Christmas shows and wrapping presents...It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Maliana ~

I took you to your first pediatric dentist appointment this week. You have already been to see my dentist twice, with mixed results. However, each time you were adamant about not letting them anywhere near a good examination, and God forbid a teeth cleaning. So I thought I’d take you to a more kid-friendly practice. Regardless, we got pretty much the same result. You despised the hygienist (up until she gave you the Justin Bieber tattoo that is), but loved the dentist. While we waited for her to arrive for your final exam, you spun around in the hygienist’s chair and when the doctor came in, you turned to her and said (full of confidence), “Hi! I’m the doctor!” What a goofball! The dentist looked things over and proclaimed, “No cavities!” and said you were now officially part of the ‘No Cavity Club’…(exclusive bunch from what I hear). And now…back to that tattoo…

not so sure I like where you insisted it be placed

Later this same night, for some reason, you decided you just had to be near me ALL EVENING LONG! I think this Facebook status about sums up the extent of it:

Theresa Hart

~ so Mali has been my shadow all night, literally touching me nearly every minute. Right now she is standing outside the bathroom door (the only place I could have a little space) and is pulling out all the stops, saying, "Pizza man!"..."C'mon, you love pizza! You love pizza man!" (Anyone remember the old "Land Shark" sketches on SNL?) Anyway, her tenacity is going to take her far one day...either that or she's going to become a stalker.~

Wednesday was your school Christmas show. You have been practicing with your class for a while now, and were so excited! When I picked you up from school, I surprised you with Justin Bieber’s Christmas CD to get you even more pumped. You were so appreciative, exclaiming, “I love it! Thanks Mom!” You helped me make ravioli lasagna and we listened to your new tunes. While the lasagna was cooking, you and I danced to the music…first slow (cheek to cheek since you were still transitioning from school to home) and then fast (with you break dancing to JB’s version of Little Drummer Boy). You loved it…evident by your asking me to dance with you multiple times again later in the week. So sweet. And of course, no matter what I was doing, I stopped and we danced. A good rule of thumb for parents…when your kid asks you to dance with them, no matter how busy you are, DO IT. Just dance! You won’t regret it.

This afternoon you also got your first Christmas card addressed only to you. It was from Lao Lao (ever so thoughtful) who had handpicked it especially for you. It was so cute, hand-made, with chimneys on the front that had little finger puppets in them that you can take out and play with. You were so thrilled to open your very own card and then proceeded to insist on “reading” it to me as follows…on the front it said (according to you), “I love this Christmas all through the house” and inside it read (again according to you), “I love you this Christmas”. I wanted to hang it up with the other cards, but you are very protective of it. You placed it back in the envelope and are keeping it in a safe spot for now.

I got you all ready for your big Christmas show and once Lao Lao, Memaw and Papaw came over, off we all went! We met Grandma Lisa, Wai Gong, Uncle Blaize, Aunt Lindsey, her friend Jeff and his two kids at the show as well. Needless to say, you had a huge gallery of fans to watch you perform. You were energized, bouncing like Tigger off backstage with your teachers (who it is obvious you adore), and when it was time for your performance, you bounced across the stage as well, with the most animated smile I’ve seen on your face in a long time! What a huge difference from last year’s ‘deer in the headlights’ look you had on stage! You sang Jingle Bells and The Lights on the Tree. In between songs, you waved to us like a mad woman and yelled, “Hiiiiiiiiii!!” It echoed through that huge room and was adorable! Everyone chuckled. After your performance, Uncle Blaize presented you with a dozen red roses. It was so sweet and thoughtful. After the show, we got you a caramel sundae and detoured through a neighborhood to look at some Christmas lights before heading home. It was a good night!

boing! boing! boing!

still bouncing!

uh oh...you found a microphone!

Ms. Nancy

Ms. Rachel

your adoring fans

On Thursday, we finally got to spend some time with our Audrey Ayi again since OSU’s quarter is all wrapped up. It was nice to see her and she thoughtfully brought you early Christmas presents; a ceramic hot cocoa mug (in your eyes, a ceramic mug = “I’m in the big time now baby”) with little gingerbread people on it, some really tasty gingerbread cocoa mix (which you tried out immediately), and a very pretty Chinese fan ornament for the tree. You loved them!

