Christmas fever has hit stroller city central. (our flat).
we went out to buy a Christmas tree the other night. in previous years, whenever magnificent charles and i were in hong kong for Christmas, we did not buy a tree. we didn’t even contemplate it. but on monday, i was helping out at sebastian’s school and saw his reaction when he saw the decorated douglas fir sitting in the school’s reception area.
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
and although my sister in law’s reasoning in favour of getting a tree had been persuasive and excellent, that wowwwwwwwwww sold me on the tree. or maybe it was the awed tone, or the exhale that accompanied the wow. or maybe, it was the look on his face. how he stopped short. wonderment.
we went shopping that night, got totally ripped off, and the tree was delivered the next day. sebastian and magnificent charles set up the lights after i declared the theme colours for the tree (blue and silver). while i made nanaimo bars in preparation for saturday’s bake exchange, sebastian managed to break two lights. however, his mother, who had tramped around town shopping for decorations had bought two sets of lights, just in case. i also bought some very endearing ornaments that remind us of our canadian origins…little blue and white two inch knitted sweaters that hang from the tree. some identical mittens as well. magnificent and i purchase one new ornament per child per year, and one day, they will head off with about 20 ornaments, and start their own tree, and their little ones will hang them carefully from the boughs…
where did that come from?
when all was seemingly ready, we dimmed the lights and turned on the Christmas tree. it took about five minutes to achieve those tasks, but the look on sebastian’s face was worth it. we let him look at it for three minutes, and took that opportunity to reinforce the DON"T TOUCH aspect of the tree.
sebastian looked, smiled, laughed and turned on the cd playing Christmas carols. knowing he was going to be hustled off to bed VERY QUICKLY, he started dancing. no luck. bed it was.
the little man was on a high though, and 20 mintues later called out, "mummy, i did a wee wee".
of all the things to say, this was the one that would get my attention.
i swished into his room without turning on the light, because the babies are asleep in there as well. the light from the hallway reflected sebastian’s nappy, which had somehow removed itself from his wretched little body and landed poomp on the floor.
"mummy, i did a wee wee" again announced my little boy.
"in your nappy?" i asked hopefully.
even through the dim i could see the questioning look this question brought about. "no mummy, my wappy on floor." (he pronounces nappy "wappy" and it is very, i repeat, incredibly endearing.)
in what is now an expert manner, i assessed the damage, by first feeling around the sides of the bed, then moving my hands inward to see where the damp started. when my hands met, i realised i had been HAD by this tiny blonde con artist.
"sebastian, where is your wees?" (even the guilty deserve a fair trial).
"here" and he pointed to his wappy-free crotch.
and sure enough, there was a centimetre of moisture. i asked if he needed to finish his wees, and he said yes. settled himself on the toilet, and started weeing. requested a book. request denied.
i was washing my hands when he finished weeing, and usually he waits for help in getting off the toilet if the bench isn’t around. but tonight, he leaned to one side and slid off the toilet, his buttocks making a high sqqqquuuiiick sound as they resisted sliding.
when he hit the ground, he galloped down the hallway, yelping, "fismis tee! me see fismis tee!" he stopped short of the tree, and stared until i scooped him up and deposited him back in bed.
i am so grateful my family tree has survived and thrived, and this year we will rejoice and be a family around the Christmas tree.
Reader interactions
11 Replies to “wappy days”
And a lovely Christmas it will be with your family complete and centered round the gift that Sebastian gave your family. Just think about the beauty that his reaction has brought to celebrating the season this year. Smart little boy – knowing how important the rituals are in making holidays your all you own for now & the future. Love that you’ve started your children’s trees with ornaments for them when they are grown.
What an incredible year it has been to land here in December with a day like this!
Be sure to snap a photo of Sebastian in front of it for us to see!
xoxo
& FYI, one of my best friend’s started something with her children long ago & I witnessed it working. She’d let her little ones touch things of wonder with “one finger.” Her kids would make a “point” motion with their hand and they could touch the magical tree, but only with “one finger.” We’d hear that a lot during the season – “remember Sam, one finger, remember Joe, one finger.” She learned it from another mom & she said it made her holidays much less stressful – rather than keeping kids at bay all day, she knew they couldn’t do much harm with their “one finger.” After they’d touched a few times, they didn’t touch much more, because really, you want what you can’t have, not what you are allowed to have, right? 🙂
Sweetheart, you have expressed beautifully for us about such a special time in your family’s life. Dear Seb – he has captured the sense of awe that is so precious. Bless you all this first Christmas with your four children gathered around the tree.
Much love to all.
That was so v v sweet. Am I quoting Tertia if I use the v?
A fismis tee is a brilliant idea.
I am smiling so big after reading your blog today. Seb’s little tricks just warms my heart so much. This year I also experienced a child’s awe as I watched Brody’s eyes widen as the lights of our tree came on. He looked the tree over from top to bottom in complete amazement. However, that still and silent moment was quickly shattered when he took a running dive – spread eagle – into the tree. I wouldn’t trade that moment for the world! I’m still laughing!!
I love you, Tessie Poo.
Not everyone knows what Nanaimo bars are. I LOVE them! They are the best, though I’ve gotten lazy over the years and used the Robin Hood mix (don’t know if you ever tried that).
Love those kids!
it’s amazing how easy it is for those short ones to play us. you have a tree. we now, for the first time ever, have lights on our house. thanks to the short ones for dragging us kicking and screaming into joy and beauty. i have also been buying ornaments each year, even treeless, athiest me, for their future trees. maybe i only look like a grinch?
Oh! I can’t for 3!..No, wait yes I can. let me just savor in Kasey’s 4 month oldness, then we will think about fismas tee!
Oh my!!! I do love the endearing “wappy” and “fismis tee”. Sounds like a wonderful holiday will be had by all.
Perhaps Nanaimo bars are something that we, as Canadians, can call our own?
Delurking to say thanks so much for your lovely Christmas tree post. I have three small children, the youngest just turned two. We’ve had the “just one finger!” rule for our Christmas tree, which worked pretty well for her two older brothers (you can’t actually grab an ornament with just one finger), not so well for her. She LOVES the tree and its lights, and is very, very persistent. Like Sebastian!
So cute!
What are Nanaimo bars?