The Happiest Place on Earth

We took XX for her first visit to Disneyland.

We saw this view a lot as Brad was in charge of what to do and how to get there.  He did a great job; we all had a perfect day.

 

I had a few doubts about coming during a vacation week, but at Christmas time, Disneyland is even more magical.  We'll definitely do it again!

XiaoXiao was able to ride a carousel all by herself for the very first time.  Even in the children's ride park near us, she is too small and needs parental accompaniment.  In this happy place, she didn't need me holding her and I could ride on the horse next to her.  Heaven.

Mr. Toad was awfully cute, but the ride traumatized XX. 

 

The Dumbo ride was more to her liking.  "Dà xiàng!"  Fun to watch Brad and Steph in the elephant ahead of us, as well.

 

 

Though I'd hoped to avoid this, she fell asleep on my shoulder at some point and then woke up as we were starting Pirates of the Carribbean.  John and I held our breath, but she did fine.

The excitement called for the "greatest stuff on Earth."  Milk is always our savior.

 

XX loved It's a Small World. It, too, was revamped to celebrate the season.  Incredible.  I should have taken some video to catch XX's head tipping side to side with the music.  She sang along as they played many of her favorite Christmas songs.

 

 

 

There is was face painting.  XX chose, to everyone's surprise, a T-rex.  In pink.

 

 

We took a break late afternoon to rest.  XX took a good second nap, and then we all went back to see the fireworks.  It's the first time XX has seen some and while she was apprehensive about them hitting us or being too loud, she adored them.  (Rightly so as they were magnificent.)

Yesterday, we went to the beach.  XX was excited to find she could ride some of the rides by herself and lost no time finding friends.  She chatted and screamed with a girl on one ride, then found a boy she really liked.  The two of them laughed together ride after ride. XX barrelled over him a bit, telling him which rides they should do and how many times.  He was an awfully good sport.

 

 

We had dinner with one of John's college friends then walked on the beach as the sun was going down. 

Our vacation ends today as we make the trip back home, but I expect that as usual, it will be a great ride.  XX is a fabulous traveler.

The happiest place on Earth is anywhere you find XiaoXiao. 

A Merry Christmas

Last week XiaoXiao announced that there were three more days of school and then it would “be vacation!” Then she turned to me and asked, “What's vacation?” Not a clue, but she knew it was exciting.

So far it has been.

First Uncle Jack came to see us. We all enjoyed his visit and XX had a great time annoying him while he tried to read the newspaper.

Then there was more Christmas prep. Decorating a gingerbread house was sweet, sweet fun.

Brad and Steph are here to spend a week with us. XX has really bonded with them over this trip. It will be hard to let them go back.

After working very hard to make a gift for Daddy, XX wrapped the present all by herself.  I hope he was impressed by the amount of tape.  

Christmas Eve dinner was spent with all our family, including Kathleen and our neighbor Carter (Shirley had to stay home with a resting ankle). These three people have been part of our family since we were small.  It was wonderful that they came to be with us at this special time.  Everyone pitched in and so my disorganization hardly showed. We had such a good time, no one remembered to take any photos. 

XX wrote a note to Santa and left him cookies and milk, with some apples for the reindeer. She checked the chimney to make sure he could get in.

 

 

The next morning was quite incredible. She shrieked when she saw the cookies were gone and there was just an apple core left. “Santa was here!” He'd left her a note and after she read it, she was even more excited. I think she danced around the room for five minutes before she thought to look at the stockings.

While she enjoyed what he'd brought her (though she thought it was too much), she was thrilled to find that Santa had brought Ariel a penguin toy and Boris had received a bone.

When it came time for all of us to open presents, she could hardly contain herself.  First she gave me the presents she'd chosen and wrapped.  She told me what each one was before adding, "But it's a secret."  Then she gave Ariel her present, helping her to unwrap it.  XX had a great time unwrapping and admiring her own gifts as well.

And now we're at Disneyland.  More to come ...

Four Firsts

Four is so much more than three.  Your child hasn't grown a little older along a straight line, she's multiplied and zigzagged and ended up in a new world.  She looks like the same little person you knew as a mush of a baby, a stumbling toddler and a precocious three-year old.  But she's not.  She's much more.  A four-year old knows more, asks more, thinks more, experiences more, remembers more, feels more, just all around IS more.

Christmas this year is HUGE for XX.  She's been looking forward to it since some time in October and now that it's nearly here, she's set to explode.  We've had a few "firsts" this year since, as she tells everyone, she's FOUR now.  She says this loudly and makes sure to hold up four fingers in case the asker is hard-of-hearing or dim-witted.  Then she adds, "I'm a big girl now.  I wasn't when I was three, but now I'm FOUR."

