Merry Christmas!

It's hard to say how much Michael understood about his first Christmas. We have been talking about Jesus and adding a figure to his sticker nativity scene every morning. We read books about Jesus' birth and Santa Claus, and I suspect a fair amount has sunk in. A few weeks ago he climbed happily onto Santa's lap and gave the photographer a winning smile.

Our little boy can even say, "Ho, ho, ho." But I suspect he is just taking all the activity in his stride, as he typically does.

Michael wore his first tie--just like Baba--to Christmas Eve Mass.



(His big brother wore one too, and it was worth all the coaxing we put into getting these ties on. We came just shy of bribery with Louis, though in the end he didn't want to take it off.)

We left cookies for Santa and magical reindeer food for the reindeer and both boys collapsed early on Christmas Eve--which meant Louis was up just before 6 a.m., bouncing around his room and ready to see whether Santa had come. Michael couldn't understand why Louis woke him up.

We crept...hmm...raced...downstairs.

The boys didn't have any trouble figuring out whose pile of gifts was whose. (We asked Santa not to waste the time and paper on wrapping this year, and we were so happy we did. It gave the boys more time to enjoy their gifts, and there has been plenty to unwrap from family and friends.)

Santa also left a GeoTrax set for the boys to share, along with a note:

Whether it was Santa's influence or the fact that there were so many new toys to discover, the boys didn't have many sharing issues Christmas morning--a happy surprise for those of us who typically referee.

Michael loved his drum.



But he was even more excited about the fruit snacks in his stocking.



Louis started picking out tunes on his guitar, settling on "The Old Account," by Johnny Cash, which I had heard him singing under his breath as we approached the manger scene at church on Christmas Eve. I suspect he was the only child murmuring "...and the record's clear today 'cause he washed my sins away..." as we waited in line to see Jesus in the manger.



During Mass, Louis also sang every word to "Away in a Manger," one of my standard lullabies. When Michael heard the choral group singing the first words of the song, on the other hand, he got upset. "No, no, no!" he said very loudly. I think he thought we were going to try to put him to bed right then and there.


Both Louis and Michael enjoyed discovering the presents, and--thank goodness--Louis didn't complain that he hadn't received many items from his wish list. Thanks to the Christmas toy catalogs arriving regularly at our--and Grandma's--home, that list has grown terribly long. And we have explained again and again that there's only so much room in the sleigh--and that there are many other children throughout the world. We've also explained that Christmas isn't just about presents.

Santa managed to squeeze plenty onto the sleigh for our boys.


And John and I waited until Christmas morning to give them the train table our friends had passed down from their boys. It was a big hit, especially with Louis.


 
Michael was even more excited that he was allowed into the basement, which has been off limits lately since the Christmas gifts--including the train table--have been there. Michael rediscovered toys he hadn't seen in ages or ever, and he was thrilled. Next year maybe we'll just put extra toys in the basement in September, lock the door, and Christmas morning we'll let the boys downstairs. It was such a thrill for them to see forgotten toys.



Of course, Michael was nearly as excited about trying on my shoes as he was about his gifts.



Christmas also gave us a chance to share some items we saved from our trip to China to adopt Michael. Each of the boys received a hand drum featuring their zodiac animal. Louis is a boar and Michael is an ox.



It was a wonderful Christmas. Our boys managed to share a little...



...and a little more...



...and even a little more.



Did that attitude carry over to this morning? As Louis likes to say, "Almost, but not quite."
Still, the memories of a relatively peaceful Christmas with our boys are strong.

The first Christmas for Michael...



...and the third for our son who knows reindeer can tip over the bowl of glittery food we left for them...



...was as wonderful as we could have hoped. One year ago we were scrambling to get our dossier to China in hopes for a referral. I thought then that it was unlikely we would travel to China in 2011--but, as John points out, my adoption estimates are always wrong. Michael has been our son now for four months, and what a blessing he is.

This fun-loving little brother is laidback at times, opinionated at others (and the answer is always "NO!") and he has an astounding determination. At his cousin's fourth birthday party last week, he worked on his party blower for at least 20 minutes, trying so hard to get it to work--and he did.

He has slipped so easily into our lives that I kept having to remind myself that this was Michael's first Christmas. And he treats our extended family with friendly affection, but not in a way that raises our anxiety about attachment. It's truly a miracle.



While preparing a post-placement report for China, I realized that we had no photos of just Michael with his Mama and Baba--not since our time in China, anyway--so my sister Treasa took a few yesterday.

Yes, I'm almost positive Michael didn't understand much of this Christmas hoopla. But he certainly took it in stride and thoroughly enjoyed himself.


 
Hope your Christmas was a merry one!