On the Eve of Greatness

Collin's first Christmas Concert/Recital/Pageant (call it what you will, I call it awesomeness!!) is tomorrow. I'm so excited! Daddy even took the morning off of work so he could come. We've been practicing his songs. Well, that means I've been leading the sing-a-long by starting the songs and he'll chime in with the end of the lines. He refuses, flat-out to sing the songs alone or even accompanying me, Daddy or anyone else. He does, however, love the "Ho, ho, ho" part of Rudolph. Maybe it's because we encourage him to yell out the window at scantily clad women. Ba-dum-bum. I'm here all week, folks.

Anyway, I've got the video camera charging and the regular camera charged up all ready to delight and amaze. Of course, be prepared to appreciate the deluge of images of my child doing nothing. I'm fully prepared for him to stand stock-still, to simply sway to the music, or to flee from the stage in tears. Whatever he does though, I'm pretty sure he'll be cute doing it. You've seen him, right? Granny, be prepared to see the reindeer sweater in full splendor! Thankfully, it's been cool (downright cold!) this week in sunny SoCal. I even busted out the winter coat, in what Bryon called the ultimate overkill. I call it my rare California opportunity to wear the most beautiful J.Crew winter coat ever made.

Today, he was practicing his mouth muscles by eating the discarded Christmas card address labels. Oh, so by the way, we mailed Christmas cards today. Hooray!

Hey, I don't question vocal genius. I just sit back and observe. He figured out pretty quickly that they taste like crap.

The hilarious part to me was that before he decided to sample the stickers, he climbed up in his chair to do it.

We had a conversation today about these labels that went something like this:

Collin: Mommy, are these 'tickers?

Mommy: Yes.

Collin: Can I put them here? (indicating the coffee table)

Mommy: Well, are they stickers?

Collin: Yes.

Mommy: Then they have the same rules as other stickers then don't they?

Collin: Yes.

Mommy: What are the rules?

Collin: (mumbling) people and paper

Collin: Can I put them on the tree?

Mommy: People and paper. Don't make me say it again.

Collin is sleeping now, and it's been hours since this conversation. Clearly, I turned my back.

By the way, is anyone else totally excited for Christmas? I don't think I've ever been this excited for Christmas before! I think this is the first year I've felt this way. Collin will really understand it this year and we have presents that he'll actually really like not just throw aside. I feel like I picked things that he'll enjoy because I actually know my child as a person now, an individual, not just some blob of a kid. I'm so excited to see his thrill. This is what it's all about, isn't it?