12/31/2012: Happy Christmas and Merry New Year

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.  And I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year!

We had an amazing Christmas.  I didn't expect much from the boys this year, to be honest - they're just 14 months.  Of course there would be no recognition.  And I didn't expect presents to mean much of anything.  I did expect the lights to capture them and I did expect that they'd be in awe of all the fuss.

I was right in my expectations of lights captivating them and being awed by the fuss.  I was wrong about presents meaning anything.  I was right about no recognition.  Altogether, it was far more magical than I ever could have anticipated!

They love presents.  Blue so much so that he'll open anyone's, his or otherwise.  Luckily, he didn't get into opening presents until Christmas Eve and the one he chose to go after was his anyway.  Just happened to be at dinner time, not at the gift exchange time.  Green, on the other hand, would rather look at all the sparkle and admire it all.  He loved the bows and the pretty paper and the ribbon.  He just wanted to look.

One of the cutest things was the Christmas tree.  We buy a live tree every year.  Yes, I'm that type - the kill the living tree type.  I love the scent it brings into the house.  I love that they are rarely ever perfect.  I love the tradition.  Fake trees have no appeal to me.  Yes, I'm judgy.  It's my house, I can do as I please.  So there we are at the garden center we usually go to picking out our tree.  They always have an abundance of people to help so this guy is following us up and down the rows eager to pull trees out for us.  We almost instantaneously saw a tree we liked.  We pulled it out into the row we were in.  Green is curious.  Blue is giggling.  Fun fun!  We like the tree.  The row is so cramped that to really get a good view of it, we need to step out into the aisle.  So we do.  Helper guy brings the tree out for us.  I'm holding Green.  Husby's holding Blue.  Green is laughing and smiling until he looks over my shoulder and there's this tree walking toward him.

He immediately shifted to the other shoulder to get as far away as possible.  I tell him it's ok.  The tree keeps coming.  Green had this weird thing he did then.  He wanted to get as close as possible to me so I could protect him.  But he wanted as far away from the tree as possible, too.  So I turned away from the tree and took a few steps away.  Green is simultaneously shrinking into me and pushing me away.

It was so cute.

Yeah, I'm that mom.

The guy puts the tree down and steps back so we can admire it in the open.  Green decides it's alright and shifts back to my other side.  I stepped close to let him touch it.  Oh no...not touching that thing.  You think you might be stronger than a 1 year old...I would grab his hand and try to make him touch the tree - but he could over-power my effort to extend his arm every time.  He. WAS NOT.  touching.  that.  tree.  No way, no how.

I kept trying anyway.

Yeah, I'm that mom.

We get it paid for and the guy cuts a fresh end and loads it up for us.  And we wander on home.  It's hot hot hot this particular day and so we opted to leave the tree in the truck overnight instead of trying to spray it off in 85 degree weather with 100% humidity.  It was just yuck outside for Christmas time.  That night we got a cold front.  We got up the next day and got it washed and let it dry for awhile.  And it finally came in the house after the boys had gone to bed.

So the next day they get up.  The tree is now standing in our house but is not decorated nor does it have lights or anything.  I bring Green out of their bedroom.  We walk into the hallway and he sees the tree dead ahead.  He shrinks into me again.  We have to pass within a few feet of it to get to the family room.  He was not going to be on the side of me that was closest to the tree!

This goes on all day.  Periodically I try to get him to touch it.  Nope.  Not gonna happen.

That afternoon, while Blue and Green were down for naps I got the lights on the tree.  All 1500 of them.  Oh how glorious that looked just by itself.  We used to always do about 900 lights as that was all we had but it was always just shy of being just right.  So this year we bought bunches of extras so that we'd have enough to just go forward figuring we'd take back what was not used.  It's shocking to me that we almost doubled the lights.  Nutso.  But it's pretty!

So when Blue and Green got up from their naps, I couldn't wait to see what they'd think.  Blue still was impressed.  And Green suddenly wasn't scared anymore.  He wanted to touch the tree without me even prodding him.

It only got better from there.  It was the next night after work before we actually got the tree trimmed.  And with every ornament that went on Green got more and more interested in it.  He still doesn't like it when the lights are off.  But he's not scared anymore, either.  It's been an amazing evolution to watch!

As for gifts and how they handled the tree, surprisingly, they never tried to take ornaments off.  And they left the gifts alone.

We had our first party with a gift exchange on the 22nd.  The gifts they were given they were interested in helping us open.  They were surprisingly interested.  They haven't gone for boxes and paper quite like most 1 year olds would.  Paper, sometimes, especially if it's tissue.  But boxes?  Not at all.  Which surprises me.  We actually bought them a box for a gift.  CVS was selling these boxes in the shapes of trains and space shuttles and various things like that.  Huge things and they are meant to be colored, as well.  For $9.  We couldn't say no, knowing that boxes should be their thing this year.  But really not much interest in boxes.  I know they'll love crawling into and around the train we bought them, though, once we get it set up.

By the second party with a gift exchange, they were all ready for presents.  So much so, that if Blue was left on the floor to play, he'd head straight to the gifts and start working on them.  Like I said above, the first one he found to work on happened to be for him.  But it was much too early to be working on gifts.  It was rather hilarious!

We had our little family Christmas on Christmas.  And our final gift exchange on the 26th.  By the 26th they were pretty much tired of opening gifts and just wanted to play with all the new stuff.  And stuff they sure got.

