Christmas 2010...

Christmas with an almost-three-year-old is exactly what you would expect... crazy fun and crazy long. Our Santa dilemma was solved... mostly by Alex not seeming to care much. Santa is everywhere, after all. We started by wrapping tons of presents...And getting ready to go to Carmen's for Christmas eve (remember to always smile so hard that it hurts)...
Play, dinner, play and then Alex was off to bed, only to be woken at midnight for gifts. It took a while for her to warm up...But she had a great time and got a car load of booty. Next morn, it was a small Santa session at home, and then pour the sleepy toddler in to a fancy dress...And off to Adrian to have another gift orgy. This time with even more cousins...More food, more fun, more smiling...

She slept for thirteen hours that night. Merry Christmas!!

Holiday Recital 2: Electric Boogaloo...

Alex had her Holiday recital for her daycare again this year... and she was so excited. We practiced her songs for weeks. She had a Santa song, a Hanukkah song, and a Kwanzaa song. She knew them forward and backward. Her teacher even told us that she was the linchpin. On the days that she wasn't there, rehearsal was a disaster. Were she a hockey player, she would have been wearing a C on her shimmery little cardigan.

Then the day came. We picked her up and brought her home to get ready. Max get dressed at our house too...Then off to the auditorium for the big event. We were given some bad directions, and took Alexandra down the stairs where the bigger kids were. She fit right in...But then we had to hustle upstairs to find her class and... chaos. Ten kids running wild and none of their usual teachers to whip them in to shape. Alex flipped. She wouldn't let me leave. Physically wouldn't let me. She cried and sobbed and clung. Finally Miss Jen (a great teacher from an earlier class) grabbed her from me and distracted her long enough for me to escape.

Then the fun began. Infants being twirled and toddlers trying to sing. Alex's class came up and she was still red and puffy from the crying. The first song was tough, but then she started feeling the music and took off. This is long but...


All in all, she swears she had fun and that's all that matters. Merry christmahanakwanzika everyone!!

All I want for Christmas...

From the very first time Alex was asked what she wanted for Christmas (and I am finding out that kids are asked constantly) she had one answer, and one answer only... cheese.

What do you want for Christmas?
Cheese.
What is Santa going to bring you?
Cheese.
What is on your wish list?
Cheese.

A few weeks ago her grandmother was asking the same thing... and got the same answer. My mom responded incredulously, "That's it? Cheese? Don't you want a baby doll, or a teddy bear, or a truck?". Then, and for the next week, she had a new response.

What do you want for Christmas?
Cheese. And a truck.
What is Santa going to bring you?
Cheese. And a truck.
What is on your wish list?
Cheese. And a truck.

Then her friend Bobbo, as a thank you for a gift Alex had given him, gave her a bundle of her favorite Babybel cheese. She was geek. Then, since, and to this day she has a new response.

What do you want for Christmas?
Bobbo already gave me cheese... so just a truck.
What is Santa going to bring you?
Bobbo already gave me cheese... so just a truck.
What is on your wish list?
Bobbo already gave me cheese... so just a truck.

Oh Christmas tree...

We agree on most things in our household. We are on the same page about parenting and food and television. One of our small points of early contention was the Christmas tree. Not real vs. fake or light colors, but timing. Michele would like to have it up the day after her birthday (that is Dec 1st) and down some time after the new year. I, given my choice, would put it up about a week before Christmas and put it all away on the 26th. We have, over the years, found a happy middle... second week of December. That was this weekend, so away we went.This is the first year that Alex has really been involve on a higher level. She helped pick out the tree and then charmed the men helping us load it up.She helped put on lights... and only two were broken in the process! I feared the number would be far greater. She had fun... even though all of her ornaments were placed in one area and needed some rearranging.When we were all done, she was so proud and so excited. She has been informed that it is her job to turn on the tree every day. She thinks she's pretty cool. Merry Christmas!!

Two Georges...

Two years ago Alex got two stuffed Curious Georges for Christmas. My sister's and brother's families each independently got them for her (we called her "monkey" then, and still do) without knowing the other had. It was pretty funny.

