Christmas 2012

I feel like I should have a lot more photos of our Christmas.  I guess instead of staying behind the camera I was enjoying family time.

 

We headed to Pump It Up on Christmas Eve to see Santa, do some playing, and decorate cookies.

 

Once the kids realized there were cookies available for decorating (and consuming), they dropped Santa like a bad habit.

 

Brendan likes a little bit of cookie with his sprinkles.

 

 Looks delicious, right?

 

 

 

After the candlelight service at church (he did remarkably well) and dinner out, we got on our PJs and put out some snacks for Santa and the reindeer.

 

And we had to say goodbye to Garland the Elf, whose final spot this year was in our Christmas tree.

He woke up around 6 and got in bed with us.  We snuggled for another hour before he realized it was Christmas.  His first thought was not about the toys Santa was supposed to leave but about whether or not he ate his food.  We went down to investigate and found out that yes, Santa and the reindeer did eat their food.  A few wayward chocolate chips were left behind, and Brendan proclaimed, "I need to eat these." 

 

And then on to the toys!

 

This picture is really the essence of what our day was like.  Needless to say, we have choo choos everywhere.

 

 Happy New Year! 

 

 



Let It Snow!

I can't remember the last time I posted.  Two weeks ago?  Maybe three?  We have some catching up to do.

 

Brendan got his first at home haircut.

 

 

I hated it.  However, that was a couple weeks ago and after a few days I got used to it.  We had to straighten it up a few times, but overall Dad did ok.  I am excited to try out those new clippers on Tom's hair.  *Wink*

 

I think everyone knows that he had tubes put in his ears again.  Thank goodness I trusted my instincts.  Tom comes to a lot of his doctor's appointments, but when we went on our first ENT referral I took him by myself.  She is an Air Force doctor and I didn't like what she had to say.  Mainly, I didn't like the fact that she thought he needed to suffer through THREE more ear infections before putting tubes in again.  That called for a second opinion, who said the fluid in his ears was affecting his hearing and he needed the tubes as soon as we were ready to put them in.  Surgery was scheduled for the next week.  It was more traumatic for me than it was for him.

 

 



I read an article recently about remembering the "lasts" instead of the "firsts." Here's an example: He bowls a ball and then exclaims, "I got a stripe!" Today he began saying "strike" properly. And while I'm proud for every single tiny little thing he learns, it makes my heart ache to watch him grow so quickly.

Probably my absolute favorite thing to do with him is read stories before bed. Every once in a while he will get in trouble and lose story time. That is punishment for me just as much as for him. I asked Tom to sometimes come snap a picture of us, because I'm already dreading the day he no longer wants to read with me.

 

So, we got our first snow. The weather forecast used words like "white out" and "blizzard." Tom and I just KNEW we would be off of work Thursday. No such luck. All we got was a 2-hour delay. This boy had never seen snow before and I was determined to let him play in it. So I ended up with a 3-hour delay and we headed out to play.

 

 

 

 

 Merry Christmas! 

 

 



Santa Visit

We are quickly getting ready for Christmas around here.

 

I wish I would be able to wrap some gifts and put them under the tree before Christmas, but I know Brendan will just open them and ruin the surprises.

 

Last weekend we headed across town to Scheels for Santa's arrival.

 

 

There he is!

I wish it hadn't been so rainy and dreary, but it wasn't freezing so I'll take it.

'Round these parts, if you don't have a chimney Santa rappels down the side of your house.

 

 

We thought it was pretty cool.

 Hot chocolate mustache.

 

Since he already got his picture taken with Santa we didn't wait in the huge line for that.

He got a letter from Santa in the mail.

He wasn't interested at all and threw it on the floor.

 

He's not one of those kids who likes to play quietly on his own.  He wants you to play WITH him, even if that means just sitting next to him.  When I caught him quietly playing choo choos by himself I had to snap a picture.

He woke up reeeally grouchy from his nap, which is completely unusual.  He wanted to be next to me on the couch.  Then I asked, "Do you need me to hold you like a baby?"  He said yes and climbed right into my lap.  It was a little slice of heaven.

 

Until I made the mistake of eating one of his goldfish crackers and then he thought I was the wicked witch of the west.

 

At that point the only thing that cheered him up was getting to sit in the washing machine.

NOT safe.  (Tom's idea)

 

Happy Friday!