Two gifts stand out as particularly awesome to us.  One, from Grandma and Grandpa (FIL and step-MIL) is a Little People nativity scene.  We'd seen it while shopping and vowed to get it for next year.  It is definitely a keepsake.

The other is a book I found at Barnes and Noble while wandering the aisles looking for gifts to jump out at me for various other people.  We were done shopping for the boys but when I saw this book cover, I was intrigued and ultimately couldn't not get it.  It was a quick read and when I was done, I was crying.  I had to get 2.  Problem was, they only had 1.  So I bought it and we gave it to both of the boys with the intent to get a second one ASAP and get them inscribed for the individuals they are.  This book is amazing.  It's cover is a bear decorating a Christmas tree, too cute.  It's called "You Are My Miracle".  One page from the book is "I am your parent; you are my child.  I am your quiet place; you are my wild."  As the book goes, it gets even better than that, but that's the whole theme.  It is so sweet, to me, and so spot on. I look forward to reading this book to the boys over the years on Christmas Eve night.  They same author and illustrator team did another book called "You Are My I Love You".  Barnes and Noble was out when I found this Christmas book - the cover of the Christmas book has a blip about being from the same team as the book I Love You.  I was instantly intrigued but haven't yet read it.  I am ordering that from Amazon as well.

So that's been our Christmas.  I did all my normal baking this year - English Toffee, fudge, pecan butter balls, rum/walnut balls, sugar cookies and gingerbread men.  We passed out tins to all family, our cherished neighbors and friends, and many coworkers.  It's always amazing to me how people clobber us for this stuff.  My fear is always that people are doing what I can't deny I do - when I get a tin of store bought dough cut from a cookie press, I usually end up just tossing it.  Next to homemade sugar cookies, just no appeal.  I feel guilty every time, but it's just not worth the calories.  It's always nice to know people have thought of us, though.  As my husband and I spent nearly 4 days (2 days over a weekend and then 2 nights during the following work week) getting everything mixed up, baked, and decorated, we wondered if it's worth it.  The response as we hand everything out, though, tells me that it is, that the effort isn't wasted, that the cookies and candy aren't getting tossed.  We have people, as we take tins to our neighbors, open the tins as soon as we hand them over who take out cookies immediately saying "I've been waiting for these".  We have people "requesting" the English toffee as most can't make it work.  Two of my husband's coworkers told him my English toffee is better than anything commercial.  It's amazing how many people won't even try to make it because they "just know it won't come out alright".  It's 4 ingredients and so long as you get it hot enough, it'll be fine.  Anyway.  We have said for the past three years we were going to scale it back.  But then we get these responses and we just can't seem to do it.  Beyond fulfilling.  People are baffled we managed it this year with twin 1 year olds running around.

Which leads to how amazingly easy our boys are.  Seriously, we got beyond lucky with 2 incredibly easy babies.  They sleep 10-12 hours a night and have since 2 months old.  They are always smiling, always happy, and always fine with whatever you have them do, whether it's sit in a high chair, get strapped into a stroller, or have the run of the family room.  They are easy, peaceful, and content.  They rarely fuss and if they do, they are hungry or tired - and we always know which and tackle the problem right then.  Usually we stick to enough of a routine that they never get to the fussy stage.  They are incredibly friendly and sweet.  They love to cuddle and play - with us, and more and more as time goes on, with each other, too.  They watch each other's backs like you'd never believe.  All this to say, if I want a day in the kitchen baking or cooking, they let me.  They just want to be able to come in there with me and check out what I'm doing.  I'm looking forward to, in a few years, having them help me with the whole Christmas cookie and candy production.  I remember helping my mom with all her production as early as the age of 4.  And I loved every minute of it.  My aunt has her son help her with our family recipes of sugar cookies and gingerbread men, and he's loved every minute of it, too.  I'm glad easy bake is going to make a more gender neutral setup, but like my mom did with me, it won't be necessary in our house, I will happily "help" them bake chocolate chip cookies with the mixer and the oven in our kitchen anytime.

Anyway, it isn't hard with my 1 year olds to do things I love to do.  No, it's not as easy as it might have been 2 years ago - but I'll take this challenge any day.  My life is so much better today than it was 2 years ago!

It's so crazy to think, on this last day of the year, what a year this has been.  This is the first year the boys were alive from start to finish.  All 365 days.  Who they are today has changed so much since Jan 1!  I keep thinking it can't get any better - but it does.  I love motherhood.  I feel like I can say that, now.  On Jan 1, 2012, all I could say was I love my babies - but what did I really know about motherhood then?  I changed diapers and fed them and pretty much watched them sleep.  They were very alert from the day they were born, Green moreso than Blue, but both VERY alert.  But today, 365 days later, it's just amazing how much they've changed over the year, how much they've grown, how much we've all seen and done together.  I can't wait to see what the next 365 do for us.  How much more we'll all learn, how much more we'll all explore, how much more we'll all start to do.  This next year is crazy; to think about moving from cribs to toddler beds, to think about starting to potty train, to think about how much more Christmas will be next year, to think about how much more they'll swim, how much more they'll help me garden, how much more time we'll spend at playgrounds/parks.  How amazing this year has been seems a pittance to what I think the next year will be like.  Please God, just keep them healthy and safe.

So that is all for this year.  I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's Eve and that 2013 is amazing and beautiful for us all!