Christmas Day

If you were a fly on our wall this Christmas morning, these are the things you might have heard and seen...

And then, we added children.

Waking up sleepy-head Dad.

It's a team project.

But watch out for when Dad is just playing 'possum. He might fight back.

John (age 5), in a voice of disbelief that would have made any teenager proud: "Underwear? Really?"

John (5) to his siblings, who had given him a Monster Truck game for the Wii: "Thank you! Thank you!"
Margaret (8) in reply: "Unh. Ok, no more hugging!"

Helen (22 months): ________________________ (That represents dead silence, as she methodically consumed two squares of Ghiradelli chocolate from her stocking for breakfast.)

Sorry, Mom. Can't smile. I have chocolate to eat.

James (11), in a voice of resignation (tinged with a bit of pride in having guessed the contents of the package): "May I open my socks now?"

Nope. James considered, and these were definitely not socks. (A new book light from his brother and sister.)

Margaret (8): "Oh no! Helen has finger paints? Bye bye nice new purple bathroom walls."

She liked the Harry Potter Wii game from her brothers. Can you tell?

 
Helen (22 months): "Hey! That's mine!" (So proud that this is one of her clearest full sentences yet.)

Most of Helen's presents were "recycled" - gifts we already had in the house, refurbished with new batteries as needed. She seemed fine with that. Although, her absolute favorite was the gift she had picked out for herself while shopping with me last week - a new ball.

John (5): (SHRIEK!) Thank you, Mommy! I've always wanted one! (And so, it begins. We gave in on the electronics and gave him a Nintendo DSi. Price is not so bad now that the DS3 came out. And now we may have to surgically remove it from his hands. Hoping we can all resist the temptation to let him carry it everywhere, joining the ranks of little siblings everywhere we go - kids sports events at school, doctors' waiting rooms, etc. - who are sitting comatose, glued to their portable game device or parents' smartphone instead of watching the world, talking to their parent, and generally learning through healthy boredom.)

Close-up of the kids. James was trying to look odd, because that is what 11-year-olds like to do. But, a photo with 3 out of 4 smiles captured is a success in my book.