I can't believe it's only December 4th. It feels as if our holiday season started last month when the first foot of snow was dumped on us, and it hasn't slowed down since!
Holidays this year are a lot more fun, now that Ty is aware of the world around him. I caved on the day before Thanksgiving, and started to decorate the house for Christmas. Ty was amazed by all of the boxes and decorations, and happily unpacked our bins and threw my fragile holiday items across the room. That was the day I learned that toddlers and holidays don't necessarily go hand-in-hand!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, which we spent with Eric's family. Ty was stylin' in his little Chaps sweater vest and khakis...the signature little boy holiday outfit! I was so excited for Ty to participate in Thanksgiving this year, and eat the meal with the rest of the family. I shouldn't have been surprised, however, that not only did he spit out everything, including his all-time-favorite mashed potatoes, but he shoved his rejected food down the front of his highchair, so his perfect little sweater vest had nice big smears down the front! Ohhh, Ty-Ty! Thank god for little Ella (Ty's distant cousin, who is a few months younger), who also showed her true colors at the dinner table! The two of them couldn't escape downstairs fast enough to go play in peace! The rest of us had a great meal though, and Ty did have fun with his cousin!
Our Christmas tree made an appearance the weekend after Thanksgiving. We put on the Christmas music, busted out the ornaments, and went to town. Ty glanced at the tree, but for the most part, didn't really mind having this massive, bright thing in his living room! (In fact, he has yet to try to climb on it, which amazes me). I did convince Ty to help hang a couple of ornaments, but he was especially interested in his handmade ornament from daycare last year. He crawled around with it for quite a while, and I'm pretty sure it's found a home under the couch now. It was a nice little family event though, and probably the most interest Ty has taken in the holiday so far!
Yesterday, we attended a holiday party at the Down syndrome playgroup that I help run. The special guest was Santa, of course, who was gracious enough to come spend his Saturday afternoon with a bunch of kids! I honestly wasn't sure how Ty and Santa would get along. On one hand, I have his beautiful picture from last year where he's sitting happily on Santa's lap, and they are both smiling from ear to ear. On the other hand, I am all too well aware of Ty's fiesty side, and had visions of him biting Santa's arm, or pulling his beard off. (His unbearable teething pain yesterday morning kind of gave me insight as to how the visit would go!) After sizing up Mr. Claus from across the room, Ty decided that he was not interested, and not only wouldn't sit on his lap, but refused to look at him period. It was the classic Santa-toddler standoff. Poor Santa was on the losing side of that battle! It's a good thing that Santa watches him year round to put him on the naughty or nice list, because that one encounter was most definitely not a good impression!
I love these little holiday stories, though. Having a spunky little toddler keeps me on my toes, and ensures that I never quite know what is coming next! I am soo looking forward to Christmas morning, when Ty will definitely take an interest in the new toys that are just for him (or so I think, anyway!). Now if only it would snow...just a tiny little bit...it will most definitely start to look a lot like Christmas!