Thanks Audrey Ayi!

Friday, we kicked off the weekend by baking some Christmas cookies after school. Your imagination was in overdrive tonight too. Daddy came home late because he was working out at the gym, so you and I passed the time by your making me a picnic with all of your play food and then we performed a very enthusiastic concert of anything from singing the ABC’s to 'You Know It' from Lemonade Mouth for millions of adoring (albeit invisible) fans. Daddy and I talked about this later…currently your imaginary play consists of specific routines or activities you do with each of us. For Daddy, it usually consists of drop-offs at school with your baby (aka Daddy) and for me it’s picnics or putting your baby (aka me) down for naps or bedtime…however we both get the privilege of imaginary concerts. It’s all pretty funny.

Daddy came home just as we were bundling up to take a walk and look at our neighbor’s Christmas lights with Abby, so all of us took a stroll together, with you and I singing Jingle Bells no less than 5 times in a row on the way home. I think we are definitely getting into the Christmas spirit!

At bedtime, we also read you Elf on the Shelf for the first time. You loved the story, and promised “I’m gonna be good” when we finished. Saturday morning, you got so excited when you saw the elf in his first hiding place, and named him, “Santa Claus”, which Daddy and I added an extra “Jr” to the end (so as to not get confused throughout the holiday season).

Aggh! Elf!

We had your Christmas pictures done on Saturday morning and I think this particular Facebook status sums up how the prep for that went:

Theresa Hart
~ getting Mali ready for taking her Christmas pictures is like being in that scene from Sixteen Candles where they're trying to get the drugged up sister ready for her wedding...but hey, at least she's in a good mood!~

As I put on my own makeup that morning, you watched me and asked for some yourself. I told you to close your eyes and then I pretended to put some on you, even touching the tubes to your eyelids, using the various brushes on your cheeks, etc to make it feel real. The most hilarious part was that when you asked to see a mirror, Daddy and I thought for sure you’d see there was nothing there, but instead you got your super duper delighted face and thought you looked beautiful! Ahh, the power of suggestion (along with the magic of being 3)!

We went to Bob Evans after pictures, surprising you with one of your teachers, Ms. Beth, who works there. She was kind enough to take you on a special tour of the restaurant, back into the kitchen and everything, even making you your very own Bob Evans nametag and buying you a bag of MnM's to take home. It was extremely nice of her and you loved it!

Ms. Beth

We went over to Aunt Tina and Uncle Joe’s on Saturday night for dinner and movies. It’s always a night of laughs with these guys, and you love playing with Sam and Erin and jumped right in. When it was time to get ready for bed, you and Erin buzzed around and brushed teeth, got your jammies on, and curled up to read some books before we headed home. You were asleep before we got out of their neighborhood.

Sunday morning began a nice, relaxing day. We got up and you headed to breakfast with Daddy at Gena’s Café while I went running with Abby. You were a character at breakfast, just doing your thing, evidently spreading peals of laughter from table to table with all of your antics. The staff all knows you there, even encouraging you to "eat more eggs Mali!" as they walk by tending to other tables. It’s such a homey atmosphere, a hidden local gem. You sat at the bar on a stool, your usual spot with Daddy and all of the regulars, and came home smelling like hash browns from sitting so close to the kitchen.

After your nap, you spent more time with Daddy and helped him go to the grocery store while I wrapped presents. Daddy had a glowing report of your awesome behavior at the store, staying in the cart the whole time and helping him the whole trip. You also brought some items downstairs for me to put away and when you handed them over, you said, “Thanks man!” while strutting away. You crack me up. Such a hot shot.

Before bed, you helped me finish wrapping presents and even wrapped your gift to Daddy on your own. I let you use my big scissors and the tape (almost) all by yourself, and you thought that was the coolest thing ever. You did a pretty good job too!

So even though there’s no real snow yet, and the temperatures aren’t quite reminiscent of the North Pole, I think we have a pretty good case of Christmas spirit brewing at our house anyway.

Love,
Mama