As is her norm with many a toy and most stuffed animals, they were quickly relegated to a shelf. There is a zoos worth of animals collecting dust and staring pleadingly and longingly from the corner of her bedroom. She just doesn't play with them (with the exception of Mr. Dinosaur Head and Stripey the Zebra who go everywhere with her).

But then, a couple days ago, she "discovered" one of the Georges. She showed it around, "It's a monkey" she said. "It's Curious George" she happily reported. She carried it around all evening and took it to bed. No idea where that came from.

The next day I reminded her that there was another George. She screamed. "I have two Georges, look I have two Georges!!" Now she takes them both everywhere... including to bed... along with Mr. Dinosaur Head and Stripey the Zebra. We may have to get her a bigger bed.

Difficult to know what to get her for Christmas when her most prized possessions have been ignored for two years...

It's beginning to look a lot like...

I think Alex might actually "get" Christmas this year. She has started learning songs for her Christmas pageant, she knows who Santa is, she is ready for snow. But, since she was pretty oblivious in years past, we don't know exactly how our traditions will work out. We do Christmas eve with the Maleys and Christmas day with the Harringtons... always have always will.
So when does Santa come? To our house on a hectic and sleepy Christmas morn? Does he stop by the grandparent's houses to leave a few gifts? Right now, it is all up for debate... thoughts?

The curious case of the bloody ear...

So yeah, the bloody ear thing. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, after watching Michigan get killed, Alex woke from a nap and toddled out to see me. She handed me Mr. Dinosaur Head to hold while she climbed on the couch, and he was splattered with blood. Big drops of blood. I picked her up and spun her around searching for the source... and there it was dripping from her ear. I freaked.

We called the doc, and after waiting an hour for a call back, were told to go to the hospital. On a holiday weekend. At night. Luckily it wasn't too busy and we got right in. Unluckily we got a doctor with exactly the experience that you would expect at night on a holiday weekend. Her diagnosis (after examining Alex with very shaky hands) was a shrug. "Here are some drops to lessen the swelling and see your doctor on Monday." Perfect.

So, after worrying away the rest of the weekend, we went to a real doc... who was not worried in the least. She said there are three things that generally cause bleeding in the ear in toddlers:

1. She stuck something in there (she seems more fascinated with her mouth and nose so...)
2. She has an ear infection (no sign of that)
3. Her tube came out and released some blood (we have a winner!)

No big deal. Nothing to worry about. No issues since.

Timing? Priceless

Hello? Is this thing on?

Hey kids... it's been a while. I know this because people keep saying, "What's up with the blog... it's been a while?".

Here's the thing... I ran into a little problem. At first I thought it was writer's block, that amorphous and difficult to wrangle maybe a real issue maybe not deal you get when you can't think of a single word to write (let alone the long rambly stuff I enjoy). But it was more than that. I started to freak out a little. I got the cold sweats and could feel my heart beating in my chest whenever I sat down to convey the cuteness that is life with Alex and Michele. I started to panic a little. It was no fun.

Here's the why... I started worrying more and more about what people thought. Will this aunt be upset if I tell an Alex story involving that aunt. Will people think I'm overselling Alex's adorablosity. Will friends get upset because I did, or didn't, write about an event. Part of me thought I was crazy, but then it happened... some close friends took offense at an attempt at story telling and decided not to be friends anymore. Suddenly I was staring up at the cliff I had been perched at the edge of for so long.

Last week we had to take Alex to the urgent care. She had woken from a nap and was bleeding from the ear. It was scary. The doctor asked how long it had been since she had her tubes in... and our first instinct was to check the blog. It turns out that it isn't just the ramblings of a madman... it's the chronicle of Alex's life and our life with her. It's not about my fear or what you all think... it's the way that we look back and remember and revel. It's the book of us. And it isn't over.

So, here's the deal. I am going to stop stopping. I am going to write on this blog and brag on my baby and love on my wife and not give a damn what you think. If you are one who is prone to judge, compare, or get angry you are no longer invited. If you just want to see cute pics and read poorly written stories about our boring lives, then you are welcome.