I mean he's excited about Santa Claus and the Christmas lights and Rudolph but he still doesn't get what's going to happen Monday. I am really excited for him. It's going to be a whirlwind couple of days as both sides of the family merge into one. Our head count is up to 10 now. That's a lotta people in our house. It should be interesting and cozy. We've been talking about who is coming. Brushing up on names and titles has been fun. He's getting prepped.
Last weekend we went to Detroit to visit with my aunt and uncle from Colorado. They were in town to see my dad and we hadn't seen them since Jack's first birthday. For three days Jackie and I practiced their names and titles. I explained who they were. He was excited. But when we walked in the door of my parents house he was instantly shy. For anyone who knows my kid, he is not shy. He acted like he didn't know their names -- I don't think he said them once the whole visit. But he did warm up. Once my uncle played "The Claw" with him it was all over.
We went to a 3-year-old (second) cousin's birthday party Saturday. Jack was very reserved and everyone commented on how well he behaved. Truthfully, I had no idea who he was. He just sat back quietly and watched the craziness unfold... that is until his cousin opened Buzz Lightyear. Jack was thrilled. "Buzz Lightyear, Mama! Buzz Lightyear!"
There were so many great gifts that Jack got to play with that action figure for the majority of the evening. He was thrilled. His Lightning McQueen was quickly forgotten, tossed on the floor with Tow Mater. (Mind you, his entire Christmas this year is Cars. My parents and I began to panic over this neglect.)
Things were going well. Unlike at another family birthday party, Jack was a good boy, the cousins were happy. The parents and grandparents were sitting on the couches watching the madness. Then the Birthday Boy came up to and asked, "Is the Buzz Lightyear Jack is playing with mine?"
Da-da-da-dum.
I knew this was going to be rough. Jack was in love with that little guy. So as he toddled off to find his toy, I ran the other way to find my kid and hopefully prevent a fistfight. I sat there trying to rationalize with my 2-year-old (yes, that is an oxymoron) when my cousin appeared with a Cabbage-Patch sized Buzz. Jack was thrilled. A big Buzz!I knew right then that leaving the party without Buzz was going to be a nightmare. And I was right.
My two aunts, two uncles, parents, two adult cousins and I sat there trying to get Jack to let go of the Buzz or to get the Birthday Boy to let Jack borrow it for the night. We came up with as many scenarios as we could. (Truthfully, the Big Buzz wasn't Jacks. I should have just taken it away, handed it to his cousin and apologized.) But we try to be sensitive, right? That's when my Colorado relatives stepped in. They wanted to get Buzz for Jack for Christmas anyway, so they suggested we get it now.
So I leaned over to Jack and said... "Hey Jack. Why don't you leave this Buzz here and we'll go to the store to get you a new Buzz?"
His face immediately lit up and he didn't hesitate to hand that Buzz back to his cousin, give my cousin a squeeze and grab at his coat.
"OK! New Buzz."
It was classic and made us all roar. Of course, logically, why take a "used" Buzz when you could just get a brand new one? We raced to the nearest Target. I was worried they would be sold out. Toy Story came out more than 10 years ago. And it was a week away from Christmas. Could we be that lucky? Meanwhile my kid was chatting away about the new Buzz. My uncle and I ran into the store going up and down isles. With a little help from a wandering worker, we found a big Nighttime Buzz that includes the flashy lights, buttons that say, "I'm Buzz Lightyear!" and "To infinity and beyond!" (Thanks for that by the way!)
When we got back to the car, I handed it to Jack.
He literally lit up and gasped.
"Big Buzz! There he is! Thanksss!"
Then about 2 minutes later he told us he wanted to take it to school. He was already excited to show it off to his buddies. It never ends.
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