As Padon gets older he is finally better able to understand his wants and desires. This has greatly been enhanced with the addition of Netflix and his friends at school. This year Padon really, really, really wanted what refered to as the Imaginex Samari Castle. After visiting Greg and Billy Padon equally wanted the Imaginex Batman Cave too. Luckily for Padon we help Walter's Dad, Leo, with picking out Christmas presents so it was a pretty done deal that Padon would get both. We didn't lead on, however, that he would get both which backfired a little when we went to do Pickle Presents the day before we went to my parent's house for Christmas Eve. Padon found the pickle first, in our tree, and with that received a small packaged present from us. He excitedly said "This is the castle, maybe?!" and then said "This isn't what I wanted!" when he opened the wrapping to see a fleece Spiderman blanket inside. I tried to catch what I thought might end up being a downward spiral of dissappointment, and especially before we got to my parent's, where such a statement, I didn't think, would be very well received by my Dad. I explained to Padon that this was just one of many presents to come but that he couldn't say that he didn't like his presents when we got to Grandma and Grandpa's. I told him it was okay if he felt dissapointed and that if he really wanted to talk about it, I would be happy to talk to him somewhere quiet about it and he could tell me about why he was sad. He seemed to understand and off we went to my parent's.
I think in a way this was one of the harder Christmas's just because there were new factors that we had never really had to deal with before. Padon was so excited to get presents and I hadn't thought that Sarah might celebrate her whole families Christmas on Christmas day. So silly. We also split our Christmas presents in half so there are still a lot of toys to open at 2nd Christmas with Leo, which we had explained to Padon. Padon still seemed to clue in on how Greg had more presents then he did but he did his best to manage the dissapointment, and struggled not to loose it when Greg received a sweet Imaginex Space Robot. It was all a good lesson to learn on sharing but there is something about watching your kids be sad and dissapointed that make you remember being sad and dissappointed and I hugged Padon and reminded him again and again about 2nd Christmas, and how most people don't get to celebrate Christmas twice with two trees, dinners, and sets of presents, and that I loved him very much. At the time it didn't really seem to help, but my Mom did, by wrapping a small plastic container of tiny plastic dogs. It was really the act of opening presents that Padon really wanted.
Sophia on the other hand noticed Christmas for the first time. She loved the lights, loved unwrapping the presents and for the first time didn't need help understanding that the present was for her or how to open it. She was in awe of Padon's Nutcracker and wanted to hold it too. It was too fragile for her though so I gave her a Nutcracker Ornament that I let her hang on the tree. The whole bottom layer of the Christmas Tree is for Padon and Sophia to touch and look at and so she could take the ornament and hang it up again, with help.
So cute, at Christmas dinner, at my parent's, Sophia pulled up her own sleeve and so proud of herself, yelled down the table to my Dad "Grandpa, Grandpa, I did it, grandpa! I Did it!" My Mom and Dad were talking to my Aunt Janet, Uncle Tim, and their two friends and didn't respond to Sophia who in response then started yelling down the table "Grandpa, where are you? Grandpa, where are you? I did it!" Once I grabbed their attention they laughed and sweetly applauded her.
I think in a way this was one of the harder Christmas's just because there were new factors that we had never really had to deal with before. Padon was so excited to get presents and I hadn't thought that Sarah might celebrate her whole families Christmas on Christmas day. So silly. We also split our Christmas presents in half so there are still a lot of toys to open at 2nd Christmas with Leo, which we had explained to Padon. Padon still seemed to clue in on how Greg had more presents then he did but he did his best to manage the dissapointment, and struggled not to loose it when Greg received a sweet Imaginex Space Robot. It was all a good lesson to learn on sharing but there is something about watching your kids be sad and dissapointed that make you remember being sad and dissappointed and I hugged Padon and reminded him again and again about 2nd Christmas, and how most people don't get to celebrate Christmas twice with two trees, dinners, and sets of presents, and that I loved him very much. At the time it didn't really seem to help, but my Mom did, by wrapping a small plastic container of tiny plastic dogs. It was really the act of opening presents that Padon really wanted.
Sophia on the other hand noticed Christmas for the first time. She loved the lights, loved unwrapping the presents and for the first time didn't need help understanding that the present was for her or how to open it. She was in awe of Padon's Nutcracker and wanted to hold it too. It was too fragile for her though so I gave her a Nutcracker Ornament that I let her hang on the tree. The whole bottom layer of the Christmas Tree is for Padon and Sophia to touch and look at and so she could take the ornament and hang it up again, with help.
So cute, at Christmas dinner, at my parent's, Sophia pulled up her own sleeve and so proud of herself, yelled down the table to my Dad "Grandpa, Grandpa, I did it, grandpa! I Did it!" My Mom and Dad were talking to my Aunt Janet, Uncle Tim, and their two friends and didn't respond to Sophia who in response then started yelling down the table "Grandpa, where are you? Grandpa, where are you? I did it!" Once I grabbed their attention they laughed and sweetly applauded her.
Sophia is so funny, too, to have started growling "Mommy!" and "Daddy" when trying to get our attention. I think I do the same thing to her to be silly and when she does it to us, it makes her laugh and break out into a big smile. She cracks me up and I love her to pieces.
2nd Christmas was also a success and with the giant Batman Cave which Padon guessed right away, because he wanted it so bad, made Leo the best Grandpa in the world. I think it was the first Christmas that I baked the whole ham dinner with sweet mashed potatos, green bean cassarole, and peacan and apple pie, that everything come out on time and perfectly. The kids were great and it was relaxing to be able to have Christmas at our house where their beds were just down the hall in case of naptime and a routine bedtime.
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