Holiday Preparation

Last year, Sam was 10 months old at Christmas time. He was mildly entertained by the decorations, and enjoyed his presents, but for the most part he seemed unimpressed by the gaiety. This year he is 22 months old and can't believe all of the fun!

His favorite part has to be the Christmas tree. When it is lit, he gazes at it and says, "Ohhhh...tree!" He loves poking the prickly branches and tries his hardest not to touch the ornaments. I have been amazed by his self-control. I gave him a set of Sesame Street ornaments and told him he could take them off and put them back on as much as he wanted. He showed me where to put them, on the bottom branch of the tree, and smiled. Then he pulled them all off and lined them up in front of the TV. Now a couple of them are in the pocket of his coat and I know I saw Elmo rolling around in the backseat of the car.

Holiday decorations have made shopping a whole new adventure. He loves going to Menard's to see the giant blow-up lawn decorations. This morning we went to Wal-Mart and spent almost 20 minutes walking around their Christmas displays. He pointed at the trees and said, "Tree!" He pointed at the snowmen and said, "Ball!" (Technically, he's right.)

When we left the store, I gave him my change to put into the Salvation Army bucket. The man ringing the bell was so kind, and held the bucket right up to Sam. His little fingers pushed every last cent in, and then he smiled and wildly waved bye-bye to the bell ringer.

Fa la la la la, la la la la!