19 December 2009

all aboard!

the snow is falling outside the window. packages are sent. the tree is lovingly decorated with what cosmo calls "ordaments." we are settling into our first christmas together, at home. our home.


cosmo and i took an exciting trip to north texas, to have an early christmas with family there. cosmo returned loaded down with gifts, candy, and stories (told breathlessly) of an indoor water park, a magic wand game,

and a frozen town of whoville. not to mention his first ever sighting of an actual falling star! we got to star gaze out at nani and papa's place in the country, during a meteor shower. unforgettable.


we also now have in our possession a copy of the polar express (the movie, not the book). this has been a favorite of cosmo's, viewed over and over again, every time we visit nani and papa. cosmo doesn't really watch movies. most of them are too scary for him, or too long, too dialog heavy to hold his interest. he really clicked with the polar express though, the first time he saw it, and was not frightened by the hair-raising roller coaster scenes. i think the fact that there is no evil bad guy makes a big difference too. cosmo's understanding of santa is that "it's just a story," but, it is a really engaging story, and the polar express presents a convincing image of the whole operation. last night, in celebration of the last day of pre-school (breaking for the holidays), we had our first ever "family movie night." we watched polar express. carl had never seen it, and cosmo wanted to make sure he didn't miss a single second of it. then he would tell carl what was gonna happen next, and occasionally, we'd look over at him, and he'd be mouthing the words, as if he had the whole thing memorized.



to counter the full-on indoctrination into christmas, this year, i thought it would be nice to acknowledge channuka too. i crafted a simple menorah out of a nice chunk of cedar, and found some channuka candles at cvs. cosmo lit the candles each night, and we sang "o channuka." we played the dreidel game a few nights, after dinner, and on the last night, i made latkes, which we ate in front of the TV, while watching polar express. how's that for blending traditions?


[updated, january 4, 2010-- my computer is back in my lap, and here are the photos] soon, i'll post something about holiday crafting, once everyone has received their gifts.

season's greetings to you and yours!

3 comments:

mep said...

We have "ordaments" on our tree too!

The line about breathlessly told tales of the indoor water park was just perfect.

Glad you are enjoying the season!

Anonymous said...

How very cute about the way Cosmo is mesmerized by the Polar Express movie!

I owe you a tsukemono recipe, and an email reply, my friend...hopefully, I'll send it to you today or tomorrow. :)

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