfortunately, when he's back on the train, he finds out there is a hole in his pocket. The bell was lost and he was devestated. The next morning, there's an extra present under the tree - and the bell is inside. Santa left him a note saying he'd found it in his sleigh. His parents think the bell is broken because they can't hear it ringing. As people age and stop believing in Santa, they stop being able to hear the bell - except for some lucky people who never lose the ability.

For the first time in a very long time, I could really hear that bell ringing. There's a beautiful little boy who just fell asleep upstairs and he's the one who has helped me hear it once more. This Christmas has been wonderful - but I'm definitely looking forward to many more!

Holiday Rush

Hello all...
Here's a quick Saturday afternoon post while Scotty is napping. He's actually starting to wake up, so I'll make it brief. He is still doing great, despite having his first cold with us last week. He starting sneezing and coughing a week ago Wednesday, and I managed to follow him by a day or so. We got hit with 17 inches of snow (which is unusual!) last Friday and spent the unexpected 3 day weekend snowed in. Thankfully we had plenty of food on hand. We never lost power like some folks, for which I am also grateful. We were supposed to have Scott's baptism on Sunday, but that had to be cancelled since we couldn't get out and we were both sick. Dave managed to dig us out by Sunday afternoon and we were back in business on Monday morning. Scott recovered from his cold nicely, but mine turned into a sinus infection and I had to get antibiotics this week. I'm feeling better today - finally!

One thing I guess I didn't expect is the "Mommy guilt" when I'm sick. Dave was great about taking care of Scott and me, but I kept feeling guilty that I couldn't physically do as much. It's really a strange feeling. Logically, I knew that I needed to rest and that Dave could handle it all, but emotionally I felt bad. Weird.

He's taking five or six steps on his own now and he gets so excited when he does it. I just love his laughter. He giggles and laughs so much now and it's such a joy to hear. In the morning he's generally pretty happy, even when we've got to get out in the cold to go to daycare. He loves it there too. There are so many fun kids and great toys that he's worn out by the end of the day. Our provider tells us how happy he is and how much the other kids love playing with him. It's great to hear.

He's eating like a horse too. We took him to a fun diner last night along with Grandma and Grandpa and he was fascinated by the Christmas decorations. He had a kids meal of grilled cheese and mashed potatoes and really put the food away. Afterwards we came back and decorated the Christmas tree. He went to bed before we were finished, so he saw the finished product this morning. He had a huge smile on his face and seemed to really think it's cool. This morning I made pancakes and he helped Dad and I clean the house. Well, sort of. He didn't make a bigger mess before we could get the chores done, so that's good! We had friends over this afternoon for lunch and he played and had a great time with them.

I can hear him waking up, so I'd better head that way. We may go out for some shopping this evening. All in all - a great day so far! Now if I can just get all that Christmas shopping done........