Building up

December can be a very long month, as the boys get increasingly excited about Christmas. I suppose it's hard for us to remember that mounting festive excitement as the month turns from November, the advent calendars are bought, the Christmas lists mulled over and the toy shops browsed, the late afternoon and evening darkness gradually brightened by lights and decorations both public and private and the promise of presents growing day by day.

We do have to be patient though, realise the excitement leads to wayward behaviour, late nights through not being able to get to sleep, which in turn leads to tiredness and more fractious behaviour. Patience and a little indulgence too, as we'd like to enjoy Christmas with the boys when they're still young enough to appreciate the magic of it all.

I took the big three into town on Saturday afternoon, for want of anything better to do and to get them outdoors. We parked in the Sheraton car park and took a short cut through the hotel which was very festive inside with a spectacular gingerbread village display. There was no sign of the reindeer in Princes St Gardens so we made our way along Rose St instead, stopping in at Jenners to see the tree then nipping round to the Dome in all its festive gllory. It must be about fifteen years since it opened but it has since become a centrepiece of Christmas decoration in Edinburgh.

The boys were fortified by pancakes and juice from Greggs ("I love Greggs" - Sean) and delighted to get a run at the American Candy store. To give them their due, they know not to pester to get their purchases all at once and are quite happy for their bounty to be rationed over a period of days or longer, often forgetting they have sweets (except for Sweet Tooth Sean, of course). I picked up Angus from Sharon on the way home. She brought him in on the bus on her way to a "bag party" for her team at Ocean Jewellry in Lothian Road and then a meal at the Edinburgh Larder in Alva St.

On Sunday we had the St. Johns over for tea, Sharon cooking a splendid pot roast. Alex and Louie had a great time with Sean and Finn with Rowan doing his best to get involved too, although Rowan's attempts at involvement generally mean he is diving or jumping on people. Such is the lot of the wee brother trying to get attention. He's been a wee bit sensitive of late, short on confidence. His reading is fantastic however, and I bought him a bedside spotlight so he can read in the evenings and mornings without disturbing Angus. He's currently getting stuck into the Enid Blyton "Mystery" series, discovering the delights of Fatty and the Five Find-Outers. Sean re-read the whole series that I bought for Rowan's birthday. It's nice to hear them discuss books they've read.