We had a good run...

So we thought we had a great Christmas present for Preston.  He has been begging for a big dog for months, telling everyone that all he wanted for Christmas was a big dog (or a big motorcycle.) Well, a few weeks ago, we had someone offer us a black lab.  We went to visit her, and everyone got along great, had a good time, and so we set up a date to pick up Miss Tilly. 

In order to make this his Christmas present, we told him that since Santa was going to be so busy in the next couple weeks, we needed to watch his dog for him until Christmas Eve, and then Santa would take her home with him.  The original plan was to have a letter from Santa on Christmas morning explaining that he had done such a good job taking care of Tilly that he wanted Tilly to stay with Preston.  I was even planning to take this letter to the mall and have Santa read the letter on video! 

We picked Tilly up yesterday, and everyone continued to get along great.  Once we put Preston down for nap, we noticed that Tilly had, in a way, claimed Brandon.  She was attached to his hip. Everywhere he went, she went.  He went to the grocery store, and she whined the entire time he was gone.  Once Preston woke up from nap, he wanted to play, play, and play with Tilly, and she had become standoffish.  She really wanted very little to do with him.  She didn't want Preston playing with Brandon.  It got exhausting telling him to leave her alone because she didn't want him near her. 

This morning I got up early to let the whining dog out, and sat out in the living room with her.  Preston woke up and came and cuddled with me, and after about an hour, he was ready to play with Tilly.  She still had no interest in playing with him.  He kept trying to lay down next to her, and she moved three times, and after the third time, she snipped at him.  He wasn't hurt, just warned to leave her alone.  He cried, and cried, and I explained to him that he has to give her space. That she isn't used to someone trying to play with her all the time.  He didn't get it.  So it isn't Tilly's fault.  It is just circumstances.

We are going to give Santa his dog back tomorrow evening, and it breaks my heart.  She really is a great dog, she is super sweet, and loving. I am going to miss her sweet face. She would be great for an older couple, or even a couple without children, but we just aren't those people.  I am really going to miss her, and I know that Preston will be heartbroken.  At the end of the day though, his safety is number one, so we are going to give her back tomorrow. 

Tis the Season!

Christmas Season is getting in full swing around here!  I even have Preston singing his own version of Jingle Bells on camera!  That was my one Christmas wish for the year!  I wanted to record him singing oh so sweetly. And he is so sweet when he sings because he acts really bashful.

We still have yet to get our Christmas light up on the outside of the house, but the inside has been decorated for weeks.  It would be nice if I could find the energy to clean though!  I asked for my Christmas lights to be put up for my birthday, and got lots of other really great gifts instead, which I loved, but still miss the lights! I may have to take it upon myself and at least get them on the bushes.  With the baby on its way I am hardly allowed on the roof.  I think my doctors would be unhappy with me, since they put my running on hold, to hear that I was on the roof... Last year all I got up was the lights on the bushes too, and it makes me sad that the house isn't completely decorated because Preston is getting to an age where he truly loves Christmas.  He looks forward to seeing Santa and all that means! 

We bought an Elf on the Shelf and named our little elf Sammy.  Every morning he runs out of his room to find Sammy and his new perch.  It has become quite fun! The change in behavior was amazing, but I think after a week Sammy is starting to wear him out with all this talk of good behavior and always listening.  However, I will say that we have had a nap EVERY DAY since Sammy came from Santa! 

We are also trying to instill the real reason for Christmas in him.  Preston knows that Christmas is really Jesus's birthday, and that instead of Jesus getting all the gifts, he wanted us to have them.  He also knows that Jesus was born in a manger, and that the wise men came to see him, and that the angel showed them the way.  That is about as far as we can get before he becomes confused about how Jesus can be in his heart, heaven, the manger all at the same time.  I am at a loss to explain it all to him, but I do my best.  Some days I worry that I do more damage than good, but he normally seems satisfied, and will go back to whatever it is he does all day!

This weekend, we are going to pick up his Santa gift.  He has been asking for a big dog for months, and one fell in our laps about a week ago.  The lady that is giving us this fat and happy black lab is leaving for Rhode Island next week, so we have to get Tilly this weekend.  I have been having nightmares about really large poop in the back yard, and worry about how crazy this house will seem until she settles in.  It will be great for Preston though, as they are close in age, and will grow up together.  Our plan is to tell him that it is Santa's dog, and every year right before Christmas Santa gets so busy that he gets so busy that he asks a little boy or girl to watch over his dog.  We are going to tell him that when Sammy goes back to the North Pole  on Christmas Eve, that we will take Tilly with him. My plan is to go to the mall, tell Santa this story, and ask Santa to read a letter (that I will have to work on) telling him how happy he is that Preston has been doing such a good job with Tilly.  At the end of the letter it will ask Preston to keep Tilly and raise Tilly for him.  I am hoping to be able to get all this on camera, so that we can put it on a DVD and watch it Christmas morning. I am planning to roll the letter up and tie it to Tilly's collar, proof that Santa came, as this will be all he gets from Santa!  The things we do to keep Santa alive for our kids!

I hope that he believes in Santa forever, I know it is inevitable that he learns the secret one day, but I am going to soak up all his wonder in the magic while I can.  It is so sweet to see his eyes light up every morning with the thought that Sammy has flown to the North Pole to give Santa his daily report and taken a new seat in the house.  His little face is so innocent and filled with wonder, and amazement that I never want him to lose. I want to capture it all, and box it up for when he is too cool to spend time with us, and can't wait to get to his girlfriend's house to spend Christmas with her family!  I am going to miss this time, but loving every minute.