Christmas is Defeated and Dee is Cute

Spent this afternoon denuding the Christmas tree and packing all the holiday goods up in those handy Rubbermaid tubs I bought before we left for Michigan. I am hoping to A will take pity on me when he gets home and help me hoist them up to the attic. Its not exactly that I can't do it...I got all the boxes down, its just nice occasionally to have a little support.

The house always looks so much more open once the tree is out of the way again, the mantle is cleared of boughs and the piano top is emptied of holiday knick-knacks. Am looking forward to that fresh, spacious feeling. I also haven't loosened the bolts on the tree-stand and hauled the naked tree up to the dumpster. The final piney scented sweeping of needles will likely come after the kids are in bed for the night. I packed up the holiday while the boys were taking their nap this afternoon and thought vaguely that maybe I should have mentioned the plan to Ru before he went up the stairs for his rest. And then he woke up and we had to have a long discussion and many tissues to comfort him upon realizing that while he was asleep I'd decided to banish festivity. He still refuses to believe that the tree itself is going outdoors...as I said, this may end up happening later tonight. Fortunately, although its been rather traumatic, I know that kids are elastic and didn't take too much to heart. The tear shower was serious but brief and I'm sure he'll adapt to the idea of looking forward to spring(my next celebratory plan)just beautifully.

Thought I'd add a little "Focus on Dee" feature today too. He's growing by leaps and bounds and is full of all kinds of new stuff.

• He's our little songbird. He sings all the time and has started singing, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Everybody, hallelujah!" his own little song he made up based on the responsive benediction we say every week at the end of our church service.

• He picks up phrases like a little parrot and spouts them a bit at random. Just the other day I heard him saying "No backsies!" (from a Francis book)and he has also learned "I need to have ____" and has just started to "need" things like a candy bar, a piggy-back ride or a big spoon.

• He's got a favorite color! Ru still doesn't really give a hoot what he wears (minus his preference for his super-hero underwear over the plain ones)  and doesn't have any real opinions about which colors are his favorites but Gideon avidly requests most mornings, "I red shirt!!!" and is very disappointed if no red shirts are clean anymore. Sweet little picky manlet!

• He is finally over screaming in the bath. As long as I make the entry to the tub nice and peaceful he'll slip right in and happily play for a half and hour or so without a single tear. Its so great. As long as Ru doesn't get too wild with the splashing and get water in his eyes...then its all tears from then on out...but still...

• He still really likes flowers and usually tells me very pointedly (whenever we see some) that they are "so pitty!"

• He's really into babies. He has started turning various toys into babies and cuddling them cradle-hold style in washcloths as he walks around the house. I think the boy needs a real baby doll. Whenever we are around a real life baby he climbs up on the couch next to me when I'm holding the little bundle and says assertively, "I hode baby!!!" I think he's gonna make a great big brother.

• He's very interested lately interested in emotions and has started proclaiming himself or characters he points out in books: sad, "angee" or happy and he'll often exclaim to me all of a sudden in a moment of down-time, "Mommy, I happy!!!"  or bring me a toy and explain with great seriousness, "Oh, Mommy, he sad, he kying!" So great. 
  

And have I mentioned that he's super cute??? Those dimples folks, are they not killer?