To the Zoo!

Dear John,

From the Christmas I was pregnant with you, it has been our tradition to go to the zoo at Christmastime.  We didn't make it to the Houston Zoo while we were in town, so we went to San Antonio Zoo today with the Robinsons.

You were so silly with your animal noises all day long.  As Mr. Robinson said, "That boy is a ham!"  It's true.  You would do something, wait for the reaction, and then if it made the Robinsons laugh, you would do it over and over again.

The last time we were at the zoo, it was still pretty hot and a lot of the large mammals, particularly the bears, were hiding in the shade, or kept indoors all together.  Today the weather went from 45 or so when we first got there to 75 by the time we left and all of the animals, especially early on, were quite active.

We had to go to the aquarium, of course, and since I was taking pictures and had the SLR around my neck and your dad was with your sister who wasn't feeling well, Mrs. Robinson took charge of holding you up to see all of the fish.

As you walked around, when you wanted to be picked up again, you would say, in your little voice, "Rah-bin! Rah-bin! Rah-bins!  Ra-bins-un!"  It took Helen a while to hear those syllables as her name, but once she did, she picked you up every time you asked and let you see fish, and then later, every time you asked, she would produce goldfish from her purse for you to eat.  She may be your new best friend.

I know your dad and I enjoyed having the Robinsons join us for the trip to the zoo.  We often do Sea World with the Fords and we really like having another family along on our adventures.  There is something about adult to child ratios that works in everyone's favor when we add another family, we enjoy the adult company, and it's nice to have another great kid around.

One of our favorite parts of the zoo this visit was the monkeys.  When we got there, the zookeeper was cleaning the habitat, putting out fresh food and then putting "trash" in the form of empty boxes or containers and hiding craisins in them.  When she was done, she let the monkey family back into the enclosure and we got to see the dad systematically hunt down every craisin.

Our other favorite part was the Mold-O-Rama.  You and your sister and Andrew each got to make one.  You made the koala, though you traded it to Andrew for the alligator he made. 

 

Your sister made a seal, though she traded it for the koala you made in order to get the alligator Andrew made.  None of these trades made any sense to me, but all three of you left the zoo happy and that's all I cared about anyway.

None of these trades made any sense to me, but all three of you left the zoo happy and that's all I cared about anyway.

 

My part in the Mold-O-Rama Mold-O-Drama was wax repair.  It takes special skill to fix the waxy remnants left on a Mold-O-Rama piece.  Luckily for you, your mama has these skills and Mr. Robinson was willing to lend his pocket knife for the job.

It was just a nice fun day at the zoo.  The weather was perfect.  You were in a great mood all day long.  Your sister stuck it out even though she didn't feel well.  I was so glad we went.

I know it's not a usual family tradition, going to the zoo at Christmas, but it is one that I love more and more each year.

Or maybe it's just the great kids I take with me every time I go that I love more and more every year.

Love,
Mom

Snow Day?

Dear John,

How do you make a white Christmas in Texas?

Instasnow!

It's silly, I know, but you loved it!

Love,
Mom

Christmas 2011

Dear John,

It has been a wonderful, if a bit over stimulating, Christmas for you.


On Christmas Eve, we went over to the Robinson's and you got to open presents and play with Andrew and your sister, almost completely unsupervised as the adults sat around the dining room and let you kids just play in Andrew's room.

After dinner at the Robinson's, I put you to bed at home and your dad and I got ready for Christmas morning.

Your sister asked for Christmas cards, so your dad and I made some for you, too.  I also got your big gifts ready and put your stocking and smaller gifts in a nice pile for you.

 

 

 

The next morning, Christmas morning, your dad got up, got me up, and then we waited.  After a while, I went into your room, rubbed your back and said, "Merry Christmas!  Would you like to get up and open presents?"

Your response was to bury your head into your teddy bear.

Almost a half hour later, you stumbled into the playroom, looked at your gifts and said, "I wan' sum'n eeeeat!"

Happily, your stocking had many somethings, and once you were properly sugared up, your mood improved significantly.

You opened presents very slowly and methodically.  You would open one gift and play for quite a bit before even looking at your others.  You were to last one done opening presents.

Your big gifts were a parking garage like the one at Nana's house and a big mac truck hotwheels carrier.  Your "three under the tree" were a set of Imaginext airplanes to go with the aircraft carrier your Uncle Jon got you, a Leapster (which used to belong to your sister), and a set of plastic Robot matryoshkas (Russian nesting dolls).

You also got to open the last Advent present... Baby Jesus.  As soon as you opened him you asked, "Where Mary and Joseph is?" so you and your sister put Baby Jesus with the rest of the Nativity.

Your dad's big gift was a Kindle Fire and my big gift (other than your dad's "old" Kindle) was a massive Lego set.

After presents, we went to have lunch with Abigail, Emelia and Sean.

You and Sean played together for possibly the first time.  All of our other visits had been when you were young enough to be a "baby" and stay closer to me and not wander off playing with the "big kids."  It was funny to see you and Sean negotiating your friendship.  You are both little brothers used to big sisters letting you have your way in a lot of things.

I was glad to see that by the time we left, you and he had really figured each other out and were playing really well together.

Your dad and I love spending Christmas with our church friends... Kristi and Donnie, Jeff and Elizabeth.

After lunch, though, it was time for a late nap.  You and I fell asleep very quickly and we really didn't wake up until it was time to head over to the Ausen's house (that would be Mrs. Ford's parents).

Mrs. Ford found really good helmets for you and your sister.  Your sister's is a rabbit and yours is a shark, of course.

