Ian's Christmas Pre-Funk

This time last year, Ian was still in a bit of a daze (so were we!) and had only been home a couple of weeks. Christmas seemed overwhelming and unnecessary. We didn't put up the tree and really didn't talk about Christmas at all. He was too young to understand and we were still figuring out what he needed and what was too much.

As it turned out, he did fine... the "go with the flow" kid that he is. We did our first trip to Arizona on the 10th and a week after arriving home, inundated him with wrapped boxes, food, trees, etc. He did fine, but hardly noticed any of it.

This year has already proven to be a little different. We put up our tree, have Christmas music on daily, and even pulled out the oldie but goodie Christmas shows "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", "A Year Without Santa", etc. He really didn't get the point of the shows, but by the time the first one was over, he was saying "Santa says Ho ho ho!". I've been talking about how good boys get presents under the tree from Santa and that the elves are watching to make sure he's being a good boy. Whether you agree with the Christmas guilt trip or not, it's a holiday we celebrate and I hope that once he grasps the concept of the holiday a bit, he'll come to understand the giving aspect as well.

I won't say yet what I've bought for him, but I'll give a hint on one of them: It's a tunnel system. I can't wait until Christmas when we can tear open that box. I have a feeling we'll all be fighting for space in the many tunnels and buildings included in the kit.

Today, Ian had a speech therapy appointment that went especially great. He went into this long string of conversation with Mona and she commented that he has excellent "story telling" skills emerging. He works hard to get a long string of thoughts out and if you don't acknowledge or repeat it back correctly, he gets frustrated and starts over. I think I'm still the only one who can translate his every word, but he's doing great at using several words together to build a thought. Just last night, he was pretending the side of the tub was the freeway and the corner of the tub was the mall. The police car followed the fire truck to the mall, then they played on the "boat tunnel" (the kids play area). It was really cute and so creative. I never would have thought of all that! Soon, he'll be using actual sentences with "a, the, and" and everything. It still amazes me how far he's come. Even his teachers comment that he talks more than almost any of the others his age. Grandma Trish might be on to something with all her "genius" talk.

Tonight, Ian and I frosted and decorated a gingerbread house. It was a horrible mess and the candy didn't stay on for long (fell off AND was eaten off), but it was a ton of fun. I don't think we'll be nominated for blue ribbons any time soon, but Ian got high on icing and M&M's... worth every minute of the clean up.

We're winding down with an episode of Little Einsteins now, and looking forward to Grandma Trish back in town tomorrow. We also have our LAST social worker visit from our agency tomorrow. We'll also do the paperwork for our "readoption", which essentially is a reason to pay more money, in my opinion, but will get Ian a birth certificate in his english name for our state. That alone is worth the trouble, in my opinion. As an adult, he'll want that. After the paperwork process we went through for him, I understand the value of an easy path to those vital stat documents (including marriage certificates).

Below are some pictures of Ian and the tree (he especially loves the airplane ornaments...big shock), and pics of our Gingerbread House experience. Get down with your sugary self, Ian!

Admiring the airplane ornaments

I tried taking pictures with the flash, but you can't see the lights. He wasn't scared of the lights at all. Luckily, short of the airplanes, he leaves everything else alone (no more ornament eating incidents).

Helping with the mixer

Ian's first "beater" experience. Not the same as the small hand mixer beaters, but who cares... It's frosting!

That first lick was a doozy

Checking out the gingerbread house before the makeover

Born to decorate. He did a great job with the M&M's... one on the house, two in Ian's mouth!

Mastering the technique

Creating a masterpiece is serious business!

Admiring his work... Great job, Ian! Time for a bath!