ready and waiting

Christmas presents are wrapped. I'm ready for Christmas!

In a few hours, as soon as Braden comes home from the second church service, our Christmas vacation officially starts! Yay!

family time

Last Sunday evening after we made the wreaths. The kids sat down for dinner. I never cook Sunday nights, it being popcorn & a movie night for B & me. I had a sudden inspiration and made these Christmas tree dinners for the kids. It's amazing how fast they disappeared, and I think Maddie ate three of them!

While they were eating we turned out the lights and lit floating snowflake candles. (I love this picture!)

And of course, we had the Christmas tree lit up too.

Daddy got out his guitar while the kids ate and played Christmas carols. After dinner Mommy joined him on the piano and Caleb joined us on the drums. We decided that Maddie will have to pick an instrument--she voted for violin. We'll see.

It was a sweet family evening.

the little g'dwummer boy (again)

During breakfast the kids were looking at their stockings hanging on the fireplace mantel. I was reminding them that Granny made them and whose stocking was whose, when it occurred to me just what was on Caleb's stocking...

The little drummer boy! I had to laugh. Granny, you were prophetic!

christmas twins

Devouring a snack.

Hey, you two look cute sitting together on the bench in your red overalls. Let's get a picture!
Smile!

That's it. I give up.

the little g'dwummer boy

When down to just 2 wooden spoons, I bought 3 more about a week ago. I lost one of my wooden spoons yesterday to the little g'dwummer boy. Today 2 more bit the dust, split right down the middle. All I can say is Christmas had better come soon. This boy needs some real drums!

a scary merry christmas??

christmas wreath craft

On Sunday evening, we did a family craft....which means that Mommy cut out all the leaves, Daddy helped Caleb, and Maddie did a fabulous job working on her own.

The wreaths came out so cute! I got the idea from one of my magazines, where they used bay leaves to form a wreath. So I cut a simple bay leaf shape out of various green papers. The kids glued them down on a cardboard wreath shape, making 3 rows. Then they glued on pompoms and a red bow.

We put one wreath with our noodle garlands, making a nice mantel display. The other wreath we put on our corner cupboard.

* preschool continues on *

L week was the week of Thanksgiving. Our main events were going to Aunt LOUISE's house, eating LEFTOVERS and gathering L words from the family.

M week found us singing We Wish You A MERRY Christmas and Away in the MANGER, learning the names of MONEY and sorting coins, and eating pumpkin MUFFINS.

During N week we focused on the NATIVITY and NOODLES. Maddie and I set up our nativity, and then we made our own--a craft I had bought her for her birthday.

(photo by M)

As for the noodles, I dyed some Christmas shapes pasta in red and green. Then we strung it on twine. Caleb and Maddie each made a garland for the mantel.

christmas baking

clothes hamburgers

I was giving Maddie instructions for getting ready for bed. We went over the 3 things together:
1. get in pajamas
2. put all her dirty clothes in her dirty laundry basket
3. brush her teeth.

As we reviewed them before I left, Maddie interrupted me on number 2. "Or my hamburger. That's another name for a laundry basket. You can call it a hamburger too." It took me until I was walking down the stairs to realize what she meant (a hamper). Braden and I had a good laugh over that one.

how to eat spaghetti

First: take one piece and drag it across the table like a train, saying "choo choo!"

Second: pick it up and "bwake da twain!" with your teeth.

Third: mash, stuff and wiggle the spaghetti into your mouth however you are able, using both hands if necessary.

Finally: wipe your hands down your shirt and across your pants, making sure to bypass your bib altogether.

"Mmmm, gawishus!"

a decorated tree

Homemade eggnog is a MUST for tree decorating.

Last year after Christmas, Braden and I saw this train on sale and bought it. We've waited all year to surprise the kids by putting it under the tree. Braden set it up while they were napping, after having returned from getting our tree.

Caleb was so excited, he couldn't keep still!

Using the remote--big deal!

While Daddy was stringing lights, Caleb and I gave a Christmas carol performance directed by Caleb.

He set all these g'dwums up himself. (What looks like a mess on the right side is actually part of his g'dwums.)

When decorating began, Caleb was quickly banished from the dining room, and Daddy offered to entertain him while Mommy and Maddie decorated the tree.

musical bobe

Caleb's favorite thing to do right now is play ga'dwums. He also likes to play g'tar. He used to play just the 'tar and dwums, but then he learned that it is a g'tar, so now he also plays g'dwums. He can already keep a steady beat in time to the music, and he loves to end a song with a good flourish.

Today Caleb was singing a song, his own song. As he strummed the g'tar he sang,
God is bigger dan yooooo. (strum strum)
God is bigger dan yooooo. (strum strum strum)

One of my favorite things right now is when Caleb brings me his 12 inch electronic elmo toy guitar and a 12 inch electronic keyboard (that tore off the book it originally came attached to and is missing 1 key) and says, "Heah, Mommy. Yoo pway da panno. I pway g'tar." And then I have to jam with him. He normally sings the ABC song during our jam sessions.

On a different note, Caleb woke up from his nap just now:
Mommy, I sweept foh fwee hoh days.

a few words and a conversation

When we were going to begin decorating our Christmas tree, Maddie exclaimed:
Daddy, I've been waiting to dec'rate the tree my WHOLE LIFE!

Tonight at dinner, Maddie announced again (she's been saying this a lot lately):
When I grow up, I want to be a Mommy!
I decided to have a little fun and began to ask her questions.
Kids?
I'm going to have four kids.
Boys or girls?
Two boys and two girls.
Names?
The two girls' names are going to be Bertie and Franks and the boys will be Muffin and Salmon.
(Can you tell what we were having for dinner? Salmon and muffins. We were also eating corn chowder but I guess Maddie couldn't envision a Corn Chowder child.)
How old are they going to be?
They are ALL going to be one...and I'm going to have a little baby too. Her name is going to be Candy...Candy Cane because her eats candy canes.

we got our christmas tree

Hot, freshly roasted coffee, and off we go!

The Daddy...

...the girlie who asked this morning,
"Can I cut down the tree all by myself?"...

...Bobe, happy with his snacks...

...and the Momma,
who was so busy making sure everyone had everything they needed (diapers, snacks, hats, mittens, ipod w/ Christmas music and everything else) that she forgot her own hat and scarf. Brilliant.

We took a gorgeous 45 minute drive out to the tree farm. Talk about a perfect Christmas tree day--awesome winter sky and freezing cold! Well, maybe if it was just a TAD warmer it would have been perfect. It was 25 degrees! But oh it looked and felt like Christmas!

Caleb said, VERY seriously and convinced he could do it, "I wan dwive it! Can I dwive pwease?"
He liked pretend driving, but he wanted to drive it for real, too.
Maddie said, "Oh, it's a Smart Car!"

Off to fetch ourselves a tree.

Caleb began to decorate a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.

Maddie exclaimed, "Mommy, THIS is the perfect tree!"

Well, Daddy and I found one just a little bit bigger.

Watching Daddy saw the tree down.

For everyone out there who wants to laugh at this picture, stop laughing. The tree did not fall on Braden. He sawed a bit on one side and on the other and then braced himself and started yanking. He yanked our tree down before I realized what he was doing. We were going to yell TIMBER.

My man dragging his tree.

My little man helping his daddy.

Our tree is home, safe and sound, and as big as we hoped for!

bye-bye

I said good-bye to my porch pumpkins. They are now baked and ready for pumpkin bread, pudding and pies.