 

You really wanted it to be more of a mask and kept trying to pull the helmet down over your face.  You also got soccer balls and you and your sister had great fun playing soccer in Mrs. Ausen's living room.  Happily, Mrs. Ausen is the kind of grandma who doesn't mind a relatively well-mannered soccer game in her living room.

After presents, we went into the kitchen to have a little birthday party for Jesus.  It is an Ausen tradition and they have been so sweet in letting us join them.

You and your sister even got to try to blow out the candles.

I say "try" because they were trick candles.  I love that when Mrs. Ausen asked why the candles don't go out, the Fords gave two very different answers.

Mr. Ford: well, they use either sulfur or magnesium...

Mrs. Ford: because it's like Jesus's love; it can never go out

I like Mrs. Ford's answer better, but Mr. Ford makes me laugh as I am pretty sure he knew what answer Mrs. Ausen was looking for and was having some fun with her and his wife.

It was a wonderful Christmas Day.

I cannot believe how lucky you are, sweet boy, to go from a trip to Houston, seeing so many family members who love you so very much, back to Georgetown to spend time with friends who treat you like family, and all of the abundance of gifts given to you by all of them, not to mention your daddy and me.

I hope I can teach you to appreciate all of your blessings.

I hope I can learn to appreciate all of mine.

Say a little pray with me: "Dear God, Thank you for the blessings of this Christmas.  Thank you for the chance to end Christmas Day with a birthday party for your Son, centering us, refocusing us.  Thank you for all of the blessings you have given us.  Thank you most of all for the gift of your Son.  Be with us this coming year, from Christmas to Christmas, helping us to count our blessings and be grateful for all that we have.  Help us to remember that it all comes from you.  And help us to make sure that we are doing all that we can to share your blessings with others.  Amen."

Merry Christmas, Son,

Love,
Mom

Christmas in Houston

Dear John,

We have just gotten back from our annual Christmas trip to Houston.  It was one in the morning when we got home.  You slept in the car and were wide awake when we walked in the door, so we let you play.

Your dad and I unpacked the car.  You played with your new fish toys as we unloaded them into your room.  You even brought your new cars over to see the fish.

I put together your new rocket toy.  You played with it and your "robot" helmet.

It is now almost four in the morning and you are finally asleep.

I think it is safe to say that you loved your Christmas presents so far this year!

So who got your these wonderful gifts and what fun things did we do while we were in Houston?

Well, in Houston, though, you got to see the Festival of Lights at Moody Gardens.

You also got to see the Rainforest Pyramid and a little bit of the Aquarium Pyramid (before nap time).

From there, we went to your Grandma's house.

That's where you got your new cars (from Grandma) and your new fish accessories (from Aunt Jennie Sue and Aunt Jennifer) as well as a train book and puzzles from Uncle Dave, Aunt Suzanne, Uncle Nick and Aunt Kay.  For that evening, though, those cars were your favorite.

Your grandma was most impressed because when we left, before we even got out of the neighborhood, you announced from the backseat "My dreen-wahntur! I wost it!"  You had left your Green Lantern car at Grandma's and realized it right away.


The next day, Gram met us for breakfast and then we went to the Lone Star Flight Museum, which you thought was very neat.

Then we went to a playground where you and your sister and your daddy had a slide race.

Daddy won.

Our next stop was The Spot, where you found a quiet place in the corner to play with your other new truck while Aunt Dani, Aunt Kathi and I unwrapped our artwork gifts to and from each other.

Our last family visit was with the Roberts side of the family.

Your dad and Gram cooked a delicious dinner.

Then, after dinner, we all sat around visiting while you and your sister opened and played with your gifts.  This is where you got your awesome rocket ship at the astronaut helmet that turns you into a robot from Nana and Gram and a fun toy piano from Aunt Gerri and Uncle Dale that you played with on the road trip home.

So, yes, you got some handsome gifts and I'm glad that you love them so much, but mostly, you got to reap the joy of giving that those who love you are sowing in you right now.  It made your grandmothers and aunts so happy to see you so happy with your gifts.  It's why I took so many pictures of you playing with your new toys.  So many of your toys, like the fish and the rocket, you didn't get to play with in front of them and I wanted them to know that as soon as you got home, they were out and in your room and you loved them.

The message isn't that you got cool presents for Christmas.

The message is that you are so loved that wonderful gifts were given to you.

The message is that God so loved us that on Christmas, he gave us His Son.

It's a stretch, I know, to go from fish and rockets to the baby in the manger, but I am hoping that the joy of Christmas builds from the one to the other until you have a clear idea in your heart of where that joy comes from and what Christmas should really be about.

And just to make sure that bridge gets built, we came home in time for the Christmas Eve service where I know that Ms. Elizabeth will have a wonderfully clever way of doing just that.

Love,
Mom

Sabrina's Baptism

Dear John,

You were baptized as a baby.  Look at all of the people who came to be there for you.

Today, we got to go to Sabrina's baptism.  Her grandparents (and a great grandma) and aunts and uncles and cousins were there, just like you had your grandparents and aunts and uncle (your very special Uncle James) and cousins there for you.

You and Sabrina are such lucky babies... to have moms and dads who care about your spirit and soul as well as your mind and body, to have extended families who love you and will travel far and wide just to be there for you, even when you are too little to remember their coming.

I love that you got to see Sabrina's baptism.  I don't know what you really thought about it, other than the notion that there were too many people and it overwhelmed you a bit.

But I do know that you love those Fords and this was just one more chance we had to show them our love, to support their decision to raise their daughter as we are raising you and your sister, to grow as a Christian, to love the Lord, and to be a part of a faith community.

What a beautiful and precious way to start the last week of Advent.

Love,
Mom