A thirst for the holidays

It has been exceedingly difficult to find some spare time to write this past month. Our agenda seems to always be overbooked. Yet so much happens on a daily basis that I would love to write about it to capture a priceless memory.
  The holidays have plowed into us full force. I love this time of year, if only for the holidays. It gives me a chance to spend extra time with my family, and also enjoy a few of my holiday guilty pleasures; pumpkin pie, Christmas lights, Christmas movies, cinnamon and spiced cider, and the smell of a fresh cut fir tree in my house. As an added bonus, I now get to enjoy watching the building excitement  emanating from Apollo and Orion as the house is transformed into a Christmas display of its own.
  With the passing of Thanksgiving, I am late in expressing my thankfulness and gratitude for my life and those that share in its adventure with me. It is easy to loose sight of how amazing life is and how much I have right in front of me, when I find myself chasing the day-to-day mundanities of career, family, and social obligations. My cup is full in so many ways. Of course I want more…for myself, and for my family. But I am eternally thankful for every moment I have with Apollo and Orion. I am thankful for their health, their bright minds, their passions, stubbornness, individuality, energy, humor, and affection.  I am thankful to be their father. These two boys have given me more than I can ever hope to give them in return. I am thankful for my wife, who tolerates me, loves me and believes in me. I am thankful for Ian and Aden even though their teenage years have been challenging. And I am thankful for my life and my health and that I am able to provide for my family.

  I watch Apollo and Orion and I am still absolutely amazed by them. By watching I mean really stepping back for a moment and watch how they approach a situation, analyze it, scrutinize it, and then find a solution on their own. It is fascinating to me because I can almost see the thought process unfolding in their young minds. In these moments, I can see how they are part of me, and also uniquely individual. They are so smart and intuitive. They both speak very well for their ages and both talk non stop.

  Apollo had his first school performance. His class sang three Christmas songs entirely in Spanish; Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, Frosty the snowman, and Oh Christmas tree. Although it was fun to watch him preform with his class, I am more thrilled when he sings these songs around the house or when we are in the car. Apollo is really grasping the spanish language and for the first time, translated something that he heard in spanish and then relayed it to me. We were at the store together and two hispanic boys were talking to one another, having a dispute. They were about 8 and 10, most likely brothers. The older one turned to the younger one and said something like (and I am guessing here), "Usted es un bebé." Apollo started laughing, turned to me and said, "He called that boy a baby! That's funny! Hahaha!"

  Orion is incredible in his own right. He is so cognizant and aware of everyone and everything in this house. He is so easy to engage in conversation. He will always answer everything that he is asked. He is a great communicator for 28 months old. He talks nonstop and is very demanding. On days that he is not feeling well, the only thing we can get him to consume is chocolate milk. Which is fine because we don't put much chocolate in it and it is something at least, however, we greatly discourage bedtime milk of any kind. We have let our guard down once or twice when he was sick and it becomes a nightly battle for the next few nights until we retrain him. This week we are fighting that battle again. This is a sample of how clever this little guy is. Keep in mind that he is 28 months old;
 "Dada," Orion begins, "I want chocolate milk."
"Sorry, Orion. Its too late. Its time for sleep." I reply.
"I WANT chocolate MILK!"
  This exchange goes back and forth for several minutes, then he turns to his mom and has a similar exchange. Finally, Orion gives in and is quite for a while.
"Mama," Orion breaks the silence, "I'm dying."
"Your dying," Melanie asked alarmingly.
"Yeah…dying," Orion says solemnly.
"Why do you think your dying?" Melanie inquired further.
"I'm scared. I'm dying,"
"What scared you?" Melanie asked with real concern, "Why do you think your dying? Do you want to say a prayer?"
"Yeah prayer," Orion says very solemnly, then folds his arms and bows his head, "I'm dying…thirsty."
"Your dying of thirst?" came Melanie's relieved and slightly condescending voice.
"Yeah," he says, "I dying thirsty!"