The Christmas Horse

Although Matine is too young to really know what Christmas is all about at this point and "presents" are a concept that that are completely lost on her, we still HAD to get her something to have under the tree. We needed that perfect gift that we can take pictures of and tell her years from now, "this was your first Christmas and this is what we got you." It is most definitely a present for US, not really her at this stage.

Albeit, she is completely enthralled with the little things right now - magazines (not even the whole thing, just a couple of pages will do), wooden spoons, plastic spoons, a tupperware lid, and best of all . . . her Tylenol drops container! So, why the need for us to actually spend a dime on a "present?" Because we are first time parents and it's CHRISTMAS! We just had to start our traditions (more of that coming later by the way... hee hee hee).

So, careful thought went into something she will enjoy between now and her birthday in May. Something that is cheesy cliche and that will always remind us of her "First Christmas." The final decision -- a cute and cuddly rocking horse! She loves horses, loves it when we make animal noises, enjoys "riding pony" on daddy's leg, and is starting to really get a good balance.

So, the Horse is under the tree. Of course she noticed the big stuffed horse and so we tried introducing it to her. She touches it -- cute... She pets it and bangs it a bit --- still fun . . . She pulls on it's yarn mane and tail --- cool toy! It got ugly quick as we squeezed the stallions magical ears and it made the clippity clop sounds and a demonic neigh. We really messed it up when we put her on the scary beast's back! All very bad ideas.

Our child who LOVES noises, loves horses, loves anything new, starts CRYING! Yes, we made sweet Matine cry with her magical Christmas Present. She grasps and latches on to our necks, never to let go if we walk her towards the thing. Mean Mommy and Daddy.

Since she hates the horse, we made sure to wrap up some boxes with paper and fill them with beans. We might even wrap up a fancy kitchen ladle for giggles! Since we can't get any pictures of our cute baby on her toy, here are some pictures of her friend Sully on her horse. He LOVED it.

You can watch a short video of her reaction here -- mind you, this is her TAME reaction compared to the first 6 times we tried to make her like it.

This is just a fun picture of Chubby and Sully playing the other night. Apparently Matine is to Sully what the horse is to her. He can't be around her right now without breaking into tears and wails. I guess she is a bit intimidating and scary? Is it the baldness? The baby boobs? The elephant knees? The cheeks the size of Texas? Or is it the grin that spreads across her entire face? Not sure... What is it with the Holidays?