What We’ve Learned: Thanksgiving Edition
One year ago, Kristen and I celebrated Thanksgiving as most Americans do: we went to Paris. It was the first real vacation either of us had had in some time, and it was a bit of a celebration as both of us were leaving jobs we didn’t particularly like.
Paris was amazing. Even though we were there during the Metro strike (which meant more taxis and walking instead of the subway) and when the dollar was really weak (yes, I did pay $12 for a hot chocolate), we were able to go all over the city and eat on a reasonable budget.
Of course, the best thing about last Thanksgiving was that nine months later, we had a son.
This Thanksgiving was a lot different, not only from last year but from the nearly every other holiday since we’ve been in Chicago. Usually, we cook, inviting over friends and family, treating them to a really elaborate meal (turkey, filling, some sort of soup, Kristen’s famous creamed spinach and onions), but this year we went to our downstairs neighbor Lillian’s place. Kristen and I still made her spinach and onions, but we just didn’t have the time nor energy to do the whole meal ourselves.
Henry was the life of the party, and he was passed around from one cooing woman to the next.
It was nice, I suppose, to not have to cook and entertain, but I think that next year, with Henry a year older and not requiring the constant monitoring a three-month-old baby does, we’ll cook and invite people over again.
Or maybe we’ll just go back to Paris.
So what have we learned about Henry this holiday week?
We learned that the third step in Henry’s arm and hand development (the first being reach and the second being grab) is pull. While this is fine when he’s playing with some of his toys, when the object that he’s reaching toward, grabbing onto, and pulling is daddy’s chest hair, well, it’s a bit of a bummer. I understand that it’s part of his growing up and learning, but why does it have to hurt so much?
We learned that Henry loves his bunting. What’s bunting, you say? Remember Maggie Simpson’s snowsuit? The one that looked like she was in a gigantic star? Well, we just got Henry something similar and he really likes snuggling up in it and going out for walks.
We learned that Henry, like his father, is extremely crabby after waking up from a nap. After a two-hour snooze, I’ll wake up with a bit of whining, a bit of attitude. Henry is much the same. Waking up from a half-hour sleep, Henry is a happy-go-lucky baby. All smiles. Giggles. Hands reaching out to you. But anything more than 90 minutes, he wakes up screaming as if we’ve just told him he’ll never again be able to play with his stuffed mouse. Screams. Pouts. And all with his eyes screwed shut. After he slowly wakes up more, he’s a happy baby again, but in those first few minutes — watch out.
And we learned that, while Henry probably doesn’t yet understand Christmas and all that it means (ie, presents, cookies, and more presents), it won’t stop us from going a little overboard. While I’m not saying our son will be getting his first car this year, there will be plenty of fun toys, most of which I want to play with, and maybe even some that he’ll like.
Just like the way it’s supposed to be.
