Merry Christmas!

Last night Selim had a checklist and I watched him methodically go down the list and knock off all the items.  Put reindeer food out on the lawn, check (with Selim staying inside and yelling instructions at Robert through the open window.) Put milk and cookies out for Santa, check.  Along with the milk and cookies, he put a note and a collage made up of wrapping paper scraps.  The chair had to be festive.  And since Selim did not have permission to wait up and see if Santa was real or not, he set out his friends on the ladder to pay close attention to the tree.

At the end of all his arranging, I asked for a picture with him next to the decorated chair and Santa's snack.  He wouldn't do it.  Robert tried to coax him into standing up, but he really didn't want to.  In the end, he did, but with a grumpy face.  When I got into bed he was in tears -- he thought that this one bad act so close to Santa's arrival would earn him coal in his stocking.  And he was sick of having his picture taken.  He was telling me that he is tired of being in all my pictures.  I told him that on Christmas morning I was going to take a few more, but that I would try to retrain myself from constant photo opportunities.

Today, has been very sweet.  Selim woke up early and fell back asleep until 6:15.  We got up and I started making the breakfast scones while he gazed at the tree and wondered what he was going to get.  He spotted a new friend that Santa's Reindeer left and playing with that made the time go by faster.  At 7:00 I was encouraging Mom and Robert to come out and get the morning started.

Since Heather, Stan, Max, and Joshua were not here this year, the present volume was way down.  At first Selim was racing through and not really paying attention to what he was opening.  We had to make him pause and take a look around at what other people were opening.  He got quite a haul -- Lego's, DS computer games, clothes, golf clubs, jacket, gloves, books, headlamp, flashlight, and a few tree ornaments.

I didn't have anything in particular that I wanted, so I was delighted with earrings and a scarf from Mom and Robert, a craft ornament from Selim.  Heather made me a wedding album from pictures that her family had taken at my wedding.  Nedim arrived just as I was opening that present and it was super sweet to be able to flip through the pages together.  We look much younger.  Neither of us had much grey hair in 2003.

After presents we went over to Amy, Jero, and Jacobs.  The men folk went sledding while Amy and I sat in the kitchen and drank tea.  I had made a photo book chronicling Selim and Jacob's adventures in 2011 and we had fun looking at that together.  I'm so lucky that I have her friendship and that Selim and Jacob have forged such strong bonds in their young lives.

After our fondue lunch, Nedim went back home and I headed down to the pond with Selim.  He wasn't wearing skates, but I insisted that he wear a helmet.  He was running and flopping on the ice.  At one point, he was running down the embankment and skidding across the ice, in penguin position, yelling, "Penguin attack!"  Too funny.

I also managed to finish the lemon cookies and roll out the last of the gingerbread.  The only batch I have left to make are regular chocolate chip.  I should be able to knock those off this evening.  The plate of cookies that I take down to the Schongalla family gathering should be ample and tasty.

Our Christmas card came in time for me to send out the majority before today.  A few will go out next week.  I really like how it turned out.