Christmastime Is Here

Technically, Christmas 2004 was Celesete's first Christmas, but considering she wasn't quite four months old at the time, the 2005 iteration of the holiday definitely had a greater impact on her. Although, there were some similarities — last year, she spent a lot of time watching her cousins A--- and L--- opening gifts and running around; this year, she watched her cousin K--- open gifts and run around. However, she was much more into some of the presents (both hers and her cousin's ... especially her cousin's bus puzzle.

Actually Celeste's biggest event of the day was her first-ever sledding run. Perhaps I should back up for a moment. We spent the holiday with my in-laws in New England; although it wasn't too cold while we were there, some three-week-old snow remained on the ground, so M---, K---'s father, was keen to break out the snow tube to see what the girls would think.

This is when I got pretty dumb. Backing up even further: Celeste's cousin K--- has always been a fan of riding in a backpack. When Evelin and I were packing, we decided to bring along the Piggyback thinking that on the off chance K--- went for a ride, Celeste would want to too. When we all went outside for the sledding, K--- and Celeste started off in their respective backpacks. I actually thought we were going for a walk, but soon discovered otherwise. At first Celeste didn't want out of the backpack, but she did want to try riding on the snow tube. I tried to oblige and, well, let's just say it was a dumb idea. No one was hurt, but Celeste and I both got a bit of a scare. (Okay, to clarify, yes, I did try to go down the run on my stomach with Celeste in the backpack — it didn't work, it was dumb, again, no one was hurt.)

After that, Celeste was skittish of the sledding, but after watching K--- take a few runs with various people — and especially after seeing K--- ride down the hill with Evelin — Celeste was ready to give the tube a try. She loved it.


The problem was when we got back to the top of the hill and it was K---'s turn again: Celeste didn't want to share. We're talking her first real break-down-crying, snot-bubble-blowing, screaming tantrum. Once K---'s run was finished, Celeste got another run and loved it ... until she reached the bottom of the hill and realized it would soon be K---'s turn again. We went through about six of the tantrum/sledding events before K--- got bored and wandered off to look at a tree, giving Celeste more time to sled, including a solo run or two down the bottom half of the hill.


The rest of the trip was relatively sedate. Christmas Eve was the big family party, and Celeste did really well with the large crowd. Boxing Day was a trip to visit friends in Easthampton. Tuesday was the drive home — with a detour to visit friends in southeastern Massachusetts.
Technoarti tags: Christmas sledding tantrum