The kids know how to bring the merry

This was a particularly fun Christmas since Seth really got into it and will probably even remember it as he grows older.


I thought he was going to pass out in a daze of celebrity awe when he sat on Santa's lap at the mall. He had planned out what he was going to say, but froze up when the moment arrived. He just couldn't stop smiling and staring at him. We were there to translate the mumbles behind the tooth-clenched smile--"a bike, Batman, Superman, Iron Man." Seth panicked a few days later when he realized he had forgotten to include Spiderman. Miraculously, Santa made his way to the Stanford Mall the same night as us a week later and Seth put his worries to rest, plus he loosened up a little the second time, and Ada too. She actually sat on Santa's lap.

All these superheroes Seth wants are not action figures, they're costumes. He got so many costumes for Christmas, I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of grocery shopping, etc. with Iron Man, Dracula, and Superman this year.

My kids are naturally the epitome of traditionally-assigned gender roles. While Seth is running around making sound effects, pretending to beat up bad guys, Ada loves kissing her new baby doll, twirling around in her puffy skirt, and chopping wooden velcro fruit on a cutting board.