Christmas

As it is with every year, the weeks leading up to Christmas are a frenzy of shopping, making lists, crossing things off lists (my favorite), ordering online (my other favorite), and hiding gifts.  I was forced to clean out our downstairs closet (which, if there ever was a tornado and we had to take cover in there, we'd basically be screwed) in order to reach the decorations, lights, & Christmas tree ornaments in the very, very back, where it's so dark, you literally need a flashlight for successful navigation.  In spite of the cleaning and the busyness of it all, it is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year.  Starting at about Thanksgiving...I love it.  And as always, it was over so quickly. 

We begin the Christmas season with concerts the kids perform at school

and a visit with Santa Claus.  We are lucky that Santa visits our neighborhood's clubhouse each year, so it's much easier & more convenient than the mall.  Jacob asked for an Xbox 360, Alex asked for Legos (and he'd like to share the Xbox 360), and Will asked for cars.  My nephew asked for a Mickey Mouse toy.

Next comes the taking of Christmas card photos, creating the card, and addressing & mailing the cards.  This year, I went with a kind of Norman Rockwell theme.  Or tried to.

 

 

Usually, we roll the sugar cookie dough and decorate cookies on Christmas Eve, but this year, we did it on the 23rd.  No pictures of the dough rolling because my hands were covered in dough & flour, but I was able to document the decorating of the most delicious looking sugar cookies ever.  Well, some of them looked pretty tasty.

 

My 3 cute cookie makers.

A little taste of icing couldn't hurt.



Daddy deserves a smooch on the cheek for his decorating help.

 

 



 

I love Alex's aggravated expression in the background.  Know what was so frustrating?  The amount of sprinkles Will was using. 

Photographic evidence of what caused the sprinkle shortage.  Refer to above photo if you can't recall who was holding the sprinkles when they were so generously dumped.

 

How do they taste?  Four thumbs up.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, we made reindeer food with cousins (oats, sugar, and red & green glitter) to be sprinkled in our yard for the reindeer to snack on while Santa makes his delivery.  And later that afternoon, we went to church.  It's our tradition to attend church on Christmas Eve. It's a fun service because we sing hymns (Christmas songs) and they make adults dress up and reenact the story of Jesus's birth. The pastor intentionally tries to embarrass some of the participants by making them pull out all of the stops with their acting skillz (using a z because there are no real acting skills). The best part, aside from hearing again about one of the best stories in the Bible, is watching the kids get to participate. Just like every year, children can choose to dress as an angel, a shepherd, or a king. And they can go up on stage when it's their turn to show up in the story. 

 

A little king.

 

A little shepherd.

 

Camden (my nephew) and Will on stage.

 

I was impressed that both Will and Camden (the 2 angels) got up on stage.  It was pretty adorable, because every time Camden left the stage to come back and sit in the pew, Will followed him, grabbed his hand, and brought him right back. They were also the last 2 of all the children to leave the stage, and made me walk up the aisle to retrieve them. But you can only smile and shake your head at those kind of antics...they are innocent angels, after all.

After church, we headed to Kerri's house for a Christmas Eve dinner with our whole family, as well as my brother-in-law's parents. And when we came home, the boys were allowed to open one present. Just like the tradition my mom started, they receive a new pair of pajamas every Christmas Eve. I was actually quite surprised by how excited they were about them.

Jacob wrote a note for Santa to leave beside his plate of cookies & milk. He decided on his own what to write and asked for no help with spelling. I think it's one darn cute letter.  In case it's hard to read, it says:

"Dear Santa,
This was a good month with Smiley.  I hope you have a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and stay warm.
Love, Jacob, Will, Jeff, Lauren, Alex
Hope you enjoy the cookies!"

Long after the boys were asleep & presents were finally ready to be seen and opened, the house was quiet and dark. It was peaceful, and it was so different than the usual energy that pervades our house, and completely opposite of the (fun) chaos that would be present the next morning. After weeks of stress and planning, and a night of digging through closets & sorting and wrapping gifts, it was finally a silent night. And a sense of calm came over me.

