Santa Visit

Yep, we did it--we took the kids to see the big man himself. We met Grandma Martha in JC Penny's west parking lot, and with her help, escorted the kids to the North Pole in the center of Park Meadows mall. We waited for about an hour, took in the ambiance of that good ol' Ameri-terialistism, and then, at last, found ourselves in a slow-moving line to see Santa Claus.

Now, I have been preparing the kids for X-mas, really since Thanksgiving: "Who's this?" "Santa!" "What's he say?" "Ho ho ho." I now even have Scout saying, "Merry Tistmas." And all three of them are just crazy about lights.

But, of course, I stepped it up today. Right when I got home, I tried to get them acclimated to the whole idea of Jolly Ol' St. Nicholas. "On whose lap are you going to sit?" "Santa's." "When he asks you what you want for Christmas, what are you going to say?" Kiefer's answer: "Big Count." Charlie's: "No-man" (that's "Snowman" to the lay person). And Scout's answer: "Purple"--that's right, Scout wants an adjective.

Anyway, the hope was that with enough practice, visualization, and genuine ebullience, we might actually have an enjoyable encounter (or at least Scout might--possibly?...).

The result?

Score: Daddy: 0/ Nature: 3.

Kiefer was the first to sit on Santa's lap, and was actually amenable to it--at first. Scout approached for a second, then turned and clasped Mommy's leg. And Charlie--well, he wouldn't even go into the room. By the time I swept Charlie up, Kiefer had exploded, and Suzy was saying, "Hurry, Joe!" I quickly deposited Charlie on Santa's right leg, and then grabbed Scout to put her in the middle. Santa, no doubt tired after a long long day, quietly stammered, "W-w-wait--not all three--you're not putting a-all three on me..." Before he knew it, though, he had latched his fingers around Scout's waist, and it was "Look-at-the-photographer-shaking-a-tambourine" time. Yea, go back up to the picture, and check out Santa's face again. That's not a smile. He's mortified--afraid he might drop one or all of the babies--and Scout (look at her arms)--she is doing everything in her power to make sure he does...

...Oh man, it was hilarious!

Now, I know you haven't heard from us in a while.

Well...we're baa-aack!

As you might guess, the tempo just keeps increasing, or we're putting more pots on more fires. In any case, it's getting expensive...

Here's a quick update for you (baseball-card style):

Scout

Nickname: Scouty

Age: Two

Weight: 21 lbs

Height: 2' 8''

Speech: Can't pronounce the "K" sound.

Interests: Writing, Coloring, Reading, Talking, Tissing (--she tisses everything, like cardboard cutouts of Elephants at the grocery store), Dancing, Dressing herself, Bossing Daddy around, and putting herself into time-out (actually, it's the returning suddenly chipper that she loves--think we need to stop celebrating it so much)

Dislikes: Washing hair, Washing face, Being dressed (by anyone), Peas, Ice, and Santa.

Favorite Food: Everything (other than peas), especially if it involves dipping.

Favorite Animal: Zebra

Favorite Song: "The Wheels on the Bus"

Favorite Book: The Napping House (--reminds us all of Granny DeStefano, in fact)

M.O.: Doing for herself (dressing, getting into her car-seat, scooping her own food onto her fork--"No," she says, "My do it.")

Kiefer

Nickname: Doo

Age: Three (according to him anyway)

Weight: 26 lbs

Height: 2' 9''

Speech: Has something of a lisp, but is the most syntactically adept (just recently taking over Scout's long-held top rank there)

Interests: Throwing (anything), Footballs, Talking, Jumping, Being Naughty, Trucks (backhoes, especially), Sculpting Play-Doh (and mixing the colors), Making Charlie laugh, and, bestest of all, Mommy

Dislikes: Yogurt, Snow, Ice, Halloween, Diaper rash, Sharing, and Santa

Best Joke: Hitting himself in the head, or flopping on the ground.

Favorite Food: Raisins

Favorite Animal: Hippo

Favorite Book: My First Trucks Picture Book

Favorite Song: "Twinkle Twinkle"

M.O.: Throwing footballs up into the sky.

Charlie

Nickname: Bird

Age: Two (and he can almost show you with his fingers)

Weight: 25 lbs

Height: 2' 8''

Speech: Can't pronounce the "S" sound (hence, the "No-man")

Interests: Laughing (usually at Kiefer), Catching, Shooting basketballs, Shooting soccer balls, Dancing (the famed "move"), Stacking, Organizing, Kissing with fish-lips, Helping people up the front step, and Cuddling (with Mommy, of course)

Dislikes: The moon, (s)no(w), Ice, Wind, Halloween, and (you guessed it) Santa

Best Joke: Scrunching his nose and/or throwing his voice

Favorite Food: Pasta

Favorite Animal: Giraffe

Favorite Book: Go Dog Go

Favorite Song: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (just joking)--probably "Rudolph" right now (--might have something to do with Mikey, whom they all love)

M.O.: Getting kisses on injured body parts

Suzy & Joe

Nicknames: Mommy and Daddy

M.O.: Loving parenthood. Just loving it! And, of course, grateful as can be (for your loves, as much as for anything else).

Thanks for keeping up with us.

With all our hearts: Happy Holidays to you.

Or as Scout might say, "Merry Tistmas to all, and to all a night night."