I could probably sum up the month with the following words: school, car, karate, homework, bedtime routines, illness, puking, sleep-deprivation, holiday preparation, Christmas trees, Jason's therapies, Christmas shopping (mostly online), gym, crafts, temper tantrums, and stress. However, for some unknown reason, I'll give more detail.
Jason started of December, much like he spent most of November. Sick. He went on a nap strike, ran a fever, caused us to miss therapy sessions, and sadly required us to cancel our trip to Storybook Land that we had scheduled with Melinda. I was really looking forward to that, but it was really cold too so it wouldn't have been great for any of us to have been out in that weather.
December 2: Squirrels found a roll of ribbon stuff leftover from bike decorating for the memorial day parade and they decided to decorate our porch. Quite a site.
I attempted to take photos of the boys for Xmas cards and/or our 2011 photo calendar. Neither of those projects EVER happened, so that gives you an idea of how well December went.
Our "Elf on a Shelf" arrived. I had been toying with the idea of getting this since last year, but wasn't sure if Ty were too old for the concept. I was wrong. As my mom said, he bought it "hook, line, and sinker". He was totally fascinated by the idea of this elf that would visit the north pole each night, report on his behavior, and then hide somewhere else in the house to be found in the morning. Even Jason learned to have fun searching for "eff" (elf), which Tyler had named "buddy" (creatively from the character buddy in the movie "Elf")
We briefly (due to sick child) celebrated Jim's 30th birthday.
Jason's bizarre behavior continued that night (or should I say the next morning) when he woke up at 12:15 and was completely inconsolable. Eventually I just brought him out to the living room to let him watch TV. Where he sat, untouched, ALL NIGHT long. We were both completely without sleep until he eventually crashed on the couch after 9am. He wouldn't let me move him, cover him, or even touch him. The ENTIRE night. That was fun.
Tyler learned to tie his shoes. Quite proud of himself.
December 4: While Tyler was at Carli's birthday party at Chickies and Pete's in Philly, my mom and I took Jason to Ironstone Village to meet Santa. As you can see, he wasn't thrilled. Except for the candy cane. Good stuff.
That night we got our second shot at Santa when we went to our town's tree lighting. They read Twas the Night Before Christmas, sang carols, and ate cookies and hot chocolate before we went outside to light up the tree and watch Santa arrive via firetruck. Tyler did okay with Santa this year. As you might have imagined, Jason still wasn't thrilled.
December 6: We worked on the adorable gingerbread house that Mindy gave the boys. Loved this kit. So much easier than some of the others. Boys loved it too.
Illnesses continued. For both boys. With puke for Jason. The fun never ends.
December 10: Tyler hosted his first sleepover. His little friend Alex from the neighborhood came over after karate. They ate junk food, did a craft, played some toys, but mostly played Wii. Luckily we had borrowed some new games from the library, including "Just Dance Kids", which was a total hit. I was totally amused watching the three boys (Jason included) shaking their little butts in front of the TV. Priceless. They didn't get to bed until after midnight but were very well behaved. For the record, Jason didn't go to bed that night until 10:30, yet felt the need to wake up at 5:20. Yawn.
December 12: Some sort of boyscout pack meeting. Ty got some sort of award. I should remember these things better than I do. I do know Santa came and delivered their pinewood derby car kits. And jason was attached to my lap in fear because Santa was there. But overcame his fear to inch closer to santa to obtain a candy cane. Food is a good motivator, huh?
That night we let the boys stay up late to decorate the tree. Tyler was as excited as expected, but I wasn't sure how Jason would react. Well he loved it and tried really hard to decorate it. Not so successful, but he tries.
And early that next morning I was up with a puking Tyler (first time since infancy). Another missed day of first grade. He was not happy at all.
Jason's behavior continued to become even more unusual. He decided that any overhead light hurt his eyes and required sunglasses for all diaper changes. He also found car rides in the dark to be unacceptable, and turning the corner while in the car ellicted a "whoa" fear response. Excellent.
Somewhere in the midst of this I had to deal with the upcoming Xmas holiday. Tyler announced, only 9 days before Christmas that the ONLY thing he wanted was a Mickey Mouse bedding set. To match his green carpet. Thank god for Amazon.
As Jason's behavior got more unusual, the meltdowns started. Oooh, the meltdowns were horrendous. Practically took over my life. His therapists pretty much told us to stop bringing him places, focus on his diet and sleeping schedule, and give him time to adapt.
I did fit in some time for one night out with a new friend. I needed that.
And then there was more puking. That, coupled with the meltdowns, nearly put me over the edge. Jason is lucky he's cute. But I love him anyway. And so does his Uncle Jimmy.
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