Harry's latest Lego creation!

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Wintertime sand castles

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There IS a Santa Clause

Once upon a time I felt this way too...but not because I believe in Dr. Sears. Young Dr. Jim does have a point though...

THE TRUTH ABOUT SANTA
"My husband and I are debating
what to do about Christmas for our 20-month-old son this year. Since his birth
we have followed the attachment parenting approach and, as such, we think it’s
wrong to lie to him about Santa (i.e. building up an idea that there is magic in
the world and then letting him fall to earth later!). On the other hand it seems
like a bit of a shame for him to ‘miss out’. We’ll be spending the holidays with
my sister and her two children who are well into Santa (they are 3 and 4)."
What?! Santa’s not real? But, I just talked to him today, at the mall!
Yes, you have a point… we are lying to our children. But I personally don’t
think it does any harm. While I have talked to many young adults that resent
their parents for many things, being tricked about Santa has not been one of
them. In my experience with my own kids, as well as many of my friends, the
whole Santa thing has gone like this: between age two and seven-ish, it is a fun
game, with letters to Santa, half-eaten cookie on a plate Christmas morning,
etc. Then the child finally gets in on the secret, probably thanks to one of his
friends. At this point, letters to Santa (and the tooth-fairy for that matter)
are addressed to “Dad”, and the older child has fun playing Santa games on the
younger siblings.
I think most of us have a lot of great “Santa memories”. I
vividly remember trying to explain to my 5 year-old why she saw Santa Claus
walking down the street! I do get a little bit sad when I think about my little
girl growing up and losing that Christmas magic. It seems like a metaphor for
life… it isn’t always going to be a bowl of cherries. I guess I wish we could
all keep believing in Santa. For now, I need to help my younger one mail a
letter to the North Pole, and also teach him the real meaning behind
Christmas.
Dr. Jim

'Tis Better to Give

I am so proud of Harry! 14 years ago Kevin and I started exchanging a "Christmas Can" in lieu of gifts. We alternate years and put inside something meaningful from the past year. It cannot be something new. This year Harry decided he absolutely must give Christmas Cans to everyone who lives in our house. I am so excited that he seems to appreciate this concept. I guided him along but he came up with a lot of ideas on his own. He put a rock from his collection into Ainsley's can. She loves rocks. Daddy gets a photo from lego land, because legos are something they share together. He was goingto give PopPop (who doesn't live here but will visit on Christmas) a little stuffed dog, because PopPop really wishes he coudl have a dog. Unfortuantely, he could not part with any of his pups, so he drew a picture instead. The cans are neatly placed under the tree.
Harry is also beside himself with anticipation of opening his own can and seeing his original Snoedel. While I was at school today he asked repeatedly how much more time he had to wait. He's not concerned with his scooter or power rangers. He is excited to see his old friend. And isn't that what the holidays are all about?

Fish out of water? It

Fish out of water?
It seems odd that in every other class I've seen Harry in, he's teacher's pet. not so much in the pool.