 

 

For as long as I can remember, Christmas Eve (and Christmas Day) has been one of my favorite times of the year.  As a kid, I always had trouble falling asleep the night before Christmas.  And on this Christmas Eve, even at 35 years old (and in spite of finally feeling calm), I was still too excited to sleep.  It was 1:30 a.m. before I finally closed my eyes. I couldn't wait for the boys to see their stash from Santa and their gifts from us.

A stocking full of toys & bones for Skye.

Santa left a Wii U for the big boys.

I took very few pictures on Christmas Day. We did videotape the entire morning, which will be fun to watch in the years to come. But I made a conscious decision to actually watch everything without a camera in front of my face. I did snap a few pics, and my sister-in-law snapped some during our celebration with my in-laws.

A blurry pic of the boys enjoying their new Wii U.  I had to snap
fast because I was interrupting their game!

Santa left this cool Big Wheel for Will.



Skye took each of her 3 new toys up to "her" bed, wagging her tail the whole time.

After opening gifts from each other and checking out Santa's surprises, we headed to Aunt Kerri's house to celebrate with Uncle Matt, Camden, Macey, Nan, Pop, & Uncle Chris.  Pop cooked his traditional oyster stew (yuck- but the broth is good) and made-to-order omelets (excellent).  Upon seeing my & Kerri's disgust at the mere sight of the oysters, Pop offered us each $100 if we would eat (and digest- no vomiting allowed) one.  Both of us were too chicken...and too nauseous.  So Pop targeted another victim: the boys.  He offered them $20 each if they both ate one.  Jacob stood by the trash can while he chewed for what seemed like 10 minutes, but they both managed to swallow.  An impressive feat! 
Showing off their well earned $20.

After a fun exchanging of gifts, we hit the road to celebrate with Grandmom, Granddad, Nani, Aunt Tricia, Uncle Scott, Daniel, & Lainey.

 

 

Tricia and I framed this picture we took of our kids and gave it to Grandmom as an 8x10. 

We all gave Nani this blanket for Christmas.  She was overcome with emotion when she saw it, and immediately began to cry.  Which in turn caused my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, and me to cry.  It was very sweet, and reinforced that the best part of Christmas Day is giving gifts.

 

The boys were concerned since they had never seen Nani cry, so they gave her some extra love.

 

 

 

It was another wonderful Christmas with each other and our families.  I love that the boys know Christmas is about Jesus, and not just Santa and gifts.  I love that Jacob wrote a note to Jesus, telling Him "I love you", Happy Birthday, and Merry Christmas, and asked Smiley the Elf to deliver the letter.  I love that Alex was so excited to give his gift to Jacob.  And I love remembering my childhood Christmas traditions, and beginning my own with my children.   

It will be tough to take the Christmas tree down in a few days, take the lights off the house, and remove the candles from the windows.  But in the meantime, we've got each other, the knowledge that Christmas will be here in a year that will surely fly by, and a whole crapload of gifts that I intend to find places for very soon...definitely before next Christmas.

 

Green Light

In a blog post back in August '08, I said this was the best invention ever, but I would like to officially name a recent purchase I made on Amazon.com as the new contender. 

Behold.  The invention that is so ingenious, it only has to sit there and it magically keeps an active toddler in his bed.

 

 I bought this after Will began climbing out of his crib and surprising us during the 6:00 hour of the morning ("Hi, Mama!  Hi, Mama!  I outta my bed!  C'mon, Mama!").  The rule for the big boys is to stay in their beds until the first number on their clock is a 7.  And the rule for Will is to stay in his bed until the light is green.  It can also function as a regular alarm clock, but for now, I set the time Will is allowed to get up (7:00 a.m.), and until that time, the traffic light will show red.  Red equals Keep Your Butt in the Bed.  At 7:00 a.m. sharp, the light turns green and stays that way for an hour.  And then Will is allowed to run to our room with his exuberant morning greeting.

