I felt happy with the selection of the presents we/Santa were getting our son for Christmas, and while Paul seemed to enjoy them--

--they didn't get quite the reaction I was hoping for.  He got very similar, sometimes superior presents from other family members, so Santa's gifts got a little bit left in the dust.

First came the big brown bear I was super psyched for him to receive:

Well, I guess my brother doesn't read Zulkey.com regularly (dead to me!) because on Christmas Eve, he rolled out this guy:

I grudgingly admit that the Squishable is pretty soft and cute and huggable. Paul was over the moon about him. He actually said, "I love you, polar bear!" while kissing the bear on the nose. So this is a full-sentence present. He liked the big brown bear, but it didn't sound like he was ready to be in a committed relationship with it. In fact, while he was playing with it in his new tent I heard him say "No! Don't do that!" and when I asked what happened, he told me that the brown bear had pushed him. So those two have some issues to work out.

I was also excited for Paul to open this train set:

Since he loves trains and we've had good luck with Melissa and Doug toys and it's small and manageable. And he liked it. Until...Paul opened up this Thomas the Tank Engine toy from my Aunt Barbara:

Again, it's objectively a cool toy. You wave your hand or that signal over the train and it moves in the direction you send it and it knows to avoid obstacles. It also makes noises and is one of those toys that prompts you to play with it when you ignore it for about 30 seconds.

I don't blame Paul for ignoring the quiet little wooden choo choo in favor of the cool battery-operated one but I'd be lying if I said I didn't pathetically say "Paul, look at this train!" a few times while he was captivated by Thomas. I'd also be lying if I said I didn't hide Thomas for a few days, too.

Santa has self-esteem issues.