First bus ride
We parked at a different school and rode the bus with Little #3 to the boys’ Christmas concert at school tonight. She loved it!
Tag: Christmas
Lego Shecklets
The kids got a good laugh out of seeing themselves as Lego figurines tonight.
My first attempt at Lego-izing us had Little #4 symbolized as a pink stroller, but I like my second attempt below, better. In reality, she hates wearing hats, but it’s winter (absolutely freezing right now!) and she has very little hair – so a hat it is!
Super hero mask
Little #3 received a mask and cape for her second birthday a year ago. I am pretty sure it is her most-worn accessory.
As a random side note, now that we’re in the season of holiday grocery items that can only be purchased once a year, I picked up some egg nog. The kids love it. I mix half egg nog and half milk together because otherwise it is just too thick. Anyway, this afternoon, Little #3 started requesting Egg Milk for her beverage with meals. It is just too cute to correct 🙂
Christmas present dreaming
Paging through the Fleet Farm Christmas flyer on a rainy October, yes October, day. Guess Santa will need to keep his ears perked from here on out.
Taking steps
While we were celebrating Christmas at my parents’ house tonight Ingrid started to take off, literally, with her walking! It was so fun to see her toddle more than just a couple of steps before opting for crawling.
O Christmas Tree
Last year I made the mistake of pointing out to Nolan that the garbage man was taking our Christmas tree away (as the man was tossing the tree into the back of the truck.) Apparently this was the wrong thing to do; clearly a rookie mistake. I felt horrible! He was incredibly saddened by the event and talked about it for months. I’m not exaggerating. It was summer and the little guy was still talking about how the garbage man took the tree but we’d get a new one next Christmas.
This year, we’re trying something different. We started talking about taking the tree down several days before we actually did. We also had the boys “help” us take the ornaments and lights off. Now the tree is sitting out front in the snow waiting for the garbage truck to arrive in the morning. I think I may strategically plan a visit to the gym that coincides with the tree pick-up. Once he realizes it’s gone when we return home, I’m hoping his reaction is that he continues to tell us that the garbage man will be taking the tree away to give it to other people who need a tree. After all, that’s what we’ve told him happens when we donate items from the house that we no longer need. Why wouldn’t the tree go to someone else too?
On a completely unrelated note, this is what happens when you forget to put away the paper towel roll that you were using to pad ornaments as you packed them away. Lesson learned.
Ready, Aim, Fire!
Nolan and I gave our new slippers a trial run this afternoon.
After bathtime tonight, Lincoln came into his room wearing his towel. Standing several feet away from me, he stayed very still, like he was in a trance. Before I knew it, there was a small puddle next to him on the floor. He looked at me and said, “I wen pee pee.” (And no, I didn’t forget the “t” on “went.” He just can’t quite say ths whole word yet.) All I could do was smile. The little guy has actually started expressing interest in potty training, but I think he’s just facinated with the toilet at this point. However, I am encouraged by his excitement…and hopeful!
Christmas 2009 – take 3 & take 4
We woke up Christmas morning to snow and rain…yes, rain on December 25. Jake started a fire in the porch so we could open presents without freezing around the tree. We gave the boys sleeping bags & cots this year. It was pretty funny watching them practice taking naps. It’s the first Christmas morning in several years that we didn’t have to load ourselves into a car to travel to a morning or out of town gathering. What a gift that was! We spent time as a family, the kids napped in the afternoon, and in the evening, we headed to Jake’s grandparents’ house for the Settergren family Christmas celebration. 35+ of us were able to make it this year. Believe it or not, we were missing a few due to the weather. I forgot to pack the camera for the big family shindig. Maybe that was a good thing though – I didn’t worry about capturing all that I could, digitally. Instead, I just enjoyed the evening as it unfolded.
Christmas 2009 – take 2
Christmas Eve was a snowy one. We woke up to a driveway full of light, fluffy flakes. After breakfast, Jake and I traded our “normal” jobs – I went out to snow blow the driveway and he stayed in and watched the kids and cleaned up the kitchen. After he was done, he dressed the kids in their snowpants, etc. and brought them outside. We dug out the sled and tried to make a path down the hill in the front yard. Several attempts were made to blaze a trail, some successful, some not so much. But fun was definitely had by all – except for the one time that Lincoln got white-washed. He called it quits after that episode. But Nolan, our neighbor D, and I continued to play for a while. If lunch time hadn’t closed in on us, we would have stayed out longer.
After lunch & naps, we went to 4pm Christmas Eve mass. Thankfully, my parents beat us to church and reserved half of a pew – they saved us from standing. From church, we headed to my parents’ house for dinner, presents and a birthday cake for Jesus. (This is one of the kids’ favorite things about Christmas. Ok, and mine too :)) Part of dinner consisted of turkey drummers for the boys to eat. Nolan first had one when he was about 9 months old. This go-around he made much more progress. Lincoln did quite well with his first drummer. Actually, he looked like a natural.
Christmas 2009 – take 1
Sunday afternoon, after the kids took much needed naps, we headed to Jake’s parents’ house to celebrate Christmas. Unfortunately, Stacie wasn’t able to join in the fun – she was studying for finals. We played a little Mexican Train, watched football, had a great ham dinner complete with cheesy potatoes & orange jello salad, and of course, opened presents. The boys were very excited to help pass out the wrapped surprises and open them 🙂 I think they assisted everyone in opening at least one gift. After the wrapping paper was picked up, we snacked on all sorts of sweets – ice cream, fudge, chocolate crinkles and dipped pretzels just to name a few. The boys were more than happy to sample just about everything they could talk someone into giving them (or sneak!)
