Christmas Memories 2012

1. Visit to Santa. This is the first year that someone wasn't crying--not always the same person, though thankfully the girls have never brought the man himself to tears.  They were excited to reel off the names of the nine My Little Ponies that they believed themselves to need.

2. When I tried to stave off disappointment one day by telling them, "Girls, I don't think they make a Nightmare Moon pony" (which I think is an alter ego of one of the ponies or something), Allison Clare said, "I know he can do it--I just know he can!"

3. Her belief in Santa is heartfelt and hopeful, and tinged with her odd, creative notions.  A few years ago, Prin gave her a gift of a lovely Spode plate, delicately painted with a Christmas image and lettered "Cookies for Santa."  In spite of that indication, AC carefully planned her offering all day, and left him an assortment of grapes.  Why grapes?  None of us knows, but Sam felt that it was a step up from the cheese stick she had been contemplating.

4. She cut the last link off the paper chain that they'd made to count down the days until Christmas Eve, then Gillian cut the ribbon tying it to the banister rail.  They had a "sleepover" (mattresses on the floor in Gillian's room), and for the first time on a sleepover night, they were absolutely silent after tuck-in. The next morning, they announced to Sam, "It's Christmas morning!" and he teased them, "Are you sure?"  Allison Clare shouted yes; Gillian looked at him with her big eyes and averred somberly, "I cut off the ribbon."

5. They unwrapped the other eight ponies and a Pony Wedding Castle--plus a gorgeous Radio Flyer wooden wagon from my parents and lots of art supplies and clothes (including two princess nightgown/ball gowns that they wore for the next three days straight, except for baths)--and played all day to their hearts' content.  That evening, they feasted on a smidge of Christmas dinner and a lot of Christmas candy.  Offered her choice of her chocolate angel or cake, Gillian chose the angel and when she was finished, announced, "Now . . . I'm ready for my cake!"

6.  After we put them to bed that night, we heard their door open and the sounds of scampering around.  I went up and Gillian was disappearing back into their room.  AC was nowhere to be found.  I said, "Allison Clare, if you don't go back to bed, we'll have to separate you two girls" and a blur passed by me and dove into the bed.  However, Sam had to go back upstairs again a little while later because we could still hear them.  As he approached, he called out, mock-sternly, "Girls?"  He heard footsteps racing back to their room, then Gillian yelled, "We're sleeping!"  (Her skills in the art of deception need some work.)

7. They are actually becoming real friends, not just playmates.  They have their own jokes.  One of them involves saying to each other, "As soon as I find my keys!" and laughing uproariously.  Another involves making up names for the new baby--they believe themselves to be especially hilarious when they name inanimate objects.  AC reported, "We were thinking about names for the new baby and we were thinking about all kitchen things!"  Gillian added, "Like Window!  And Table!  And Napkin!"