Several months ago I knew that this Christmas would be the first Christmas that Cole got excited about the holiday and all its magic. Before Halloween, several stores had lights and tinsel and wrapping paper in its aisles and Cole began talking about Santa. Last year, he didn't ask too many questions or inquire about the how's and why's of Santa's deliveries. 2010 has been another tale. He has wanted to know where Santa shops and does he go to Costco since that was where the concrete mixer he wants is at. He looked puzzled everytime we had a fire in our fireplace and wanted to know how Santa wouldn't burn himself when he visited. He learned about reindeer at school and point blank asked me how they were able to fly without wings!
So for several weeks he talked again and again about the Tonka concrete mixer AND then he went to the Monster Truck Jam with Dave in early November and the only thing he wanted was BLUE THUNDER. This ended up as the theme for his birthday and he talked about BLUE THUNDER almost everyday for the rest of the month. We then traveled to Colorado and he met his cousins for the first time and the universe again shifted when he walked into Max's house and he laid eyes on the POLAR EXPRESS TRAIN. Cole has not had a meltdown like he did that afternoon when we had to leave to head back to the hotel probably since he was two. He whined and fussed the entire drive about the POLAR EXPRESS TRAIN and he wanted to know exactly when we would go back to Max's so that he could see it again.
Upon our return to MN, we attempted for the 4th year in a row to have a smiling picture of Cole and Santa. No can do. He froze and wouldn't even look at Santa until much coaxing took place. He muttered and mumbled when Santa asked him what he wanted but he did manage to say he really wanted the POLAR EXPRESS and monster truck. (The concrete mixer had been replaced obviously, too bad Santa had already shopped early).
Anyhow, most of December Cole kept up his incessant questioning of how Santa would know to go to GIGI and POP POP's and would he be able to get BLUE THUNDER since they were difficult to find. We watched POLAR EXPRESS about a week before Christmas on TV and he was captivated and talked about the "bell" in the days after.
Anyway, this was our year of TWO Christmas'...one celebrated a week earlier because we were headed to Pennsylvania to see family for the REAL Christmas. Santa had been notified to deliver Cole's packages there of course! We road tripped it the nearly 20 hours east. Our third big road trip of the year as a family and the 6th (or 7th) for Dave!
Christmas Eve, Cole was all about questions again, peering up the chimney and wanting me to read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" multiple times. Christmas morning we crept down the stairs and he cautiously peeked around the corner and there it was all set up, the POLAR EXPRESS TRAIN...his eyes got big and he hesitated and then said momentarily crestfallen "where's the monster truck?" We replied that other presents may be under the tree and he ran out to my mom and dad's sun porch where the tree was, not seeing anything other than wrapped gifts, he rushed back and exclaimed as if he was seeing again for the first time "SANTA brought me the POLAR EXPRESS TRAIN". He then proceeded to start it up and show POP POP how it worked. He shook the bell that came with it and smiled.
Yes, BLUE THUNDER was indeed under the tree and he was certainly excited about that but the POLAR EXPRESS TRAIN now set up in our playroom and run everyday reminds us all that it is important to just BELIEVE!
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