Christmas with Addison

This year's Christmas season has been quite fun to see in Addison's eyes. The day after Thanksgiving we went downtown to the Grande Illumination. They had carnival rides, a scavenger hunt, the lighting of the tree and the Children's Parade. We started off with hot dogs, french fries and fried pretzels, of course. Then we went on the scavenger hunt. This starts out with a map of all the participating businesses and a bag to carry your goods you get along the way. It was a clever way to get us to visit places we probably wouldn't know about. Also, it's about the only way anyone would EVER get me to go to the RTA bus depot downtown. After we collected (most of) our loot - we went to ride the carousel which is one of Addison's favorite rides. Because of that, she ended up briefly on the news! It was quite exciting to see her face on tv. After the carousel she wanted to ride Dizzy Dragons which is essentially a Tea Cup type ride that you control the spinning with a wheel in the middle. She wanted to do this over seeing the tree lighting up. The downside to this was a group of little kids who kind of weaseled their way in front of us even after I told them at some point that they actually came after us. The little punks still ended up in front and we had to catch the next round of rides which actually worked out better because I think I might have caused a scene if I were stuck in the same dragon as them. So, here I am...the mom who has to ride with her kid (she was way to little to ride alone and the ride was very spinny). I'm in a dragon's belly with a crew of sisters ranging from 6 to 9, I think. And they spun. They spun FAST. I don't normally get queasy on a ride, but I glanced out the door for a second and lost my bearings for a moment and for the seconds after that, I had to convince myself that I wouldn't get sick on a bunch of little girls. How embarrassing would that have been? Even after the ride stopped, I thought Addison was looking a little green as well, but she held it like a trooper and quickly got over it. I was glad the camera wasn't around for that. She had a blast and laughed the entire time, so it made it all worthwhile. After the ride, we were a little late for the parade, so Greg had to hold her up on his shoulders. She's not good at this. She lets her arms fly wildly around and throws off the balance by dipping her butt down too far. Always an inch away from peril - this little daredevil. Overall, kind of a dull parade, but it lasted forever. We learned that Addison likes loud, big black men and the drum corps. Not sure what that will bring for us in the future, but she enjoyed it immensely.








The next day we decided to take a chance with our pictures with Santa. We stood in line at The Greene and finally it was her turn. We missed out on Mrs. Clause which may have helped, but she tried to be brave anyway. She got choked up as soon as it was her turn to see the big guy. I did a drop-and-run which was probably the first mistake. Her lip was trembling before I even let go and then we were both standing about 5 feet away from her just staring at her and talking to her while she tried very hard to keep a straight face. She fell apart for a few moments, regained her composure and wiped her eyes and tried to keep her lip from trembling again. I'm convinced once you get the trembly lip it's nearly impossible to stop tears from flowing, so she didn't have much chance. Finally, a pseudo- non-weeping picture was captured...but we were done and I officially became the worst mom ever for that minute. We're over it now, until the next time.










Next was our trek to cut down our Christmas tree at the tree farm. She wanted to help like no one's business, so she pulled the sled and helped pick out the tree. Once we got it home she even helped decorate it (until she saw the Barbie ornaments, then she was off to create scenarios with them while I was left to decorate the rest).















Later that evening, we decided to chance a Santa again. This time we went to the Mall at Fairfield Commons. It was a much better set-up and not many people. I had hopes that it would be much better this time. Addison even brought a card for Santa. I thought that was a great idea (her own) and it would give her a reason to approach him. Her card was actually the cardboard part of a pack of stickers you get, but it was a prize to her anyway. So, finally our turn arose. Immediately she buried her head into my leg. This was not a good start. I picked her up and we slowly approached the man in red. I've never experienced a child so glued to me ever. I knelt down and Santa and I gave each other high-fives and he held my hand. No go. She flat out refused to cave and look at him. She was the ostrich. We stepped aside so she could see a few more kids go through. I think I remember the first kid crying, which just feeds into her doubt. Not a good method. A few more went through unscathed, so we tried again. This time she still wouldn't look, but was half-way willing to stand in front of him. The photographer grabbed a rocking horse and after peeling her off of Greg we got her to sit through a few quick pictures before she had enough and got up. I'm surprised she didn't flip us off and storm out. Anyway, that ended up being our Christmas picture. Not horrible and no tears were shed that time. As a reward we let her ride a quarter ride (more like 3 quarter ride) and then she played in the play area upstairs until Greg and I got fed up with the dropped-off-too-big-and-too-old-to-be-running-around-in-a-little-kids-playarea kids. I think it's really just a test to see how long parents can withstand the bad kids knocking over all the small ones while they chase each other around. Can't say anything though, cause I could be arrested for harrassing a child. I'd rather just get up and leave.



She's been able to open a few gifts already and is on her way to mastering the art of unwrapping. At mom and dad's house she meticulously ripped 1X1 inch squares of paper and handed them to my dad. Eventually she realized that she could rip bigger sheets of paper, but she still has to get every single little piece off before she can open the box to see what's inside. I hope no one uses a lot of tape in the future. I almost can't bear the anticipation myself of seeing what's inside. It seems that she's nearly forgotten that there is a gift inside underneath all the paper and wants to go off and do something else. Her joy is simply unwrapping and the gift is just a bonus I guess. She's in her stage of apathy right now too, and she, being who she is lays it out sometimes that she doesn't care about her gifts. We know differently though. She has announced already that she "doesn't want" something that she's gotten and an hour later it's her "favorite thing". Once in awhile you might see the truly amazed gasp of delight escape from her, but it's not often.



Christmas carols have been fun to hear her sing as well. One day we heard her singing along to a song in the backseat "Fleece Nobbynob". She'll ask to sing "Frosty the Snowman was a Jolly Happy Soul" and occasionally she won't know all the words to a carol, but you can hear the last word of the sentence quite loudly as she belts out the parts she knows. "Watch out" "not pout" "Telling you why".



Yes, this Christmas has been a joy so far in the eyes of my child and how she's starting to recognize the magic of the season.