Tis the Season

The holidays have zipped past in their usual way, leaving a blur of sweet memories. Seems best to capture the family moments like so many snapshots.

(1) Sammy is (to my mind) the star of the school's Holiday Concert, belting out "I Wanna Hippopotamus for Christmas" and miming through all the actions two full verses before his petrified classmates could move their limbs. A born performer :)

(2) Jeremy arrives home in the dead of night two days ahead of schedule and early the next morning, Sam flings himself onto his Daddy for "snowboarding" rides, laughing like a maniac for a minute or two before exclaiming "I know! Let's build something!"

(3) Sam's face lights up when he spots me crossing the street in the market to meet up with him and Daddy after their Christmas shopping. He seems so grown-up and also still so small amid the hustle and bustle of rush hour.

(4) The Morley presents Sam with the gifts he covets most ("The Search for Davy Jones's Locker" MegaBlox set), but Mr Born Performer plays it shy at the unwrapping: "just what I wanted," he mumbles. Once one of the ships is assembled, he hams up his happiness for the camera (above).

(5) We spend Christmas Eve at Tracey's, with Grandma and Grandpa. After dinner, we all sing Christmas carols, just like when we were young. Sam and Carter know all the words. Later, we check in with the NORAD web site to discover that the reindeer are in Panama and heading north (we didn't have that when I was a kid!)

(6) Sam snuggles in for sweet Merry Christmas hugs before asking if we can go downstairs to see if Santa left anything for him. He's more than happy with the Megatron the elves built from his "constructions." He's also quite proud of his involvement in picking out the mommy & daddy presents (almost everything Jeremy gets is hockey-related).

(7) Sam, Jeremy and I play our first game of Trouble after breakfast. Sam wins: "There's trouble in the bubble" becomes his new catch phrase. A few days later, he turns down an offer to play it again, reasoning "I've already won that game: I might lose next time, so no thanks."

(8) Grandpa & Grandma give us a Disney Memory Book, photo frame and spending money for the kids' first trip to Disney World next November. Sam's far more entranced by the Lego sets and Power Rangers, but that's because he can't possibly imagine what's in store for him ....

(9) While the kids revel in presents, the grown-ups play a fun afternoon game of Cranium. Tracey can't whistle, but she comes up with "ferris wheel" from a blob of clay. Grandpa can't act like Marilyn Munro but he jumps like a cheerleader. Grandma confuses Keanu Reeves with River Phoenix but can ID Castro from a high school photo. Jeremy can't draw with his eyes closed but he's Rainman spelling backwards. We have a hoot, and then we have a delicious roast beef dinner.

(10) Sam and Jeremy and I order pizza and watch The Swiss Family Robinson, enjoying a low-key Friday night together. Sam's lovin' having all this time with his mom & dad.