This is Perrin's second Christmas season, and I can already tell a big difference from last year. Last Christmas he was ten months old. He was crawling and babbling and starting to eat some table food. This year he's walking, talking, stealing my goodies when I'm not looking, and fully indulging in the many festivities of Christmas.
Last year, he wasn't terribly interested in our Christmas tree. This year, he broke three ornaments the first two days it was up. I did some clever re-arranging and decorated the bottom limbs mostly with cute plushy animals. Now Perrin can't break anything. (He does like to take my beloved giraffe ornament and pop its eyes out of socket, though.)
Last year, he barely understood the concept of opening presents. With some help, he was able to rip the paper off a few on Christmas day. This year, I have to keep a close eye on him because he keeps trying to unwrap presents (and has succeeded once... luckily it was a present for Trey and not for Perrin, so he wasn't incredibly impressed with what he found).
Last year, Perrin didn't do any fun Christmas activities other than being dragged along to a couple parties or to look at lights. This year, I already have two adorable ornaments that he made while at Mother's Day Out and some great pictures and memories of his first cookie-frosting adventure. (We stripped him down to just a diaper and gave him frosting and cookies and told him to "paint." He splotched some frosting on a few of the cookies, then realized the frosting tasted good. I had to take it away from him after he'd shoveled 4 or 5 spoonfuls into his mouth.)
Last year, he didn't understand much about why we celebrate Christmas. This year, he still doesn't. But he sure is having a blast playing with an interactive nativity set that tells the Christmas story through fun poems and miniature gift boxes that he gets to open. I was explaining to him one day that Mary and Joseph were married, so I made them kiss to illustrate the point. Now Perrin makes Mary smooch all over everyone. (According to Perrin, she seems to be particularly fond of the Angel Gabriel. I don't remember reading that part in the Bible. Oh, well... we'll get it right one of these days.) Also, you know you have a toddler in the house when you find baby Jesus in your shoe on a regular basis.
It's crazy how much he's changed and grown up in a year. ::sigh:: While I look forward to the day when I don't have to worry for the safety of my Christmas ornaments or clean frosting out of his hair, I'm really going to miss these special holiday moments with a curious, spunky not-quite-two-year-old. Christmas loses a little of its appeal once you become an adult, but it becomes kind of magical again when you have a little one in the house.
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