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Santa & The Mags

Christmas has arrived at HBHQ and Maggie totally buys into all of it. I know many parents choose to share with their children the mythology around Santa for various reasons, but I’m happy to say that we’re a family that is not doing that. As far as Maggie knows, Santa is a guy that is ‘coming to [her] house to bring toys’. We do talk extensively about sharing with others and the importance of being happy with what we have, but I am extremely excited to see her little face when Santa finally does come visit us….in a lot more night-nights. 

We went and picked out a tree at a mini tree/fruit stand a few blocks from our house. There was a part of me that wanted to drive to a tree farm, pick a tree, cut one down, sip on hot chocolate and enjoy the process, but these days I’m all about keeping it simple and close to home when I can. I am seriously pregnant (see above image of our family photo…why should the pregnant lady have to sit on Santa’s lap?) and find myself feeling either full of energy or beyond tired. There really isn’t an in between, so choosing the cute tree/fruit stand next to our house made sense. Plus, we didn’t have to worry too much about the tree falling off our car. If it did, I secretly wondered if Barry could just pull it home in a wagon or wheelbarrow. 

Once the tree made it into our house (goodbye, teepee!!) and we dragged our holiday boxes in from the garage, Maggie was bouncing off the walls with Christmas joy. She patiently waited while Barry and I strung the lights around the tree and then ‘helped’ decorate the lower half of the tree. True to form, she had a pretty clear idea of what should go where. She had different comments “This is beautiful” or “I love this” for each ornament…even the most ugly ones.

When we finally finished up, Barry and I were slouched on the couch sipping on tea wondering what to do with a few left over Christmas items. When we turned our attention back to Maggie, we noticed that she was just sitting and staring at the tree. Then she got up and HUGGED the tree before sitting down to stare at it some more. She also kept putting her ‘christmas necklace’ on the tree.  Our little girl was just so happy with the tree that she couldn’t stop staring at it. 

We’ve got a bin of our winter books out and we read those in a way that makes me feel a bit sad for the books on her actual bookshelf, but she studies all the winter scenes and the books of Santa with an intensity that is to be admired. When we pulled the version of “The Night Before Chirstmas” that has my grandpa’s voice reading it aloud, she listened to it no fewer than 10 times in a row. So, when we talked at length about going to meet Santa, Maggie wanted to know if we were going to “play with him,” I had to fill her in that we were just going to get a photo taken. We looked at previous years of her with Santa and she really was suprised to see herself next to him, but I think it prepared her a bit to go meet him in person. 

My grandfather has been santa for over 20 years and having Maggie come to see him was a very important moment in all his Santa Clausing.  Cora told me that he’d been practicing different voices in case Maggie recognized his, she didn’t; however, when we went to get a picture of Maggie, 3G and Santa, Maggie wondered aloud where Great Grandpa was. We told her that he was at home doing some work…liar, I know! But she was able to get on 3G’s lap and take a picture with both her great grandparents to add to the santa picture collection that’s been growing for decades. 

At first, Maggie stood and stared with a straight face at Santa and he quietly waved at her from his seat. There was nobody else there, which made it easy to let Maggie take all time she needed. When we made any type of move to get a picture taken, Maggie star-fished onto Barry and kept her eyes on Santa. Eventually she warmed up and ended up showing Santa how high she can jump in her red cowboy boots and corrected him when he called her baby legs stockings. 

After we snapped enough photos for a lifetime, we headed on our way and Maggie told Santa she’d see him later. Driving home, and in the days following, Maggie has recounted ‘meeting’ Santa a number of times. And she’s spent time studying the photos with that intensity that she gets from Barry.  Looking Maggie sitting in front of our tree and staring at the santa photos, it makes me feel excited to see her joy and belief that Santa does exist. 

**With the exception of the santa photos, images outtakes from our 2012 Christmas card photo . 

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7:21 on a Wednesday

We were packing up to go to Anacortes for Thanksgiving and I had a bag of fabric set out next to the door for my mom. It took Maggie about two shakes before she decided to investigate what was inside the bag. Apparently she thought that the fabric would make a good mini-bed and immediately set up shop and started reading away. She read to herself for about 15 minutes in that little cocoon, getting another book after book, before she decided that it was time to get ready to go. As a teacher and a mother, seeing her choose to spend her time with books makes me want to do The Happy Dance. I think we’ve got a book lover on our hands and I couldn’t be happier!!

Speaking of The Happy Dance, I’m totally slowing down and doing the trusty dance ‘o happy just isn’t as cool with a big pregnant belly. The above photo is from Jeff and Courtney’s wedding way back in September. That was me livin’ it up in the energy-filled 2nd trimester. If I could, I’d go back in time and have my own marriage ceremony to that 2nd trimester. Dorky? Without a doubt, but you should see me walking my students around school – I am just like Mrs. Mallard in Make Way For Ducklings. I’m not complaining (well, I guess I am a bit) but this 3rd trimester business of not sleeping and getting out of bed like an OLD person is wonky.

I kid you not that the other day I got out of bed and Barry asked me, in an extremely concerned voice, if I was going to be okay. It took me a moment to realize that he doesn’t usually see me launch myself up first thing in the morning and it is truly a sight to see. My hips creak, my back cracks and I’ve got pillows wedged between every arm and leg crevice. Thankfully I’ve got a chiropractor appointment and a massage in my future; however, I’m not sure that will help me with the rolly-polly technique I’ve mastered for getting up. 

 And because this post is really about a whole lot of nothing, I’ll attach an outtake from our photo shoot of this year’s Christmas card. I think Maggie was wearing her Bossy Pants the day we shot the images because she had a pretty clear idea of how things should go down. Her ideas weren’t horrible, but she kept wanting to look at my camera to see her pictures. There might have been marshmallows involved in a bit of a bribe. I’m not proud about it, but occasionally a marshmallow bribe is very, very necessary.