A Very Merry Christmas

What better way to spread the holiday cheer than to tell our family and friends that we were expecting a second baby?

We wanted Matthew to be part of the surprise so we ordered him a t-shirt that said, “I’m going to be a big brother” to wear under his sweater on Christmas Eve. When the timing was right he would take off his sweater and reveal the surprise.

 I got pregnant in November. Matthew was fascinated by the logistics of how the baby would come out. We showed him a picture of a baby inside a belly from a maternity book that the hospital gave me. After a brief glance at that photo he decidedly flipped ahead to some of the more telling pages of the maternity book. When we asked what he thought he informed us that he had a baby in his belly too. Imagine the coincidence!

With Christmas approaching we baked cookies, a gingerbread house, and a train. We shopped, wrapped, sent out cards, and planned a menu for our Christmas Eve party.

Christmas Eve approached and Matthew delivered our surprise like a champ. The family was as surprised and happy as we had hoped that they would be.

When the party ended, much later than Matt’s bedtime he protested going to sleep but three minutes after being tucked in he was fast asleep.The next morning he woke up to a pile of presents under the tree.
 

Three is such a fun age to be around at Christmas. “Special crayons!” Matt exclaimed pulling a box out of his stocking. “I was looking for these!” Or “Oh yeah! A new garbage truck!” His excitement was contagious.

Despicable Me

“My mommy is going to pick me up from school right after snack time,” Matt told his teacher the second he took off his coat and stepped into the classroom.

“Despackable me,” I heard him telling a playmate when I picked him up.

“Desicklable me?” The boy inquired.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” Matthew concluded. Noticing my arrival then he threw the stamp roller aside, flung the picture he made at me, and began pulling me by the hand towards the cubbies. “Are you taking me to the movie theatre now?”

“Yes of course.”

The movie theater reminds me of the old one we used to go to while on vacation when I was a child. There is one step to indicate the upper and lower levels, the seats are wide and comfortable despite the fact that they do not recline, and tickets are only $3.50 for a matinee.  There are no brain teasers, advertisements, or behind the scenes features before the movie starts. The screen is dark and peaceful until that moment of excitement when the previews to the movie come on.

“I don’t want anyone sitting next to me,” Matthew putting his legs up on the back of the seat in front of us to block the aisle.

 “You shouldn’t worry about that.” Aside from us the only other people there are a family of four sitting on the other side of the theater.

The movie begins and halfway through Matthew whispers that he is three-years old.

“Did you say you have to pee?” I whisper back.

“No, I’m three!” He counts on his fingers, starting with his thumb, “One. Two. Three!”

.

When the movie was over Matthew was amazed by the change to a moonlit sky. “Was that movie on forever ago? Am I four?”

Later at bedtime he throws himself into my arms, “Thank you for taking me to the movies to see Despackable Me at apartment number four!" Suddenly I wish it wasn’t his bedtime already. 

Edaville Railroad

This winter Matthew has fallen in love with the move The Polar Express.

We waited an hour in traffic to get into the train themed park but he didn't mind the wait.

During the train ride a conductor came around and punched our tickets, which pleased Matt because it was just like in the Polar Express movie. Later he would tell me that his favorite part of the trip was when we were on the train and they played a song from the movie. 

After the train ride we ate dinner at a table outside. Matthew is sitting with me right now and asked me to tell you that he had a hot dog, french fries, and chocolate milk. After dinner, we walked over to the kiddie rides and ran into our friends, Stella, and Sargon. Sargon and Matt went on some rides together, and ran around exploring. To them it could have been a warm night in August or a cold night in December and they would have still had the same amount of fun.