Christmas

Luca woke up somewhere between 6:30 and 7:00am - but, because Debbie and I hadn't gone to sleep until 2am, we lied and told him it was still the middle of the night. We convinced him to get into our bed and to "shhh - close your eyes, quick because Santa still has to come!". He believed us, despite the fact that the morning light was clearly visible through the windows. We managed to stay under the covers until almost 8am - but, by then, his excitement had rubbed off on us, so we all jumped out of bed.



This is what he saw when he walked into the living room...



And this is what he looked like when he discovered what Santa left under the tree...



He was also excited that the carrots and cookies that he had left for Santa and Rudolf had been eaten...














He opened each present slowly and methodically. It took for-ev-er, but we were really glad that he took the time to savor each one.





He got a few big items from my mom, dad and sister (as usual) - but we made a real effort to ask lots of people to NOT send gifts this year. Last year - between traveling during Christmas AND gifts from every single person we visited (plus the packages from family and friends far away) - there was way too much excess. Totally unnecessary. Plus, he was completely overwhelmed and the idea of giving and receiving was out the window - and all he experienced was some sort of unpleasant holiday frenzy. This year was a much more contained and - although he still made out like a bandit - the amount of gifts he received was dealable enough that he really did appreciate everything he was given. He's also (thankfully) totally down with the idea of "out with the old, in with the new" and that we will be getting rid of (giving away, donating, sending to the shore house) some of his old toys to make room for new ones. We also worked on the concept of sharing with and giving to people who don't have as much as we do. We "adopt" a big family each holiday and, this year, we tried to include him as much as we could. At three, some of it was lost on him, but we'll continue with that concept throughout the year and - next year - make him a more active participant in that whole process. For now, we are doing our best to stamp out the "gimmes" when they come up (as he is currently drawn to all gift-wrapped items) and show him that it's really fun to give, too. He's doing pretty well with all of it, but it's something we realize WE need to stay on top of - and set a good example - in order for him to really get it.



We spent the rest of the day playing with his loot, eating leftovers (from our relaxing and delicious Christmas Eve feast with friends) and lazing about. This is the first Christmas in seven years that we've been home during the holidays and Luca's first Christmas in his own house. Although I missed my family (especially my sister, BIL and nephew) in a major way, it was really nice to be able to be in our own space and allow Luca all the time he wanted and needed to enjoy the day in his own way.