Two Christmases

The I-pod touch and the orange crocs were big hits. As was the frog aquarium, Hairspray DVD and other assorted gifts and gadgets Alex received in NJ.

It is amazing to me how talented Alex is with electronics. Tommy gave her a quick I-pod touch lesson and she is able to work all the applications, including facebook. With these skills I think she could be an air traffic controller when she grows up…well maybe not. But, I do need to start looking into this…

One confession - the crocs were really pink. In my Christmas frenzy I must have mixed up her favorite colors; orange and pink. Alex has always loved these colors – one of her bedrooms was painted with these colors for years. However, Alex is a fickle color fan; her five year old cousin asked Alex her favorite color and it became red.

Our trip back east was great for all of us. Alex was in an environment where she was comfortable and confident. I had forgotten that I am often on guard when Alex is around people who do not know her very well. The biggest revelation for me was her complete acceptance. There was none of these questions I hear often, which have become part of our daily life:

"What is her name?"
“How old is she?”
“What does she want?”

And on and on. I always respond as nicely as I can - ask her.

This does not happen with my family. They have always treated her as her own person. I happily sat back and watched my Mother, my sisters, and my nieces/nephews engage Alex in conversation and include her in their activities. It is such a comforting feeling. A vacation for me!

Both of our Christmases were fruitful and fun. I still have not gotten to the bottom of the Santa question, but Alex did mention his name a few times. I will explore this phenomenon at a later date. Perhaps near the Easter bunny visit.

Not only did we have two Christmases, we visited two cities. For me, a city deprived person from rural Colorado it was paradise. The rest of my family – not so much. I actually believe they were a bit shell shocked walking along the streets of NYC. Alex held my hand very tightly, she seemed a bit scared of all the hustle and bustle of the big city. I don’t think that many people even live in the entire state of CO. We also visited Philadelphia to show Alex and Tom, Courtney’s new school.

The Christmas holidays are over for me. We are home after a very bumpy plane ride - no fear from me – I was sitting next to Alex. I head back to work and the kids are off until next week. I am starting to work on my New Year’s resolution (resolutions), and start that proverbial diet. And so is Alex, again!

It has been an okay 2009, and here’s hoping 2010 will be much better!