Play-Learn-Grow-Repeat

From Friday Mom – Erin:
Like Monday Mom and Wednesday Mom, this week has our family thinking a lot about the Christmas season. One of the things I have loved most since moving into our house—almost four years ago now—was the fact that we could have a real Christmas tree. For some reason, the holidays have always seemed more “real” with the smell of a balsam fir in our home.

So you can imagine my disappointment when I realized that putting a live tree in the middle of our living room would be problematic on a number of levels. First, because our living room is one of the few truly child-proofed rooms in our house and is Rory’s primary play area, putting up a tree in that space would mean cutting his play space by about a third. (Yes, our house is that tiny).

Second, putting a tree in our one childproofed room would be perilous to say the least. Rory would try to eat the needles, grab at the ornaments, and, quite possibly, attempt a little swim in the water in the tree stand. Third, the lights would pose quite the attractive nuisance, drawing his attention to not only the lights themselves, but also creating a lighted path to the electrical outlet (which he has, luckily, largely ignored to date). Fourth and finally, I feared that the tree would become Rory’s latest gym. Given his love of pulling up and cruising, I had visions of Rory pulling up on the tree and pulling the whole festive shrub onto the floor.

I denied these issues for a period of time and even purchased plastic, shatterproof ornaments, thinking that we would simply keep a closer eye on him than usual. But the more we thought about each of the above, along with the fact that we literally would not be able to leave him unattended on the first floor of our house, I changed my mind.

As a result, this evening, we will be digging out the artificial tree we used in our first apartment—a “skinny” tree that we purchased to squeeze into the corner of our too-crowded combination living/dining room—and putting it up in the corner of our dining room. There, it will be safely off-limits behind the baby gate that divides our living and dining rooms. It may be scrawny, and it certainly won’t smell as nice, but these are the things parents of toddlers do to be able to enjoy a safe and happy holiday season.

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
Thanksgiving was a success for our family, but we have officially transitioned to the Christmas season. This is a unique year for our family. Jack is a 6 year-old first grader who still believes in Santa Claus, and Tate is a 3 year-old who only recently understands the concept of Christmas and Santa Claus. Jack has already asked some pointed questions about Santa Claus and how he makes it to every house in the world in just one night. This may be the last year that we have two kids who still believe in Santa, and we are making the most of it.

We have an Elf on the Shelf who watches the boys each day and returns to the North Pole to report to Santa. As the story reads, every morning he returns to our house in a new hiding spot. The boys awaken each morning and immediately hunt for “Zack” our friendly scout elf. Once they find him, they rush to inform us where he is. Next, they visit the advent calendar their grandmother made. Each day they open a small gift.  They quickly wonder what the next day’s gift will be by shaking it.  Curious little guys.

The boys are consumed with the idea of Christmas. We listen to Christmas music in the van on the way to school each morning. We watch all of our favorite Christmas specials, especially Charlie Brown’s Christmas and The Grinch. Both boys are obsessed with their wish lists. Jack is even writing his own letter to Santa at the North Pole.

I was beginning to get concerned about our kids getting a little greedy this year, but we remind them about the true meaning of Christmas. My favorite moment so far was when Jack, on his own accord, asked to buy his little brother a Christmas present with his own money from his piggy bank. My heart skipped a beat.  I was so proud of him.

I’m happy our family can be together this Christmas and I’m even more happy my boys will get to have the kind of Christmas they will remember fondly once they have out grown Santa. They will remember what it means to be a family on Christmas, together and happy.

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
Happy December! Can you believe we’re already here, primed to embark on another year? I, for one, cannot. You’d think at some point I’d learn to anticipate each first of the month and not be stunned by its arrival, but that hasn’t happened yet!

We had a really lovely Thanksgiving holiday. My mom had all of her kids—including her beloved grandchild—together for the first time in a while. My own grandmother was well enough to join us, which isn’t always the case. All the dishes came out great. I forgot to add extra French fried onions before re-heating the green bean casserole, but no one seemed to notice!

The following day, my husband and my brother bravely ventured into Black Friday to retrieve a Christmas tree. It is a tall beauty. Haley was absolutely delighted. She adorably sang—or attempted to, anyway—“Oh Christmas Tree” while adding ornament after ornament. (The tree decorations are a bit bottom-heavy, but we don’t think Santa will mind.) When we were all finished she proclaimed, “I want to do it again!”

This is the absolute earliest my family has put up a Christmas tree. I never thought I’d see the day when my parents would have one up in November! But having a grandchild to please will do that to you. We are headed back to my folks for Christmastime in a few weeks and I think they are literally counting down the days. Haley’s excitement for the holiday is infectious. It’s so simple to her—a pretty tree, yummy treats, some new clothes and toys, and time with family. Children can be pretty smart sometimes. They know what’s important. We’re lucky to be parents, with the opportunity to be reminded.