Last night Scott put the kids to bed. They started talking about the holidays coming up and asked which one was next. He explained that we celebrate Thanksgiving next, and then a month later we'll celebrate Christmas. He asked if they remembered the Advent book we read last year. Big Boy got very excited about this -- it has pieces that pop out and stand up to create a 3-D nativity scene.He said, "I know a song about that." But then he paused and cleared his throat very deliberately.
Scott gave him a quizzical look.
Big Boy, with a shy smirk, explained "That's what singers do before they sing."
Then he sang "Away in a Manger."
----
On the way home from running errands today, we drove past McDonalds (actually, we passed two of them, but the kids must have missed the first one by some miracle of the cosmos).
From the back seat I heard Big Boy comment, "I'm banished for chicken and fries. I'm really hungry."
----
Big Boy had the infamous 5-year well-check today. I decided to tell him this morning, before we left, that he would get shots. He was alarmed, but I explained to him that these shots will keep him from getting really sick. The kind of sick that would put him in the hospital where they would have to poke him with needles lots of times. (Having just arrived home with an baby whose limbs look like pincushions, I can speak with some authority on the subject. If you are anti-vaccine, that's fine. But you're barking up the wrong tree if you want to argue this with me. My kids deal with enough already for me to knowingly let them go unprotected against preventable illnesses.)
Big Boy agreed that one shot sounded better than that. He has seen enough of what Elli and Little Boy have gone through. But he was still anxious (Of course! I'm not looking forward to getting my flu shot either). So I promised to hold his hands and let him squeeze them as hard as he wanted to.
When we arrived at the doctor's office, the kids immediately noticed other kids leaving with suckers as well as stickers. They perked up right away.
So with the lure of candy before them, they bravely marched after the nurse when Big Boy's name was called. He did great today, even doing the vision and hearing all by himself. And both kids got their shots without screaming, fighting, or cutting off the circulation to my fingers!
As Big Boy pulled his shirt on, he said, "Mom, those shots really did hurt."
But they both marched out with stickers proudly affixed to their jackets and suckers firmly planted in their mouths. What a relief to have that over with!
