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Santa Clause made a “surprise” visit to our home tonight via the neighborhood association. We have had Bob visit us before and he is a fantastic Santa. The boys, as you can imagine, were apoplectic. It took Alban a while to warm up, however, because during dinner I had made the mistake of saying, “Boy. I sure hope that Santa will not be sad if you decide not to eat any of your fish.” So when Santa arrived Alban looked like his last chance at parole failed. He kept yelling, “I ate my dinner! I ate some of my meat! I did, Santa!” Of course Santa could not hear him over Oscar talking and the dog barking and just the general mayhem at the front door. But mama intervened and Santa told Alban that he was very happy and Alban’s face went from total anxiety to elation.
Once that barrier was broken it was no holds barred for Alban. He did not stop talking. Even Oscar was a little taken aback by his younger brother’s loquaciousness. Alban yapped and yapped, he goose stepped around the house to show Santa how strong he is, he told Santa all about hockey, he explained how he carefully placed the ornaments on our Christmas tree. He went on and on and on and on and it was a delight to see.
Oscar was a little more reserved – as I said earlier he was a little taken aback by Alban’s excitement. Oscar talked about how they get their own Christmas tree, how he also plays hockey, how he got to be the ‘helper’ in his class today, how he tries to listen to his mom and dad (ha!) and how he is a good big brother. It was great to see them interact with such an icon.
Alban is so wound up now that even a tranquilizer gun may not help. He has been running around the house (literally) rehashing the evening’s events and every once in a while proclaiming in the most sincere way, “I LOVE SANTA!”
The Santa visits always ranks as one of our favorite of the year, and I am speaking for Ian and me. It doesn’t get any better than this:
Santa’s Visit 12-18-2007
Santa’s Visit 12-18-2007 (2)
I think this is going to be a very long winter for me. Usually I am still enjoying the feeling of being eveloped in a world full of snow, darkness, warm clothes, fires in the fireplace, cooking over a hot stove and baking in the oven. But I think that I am already pretty much over it. Not good for a woman living in the land of The Long Winters. We still have about 4 months left. 4 months and I am ready for July about now. Of course I will need 4 months to look ready for July so maybe I really am happy to be eveloped in a world full of darkness and lots of big, bulky warm clothes.
I like to think that I am a crafty person. The real truth is that I am not the least bit crafty or arty, but sometimes I can fudge it if I am lucky. Oscar may have more of a fighting chance in this regard.
We worked on an Advent Pocket Calendar together for a while and then it turned into a present for some special people. Both Oscar and Alban have decided that they love sewing. I think it appeals to their need for a sense of danger. There have been some poked finger tips and some frustrating thread tangles that have ended in some tugging and pulling. Oscar stuck with it without help for much longer than his brother.
To try to appeal to my need to become a better photographer/editor of photos I purchased a new photo program (mostly because I was completely frustrated with my “free” software on my laptop). So … Here is my first usage of Adobe Photoshop 5 without looking at the tutorial. Why bother with the tutorial when you can become incredibly frustrated?
P.S. Double click on the photo and you can view it at a reasonable size.
The boys got their haircut today. Oscar got his usual big-boy haircut. But Alban, well Alban got a lot cut off. I love it. His long stringy hair in the dry winter has turned into short curls. I hate it. His long baby hair is now gone. He is the same child who went into the shop. He is now this big boy that I don’t recognize. I have lost his hair forever. It will grow back for the humidity of summer and be glorious.
He looks so different it hurts. But tonight we will snuggle and he will do all his usual behaviors. Thank God.
There are times when I feel very anxious about Alban. I think about our relationship and I wonder if I haven’t held him back developmentally by ‘babying’ him. He still wants me ’snuggle’ with him at night until he falls asleep, he wakes (sometimes) in the middle of the night or early morning and comes into our bed, he is constantly wanting me to ‘uppy’ him and I do because he is still so small (only 26 pounds). All of this combined with a resistance to school, which is manufactured, and I start to wonder. He is my baby, he is my last, he is terribly cute and small … am I holding him back?
Alban is also very sensitive, worried that I am mad at him or that I am happy when he does something naughty. He will frequently ask me if I am happy or if I am ‘mad to him’. He does not like to disappoint me, or anyone really. But he is three so there are times when he also does not care one bit if his behavior causes discord. He digs in his heals defying logic and throws amazingly long fits or continues the aberrant behavior.
But here is the deal, however attached to me he has become he is still independent. Very independent. He stayed with my sister Shari for almost 4 days on his own and didn’t think twice about it. He runs off and plays with new children, he embraces new experiences and he fits in with his brother’s older crowd. He is shy with new adults but shares his love of language with those with which he is comfortable.
AND … the best part about him lately is that at night when we are snuggling in bed he will hold my face with both hands and say “Mom, I love you.” He has started to tell me several times a day that he loves me and he throws his arms around my neck and warms my heart with the best tight little hug I have ever received. He loves me fiercely and I him.
Too attached? At this point I don’t really care. He tells me he loves me often with hugs and sometimes a kiss. Parenting doesn’t get much better than that. Now we just need to work on those fits.
