Christmas According to B...

B: "Mommy, Baby Jesus is toilet man..."
Me: "Um..what?"
B: "God is toilet man...Baby Jesus is God...Jesus is toilet man"
Me. "?!?!?!?!?"
Ababa: "?!?!??!?"
B: "Mo-om-my, Jesus is toilet God and toilet man"
Me: "Oh!!! Jesus is totally God and totally man, yep, you got it!"

When he see anything Christmassy--lights, trees, stockings, etc.  B exclaims "look mommy, CHRISTMAS! Christmas is baby Jesus, fire, Kissmas tree, and pwesents"

His favorite phrases right now are:

 -Gwory Gwory highest...(insert hysterical laughing...not sure why, but he thinks this is HILARIOUS (Glory to God in the highest)
-Dashaway, dashaway, dashaway all...(more hysterical laughing)
-Free Hench Chens (oh yeah, Three french hens, we're singing A LOT of The 12 Days of Christmas around these parts thanks to this awesome book.

We have some good nativity books in the mail too:- )

The Theater:-)

Still busy, still can't find my camera cable to transfer photos to my laptop, still tired...but today was magic.

I wasn't working (yay!), I was just spending time with my baby while Ababa tackled Mount Laundry.  We all slept in, had a leisurely bottle/breakfast, got dressed, and then B and I took the A-train, and went to "the theater"!

We went to see a holiday dance tradition in NYC (not the one you are probably thinking of:-) and B LOVED it!!!!  He "looked with his eyes, listened with his ears, and whispered any questions to mommy".  He was a total champ!  ADORABLE to see him clapping after each piece, unable to hide his gleeful dancing and finger tapping in the seat with his eyes as big as saucers and a huge grin on his face.

And then...he got a backstage tour, got to meet some of the dancers, and got to walk out on to the stage.

Then...the day got even better.  We went to Whole Foods (his first time there and my first time there since before we went to Africa), we got vegan (Egg-free) chocolate chip cookies that are actually REALLY yummy and brought home the fixings for a delicious dinner:

Frozen organic pizza
arugula salad (that also used up some leftover mozerella cheese and apples we had at home)
the aforementioned vegan chocolate chip cookies

Yes, I feel like a total yuppie, but we had a great time!

B has been dancing around with a huge smile on his face all day...and...for one of the few days since I went back to work I actually feel relaxed and like I got to spend some real quality time with my son!

He was great, especially in terms of bonding/attachment stuff--held my hand (as opposed to me holding his), checked-in with me, watched me if I wasn't holding his hand, stayed near me when I let go of his hand to put something in our grocery basket...no tantrums, no whining, no brushing my kisses off, no tensing up when I touch him, even though he didn't have a nap and had a crazy, overstimulating day...just smiles, happy talking, eye contact, and giggles...I'm sure we'll have more tough days ahead, but today was just awesome!

So happy!!!

Thank you God for this amazing blessing!

(and Ababa had a relaxing day at home doing lots of laundry but taking a break from B which he was most ready for!!!)

World AIDS Day

 I am pretty fried right now with work, family, church, holidays, and other important but energy-sucking stuff, but I wanted to highlight World AIDS Day.  I think it is really important to remember where we have been and how far we have to go in regards to HIV and AIDS (not just on December 1, but it's a start).  I have realized the global significance of HIV and AIDS in a much more personal and powerful way over the past year.  Since I can't seem to string together a coherent sentence, I will just link you to Nikki's awesome blog, give a shout-out for an awesome and eye opening book, and highlight positivelyadopted, an information site for families blessed to adopt HIV+ children (read the facts, think about it, pray about it, and figure out where you are led, but really HIV is so manageable with early treatment and the medicines we have available...consider it!):


Nikki's post on World AIDS Day (basically what I would have written, but better:-)
http://rowanfamilytree.com/2011/12/01/world-aids-day-meaning-words/

28 Stories of AIDS in Africa
http://28stories.com/home/default.asp
http://www.amazon.com/28-Stories-Africa-Stephanie-Nolen/dp/0802715982

Positively Adopted
http://www.positivelyadopted.com/