She went to see Santa for the first time.  She's been afraid before now, terrified even.  But this year, she loves him and wanted to go talk to him.  She started talking before she got to him and looked as if she was giving him directions.  She told me she was asking him to bring Ariel a toy, but not Boris because he doesn't like toys.  She thought a bone would be nice.  She said Santa had asked if she'd been a good girl and she told him "yes," but otherwise, she reported that she did most of the talking.  Indeed.

This is our first Christmas in this house, the first Christmas in this house for many many years.  Mom died 25 years ago and Christmas stopped here a few years after.  So we feel privileged to bring lights and joy back at this season.

This is XX's first Christmas tree with ornaments.  We have old glass ornaments from John's parents and have just left them off the tree for the past few years.  Last night, XX hung almost all the ornaments by herself.  She's old enough and careful enough at four, to be trusted.  Plus, there is "lovely," and I use this word both facetiously and gratefully, gold shag carpeting in the living room.  Anything that falls is wonderfully protected. 

XX helped with gifts for others for the first time.  Her school had a gift collection for children from broken homes.  One gift they asked for specifically was warm hats, scarves, mittens.  So I took XX to help me choose them.  We've been talking about Christmas as a time to think about those we love and also to help those that might not be as fortunate as we are.  XX got carried away choosing the prettiest, the warmest, the "boy-est" of outdoor gear.  It was far more than I'd thought we were going to do, but she was so into the spirit.  As the commercials say, "Priceless."  Then she pulled out one very thin, very sparkly scarf.  A dressy scarf, not a "keep warm" scarf.  "Oooohhhh!  Mum!  This is so pretty!!!  Someone will LOVE this!"  I pointed out that it would not keep anyone warm and her answer was, "But they will feel so special, Mum.  I have lots of things that make me feel special and I want to share that 'special' with someone else." 

Learning more.  At four.

Happy Holidays!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

XX-ese

XX has always been expressive.  With her voice, volume, face, hands, body, she paints the most fantastic pictures.

For instance, she doesn't like to be "bunchy."  This means, layers of clothing that can get, well, bunchy.

Last week, she noticed it was windy outside and likely to be cold.  She observed, "We'll have to be bunchy.  Probably 18 bunchy."

Eighteen anything is the most it can be.  While she can count higher, I don't think the numbers past 10 have much concrete meaning.  She seems to like the sound of 18 and it has become her superlative.

When she sits on her feet so that they get numb (done when she can't see much over a meal table where there is no booster seat), she tells me, "Mum!  My feet are sparkling!"  She often asks me to feel them as she giggles at the prickles.

She wonders why I hear and understand her, but Daddy does not (I still repeat and translate for him a surprising amount).  I say I have my mommy ears on.  "Oh.  I guess Daddy did not put on his 'daddy ears.'  He just has his 'man ears' on and I don't think they work too well."  And now, when he doesn't respond to her, she looks at me, rolls her eyes and mouths "man ears."  

While her night sleep is still interrupted by bad dreams, her naps are now happy.  It isn't often she wakes from one in the midst of a terror, like she used to do regularly.  And if the naps are very good, she tells me contently she's had a "wō niú" sleep.  This means she's slept peacefully curled up like a snail (as opposed to flailing in fright like she does in the night).

Now for a little "wō niú" sleep at night.  Maybe even 18 "wō niú."

Ready, Set ...

I'm suddenly feeling that there is very little time until Christmas, but so so much to do.

We did get our tree this past weekend.  It's big, full and just beautiful.  We think it's our prettiest tree ever.  (Of course, we say this every year, even with our Charlie Browniest trees.)

XX asked some time ago if she might have her own small tree this year.  And so we found her a little table top tree.  It came with its own fiber optic lights, and she can have it year after year, even all year should she want.

She loves it and promptly made ornaments out of two of her art projects. 

We started making presents. 

She doesn't hesitate to pronounce her own work "perfect."  (Like her father.)

And even clean-up is fun. (Not like her father.)

As we have to work around naptimes (which are still sizable), who knows if we'll get everything done.  But at least we'll have fun trying!

The Home Depot Solution

You know when you go to this giant warehouse of a store and lose your husband and then he doesn't answer his phone?  I have the solution.

Take XX with you.  She always tells me, "Don't worry, Mum.  If you can't find Daddy, I'll just shout him out."

And she does.  I push the cart with her standing in the cart up front doing her foghorn best, "BA-BAAAAAA!"

Out he pops, sheepishly and usually from the power tool section. 

Works every time.