Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We had a great time!

The boys put out food for the reindeer and cookies for Santa. Cameron was very excited about Santa....Dylan is still skeptical. He's not sure if he's buying it. What other 4 year old would be so doubtful? Today he asked who got him his remote control car and I said "Santa did." He just gave me a look and said "No. For real. Who got it for me?" I said again "Santa did. Remember the special candy cane wrapping paper that he used for all your gifts?" and of course Dylan's reply was "Who really got it for me?" He's going to be a tough one to 'trick'.

I think I had mentioned that Dylan had me pick him up from school when Santa came and he refused to look at him at the mall and when he came by on the fire engine he wanted nothing to do with it. I almost wonder if it's because he 'knows' that Santa isn't real and would feel foolish getting excited about him. I don't know about Dylan - he's a mystery. He will forever keep us guessing. I think that he kinda believes in Santa, but also has a strong doubting suspition that we're pulling his leg. Dylan had written a letter to Santa and asked for a big boy bike with training wheels. Well, Dylan did exactly what I knew he would do.... When he came downstairs Christmas morning he saw the bike out of the corner of his eye and refused to acknowledge it. He opened all his presents and wouldn't even look at the bike. We'd occassionally catch him peeking at it, but if we even mentioned it, he flat out ignored us and continued playing with something else or opening another gift. I have no idea why he did that, but I knew he would. Even last year when he was 3, he refused to look at the presents on Christmas morning. He kept his eyes closed and it took him forever to warm up to opening presents. (Just like how he sat through 3/4 of Sesame Street Live....with his eyes closed.) Again, I have no clue what's going on with him, but it's almost like he's embarressed that we're making a big deal and that we want him to make a big deal. Most kids are ecstatic on Christmas morning. Cameron was bouncing around and dancing and grinning ear to ear. He ran right to his presents and had a blast! Dylan was slow and cautious Christmas morning. The really strange part was that when he finally opened up his train he got all giddy like most kids. He started tearing the paper with full force and kept saying "A TRAIN! I ASKED SANTA FOR A TRAIN AND I GOT ONE! IT'S EXACTLY THE ONE I WANTED!!!" So....... at that moment, Santa seemed to be his best friend. I'm telling you, Dylan is complex. I used to think that Dylan would forever be the 'easy' one and Cameron would be a handful. It seems to be the opposite at this moment. Dylan is hard to pinpoint - and moody and Cameron is the free-spirit who loves everything. Maybe Dylan just has a hard time with make-believe characters: Santa, grown ups dressed as Elmo..... He doesn't want to give in to the fantasy. He's a very literal kid.

I just love how carefree Cameron is. He is always happy and just goes with the flow. Everything thrills him and he loves to bounce around singing and being goofy. Dylan DID eventually acknowledge his bike today. I kept it very low key and just said "Can I show you your bike? Then you can go out and ride it." He walked over with me and I showed him all the parts of the bike. He rode it around the driveway a little. I think it's either a little too big or we need to lower the seat (not sure if we can go any lower), but his feet don't touch the ground, which makes it a little hard to ride, but he did a great job.