Just around the river bend...

Christmas really sneaked (snuck?) up on us this year (again).

Last year, I never took Alex to see Santa; I figured it was just one more thing he didn't need to be terrified by.  A friend I work with told me she takes her son to Valley View Mall to see Santa because no one ever goes there and you can get in and out in 5 minutes.

Even on Sunday afternoon 3 days before Christmas, she was right!  The place was a ghost town.

While I feel like we needed to be packing while walking around that mall, I also felt safe within the physicality of my minority status in a way that was confusing and comforting all at the same time.
When we got up to Santa (yes, he was a white Santa with blue eyes...whew!), we would have been the next person, but Santa had to go on break for half an hour.  I get it.  That's where he goes off and gets disinfected for the next round, right?  Takes a shower, de-lices his beard, and puts on a clean suit?  We'll wait for clean Santa, sure.
We wasted some time at Sears (the only name brand store in that mall) and bought some shoes for Alex.  I still have no idea how long his big toes have been painfully smashed up against the front of his then current shoes; I am a great mom.

When we got back to Santa, we were again second in line.  Alex got to watch the child in front of him sit on Santa's lap and take a picture.  I was coaching him through the steps of the Santa process and tried to act really excited.
As soon as I sat Alex on Santa's upper thigh, he made this weird, fake smile and I told the photo man to get snapping, afraid it could end at any moment.

Well it's not North Park, but that'll do, pig*, that'll do.

*monkey


Alex and Santa had some quality silent time together.  Santa tried to ask him a few questions starting with, "what's your name?"  Alex just sat there.

Santa, check.


Alex is two for two being sick on Christmas.  Last year it was the infamous stomach bug of 2012.  This year, he was running a temperature and coughing.  I think we might be the only parents that don't take our child to the doctor when he's sick.  V always says, "well, his fever is going down when we give him medicine...that runny poop is an improvement...all signs point to virus...he's better than he was yesterday..."

While I don't see any of this, I have to trust that he has more experience in this type of thing than me.  I still feel like we're letting parts of his brain fry when he's burning up.
He is starting to get better after a few sleepless nights though.  As I type this up, we are on 3.5 hours for napping.

 Since Alex was grumpy and sick and we were all sleep deprived, we rang in a very low key Christmas.

dinosaur feet!

For someone who was sick, he sure liked opening gifts.  Last year he was like, meh...this year he was like, more!  He's becoming a true American. 

photo bombed...although is it photo bombing if the subject is aware of it?

Today, we've been playing with his "bugs".  They are these little robotic bug things that run around a bug farm.  He got part of it from our friends over the summer, and Santa bought him a couple of additions...a zip line, and a bug that can crawl up tunnels!  He loves them.

I'll just gloss over visiting my Grandparents with a sick kid and tripping my Grandma causing her to fall...

While I believe my gift giving was less than exciting (we got my mom a water pick for her teeth...) and I did not make one Christmas treat...I was somehow rewarded with the best gift I could have asked for...

this is awesome because it's grapefruit season AND I didn't have to go to Central Market!  

We haven't done a lot on this break yet on account of the illness, but we did ride the Polar Express train in Grapevine.  While it was more money than I wanted to pay for what the experience actually was, it was great to see these people (and their parents)...

 Merry Christmas 2013!