Scenes from a Marriage: Christmas Wishes

Nate: (mopping the floor yesterday to prepare for a party) Man, I wish I had asked Santa for a new mop for Christmas.

Luke's Got the Moves Like Jagger

I guess because he's about as skinny as Mick and likes to dance. It doesn't get much more delightful than to hear Luke singing this song throughout his day--as he plays in the sandbox, on the trampoline, at dinner...

Santa trap

Last night, Luke set out a trap for Santa. He put a bunch of balls behind his door, so "Santa would fall and break his butt."

It was cute for the first couple hours, but now that both Mom and Dad have almost fallen and broken their butts, the cuteness has worn off.

In the Middle of the Night...

So, Asher and Emmeline inherited the freaky Curtis characteristic of being able to wake up bright-eyed early every morning.

This, of course, was my worst fear when I started having kids. When Asher started doing it at about 9 months, I was told that these 4:30-5:30 am wake-ups were probably something he'd outgrow. He hasn't, and now, Emma has joined in the fun.

But, I had a brilliant idea about a month ago. The rule before a month ago was that Asher had to stay in his room until 6 am doing something quiet (so as not to wake up Luke), and then, he could leave his room and find some quiet toys to play with. He'd always get antsy by about 6:30, and I'd have to get up with him.

With Emma waking up so early, I told Asher that he can go get Emma when she wakes up, and the two of them can go down to the play room. He can watch TV or play XBox as long as she's happy.

The first few weeks, Asher couldn't keep her happy for more than 15 minutes, but now, Asher and Emma hang out in that room for a good hour or um, sometimes, an hour and a half.

I don't know what he does to keep her happy and frankly, I don't much care. I'm delighted to wake up around 6:30 or 7 most mornings now.