Holidays 2004

Jason’s hit the 20-month mark now and we’re all looking forward to the arrival of his little brother or sister. Jason loves looking at baby pictures in ads and magazines, and usually kisses them, so we’re hoping that translates to a warm welcome for the real thing.

We spent Thanksgiving with my (Daddy’s) extended family and Jason had fun seeing everyone, especially cousins Ella and Hope. That morning, he and I were caught in a sudden rainstorm during our usual wagon ride around the neighborhood and got thoroughly soaked. Luckily Laura saw the rain coming down and came to our rescue in the car; before that, it was a miserable experience for Jason riding in what quickly became a metal bathtub on wheels. Meanwhile I was quite nervous at the sight of lightning in the distance, considering I was pulling around a big piece of metal with a toddler in it, making me in essence a 6-foot lightning rod on the open street.

A few days later, I was looking out the back door with Jason at another rainstorm and reminiscing over our earlier experience. “It’s much better to be inside when it’s raining like this, isn’t it?” I said. A few minutes after that, he and Laura waved goodbye to me as I went off to work. An hour or so later, Laura found herself at the same spot with Jason. “Boy, it’s really raining hard, isn’t it?” she asked. Suddenly Jason stood bolt upright and got a worried look on his face. “Dah!” he yelled, (his name for me) and he raced for the front door. I can only guess he was thinking, “It’s raining and we left Daddy outside!”

Grandma Patricia is coming for a pre-Holiday visit on December 17 and staying the weekend. I know Jason will be excited to see her (and vice-versa). Meanwhile he’s having fun looking at the Christmas tree, especially when it’s set to flash red-yellow-blue-green in sequence (“Red! ‘Low! Due! Nee-Nee!”). We hope to take him out soon one evening for a look at the neighborhood decorations and maybe a living nativity at the church up the street. Christmas is definitely more fun with a kid in the house, even if he doesn’t know exactly what’s going on.

If anybody’s actually reading all this, I hope the holidays find you and yours happy and well. I promise to keep you posted with the latest on Jason as time allows, and with details about Baby No. 2. Due date is Feb 8 but there’s no way it’s waiting that long. At this point we’re just hoping to make it through the holidays.