The clock worked wonderfully while he was in his crib.  He would excitedly tell us, "My light green!  I outta my bed!"  But I wasn't sure if it would be as effective after we converted his crib to a toddler bed.  It's just so much easier to climb out of a regular bed than a crib.  If he woke up before 7, would he really just lie patiently and wait?
The answer is most of the time.  There were 2 mornings he woke up at 6:50 a.m.  I watched on the video monitor as he sat in his bed, glancing over at his clock.  After 5 minutes of patient sitting (an impressive feat in itself for Will!), he climbed out of his bed.  I put him back in his bed and explained he had to wait until the light was green, and that he only had to wait for 2 more minutes. ("Two minutes" is Will's favorite expression as of late.  Everything will be done in "two minutes, Mama".)  And he stayed in his bed for the remaining 2 minutes (that was really 4 minutes) and then ran to our room excitedly for a second time that morning.

The other two mornings he got up shortly before 7 can be blamed on poop.  And I'm not faulting him for those.  Who wants to lie down when you have a diaper full of morning poop?

I love this clock.  It's simple, it's cute, and it's perfect.  Every night before he goes to bed, Will tells us, "I outta my bed when my light green.  No go in Day-do (Jacob) and Alte's (Alex's) room.  Go in Mama and Daddy's room."  The transition from crib to bed is one I always dread.  But this has made it painless.

Big Boy bed

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 months ago, as I sat at the downstairs computer and enjoyed some down time while Will napped, I heard running footsteps above me. Since the big boys were at school and Skye was asleep in the room with me, I used some quick deductive reasoning:

There's a really loud and not at all stealthy intruder in the house.  Maybe I should scream?

Or...

Will has learned to climb out of his crib.   And, maybe I should scream?

I'm not saying I'd rather have an intruder, but I was not at all thrilled when I heard Will call out, "I outta my bed! I outta my bed!"
Because when a toddler finally has that realization of, "Hey...this crib isn't jail. There's no lock and key here. No roof either. What if I just use my superior climbing skills and see what happens when I swing this leg over the rail and drop?", it doesn't usually bring good things. Why stay in a crib when it's so easy to just climb out and see what everyone else is up to?

But we were pleasantly surprised.  He still napped well and wasn't getting out of his bed in the middle of the night.  He did, however, occasionally surprise me at my bedside with a good morning greeting that was WAY too early to be a good morning.  When he woke up early in his pre-crib climbing days, he would entertain himself in his crib for a while before calling for me.  No need for that now when it's much more fun to wake Mom up and have her entertain you!  But still, since he was doing well for the most part, Jeff and I weren't in a hurry to convert his crib into a toddler bed. 

But today, we bit the bullet and got it done.

The Before pic:



  

 

And, the After:

 

 We called Will up to his room after the job was done to show him his "brand new big boy bed!"  He ran in, but promptly skidded to a halt when he looked at his former crib.  His first response?

 

"Uh-oh!  Uh-oh!"  Because something was missing, Mommy and Daddy!  Why are you not concerned about this?!  Will asked with a concerned Southern twang, "Where my rail go?"

 

When we convinced him that it was really OK and that his missing rail was in a safe place, he accepted his new bed.

 

 

And he was pretty excited about it. 



We added a little side rail later. He'll still be able to climb in and out at the foot of the bed, but we don't want him to fall out during the night. The kid is like a human pinball while he sleeps.

So far, the big boy bed is a success. He loves it and he can safely maneuver in and out of it. Whether or not he stays in it all night remains to be seen...

Cue the ominous music.

3 Boys and a Dog

It took me a long time to feel ready for another dog.  As I mentioned, the loss of our Westie, Hailey, was very traumatic for me.  The fact that it was so sudden and unexpected (she was only 8 years old) gave us no time to try and prepare for what was to come.  The fact that we were out of town when her health took a quick, downward spiral was even worse.  My mom and the veterinarian kept me informed of her status via cell phone during our long drive.  And instead of driving to our home at the end of our trip, Jeff and I found ourselves at the vet hospital looking down at Hailey, who was lying on a table.  She was on morphine, already no longer with us, but she was still breathing.  There was nothing more they could do. 

And that is when I had to make the hardest decision of my life.  I cried, I petted her, I laid my head on her and hugged her.  And I didn't want to leave the room.  The vet kindly cut a snippet of Hailey's white hair, and made a pawprint for us as keepsakes.  And then I watched them inject her.  It was quick and peaceful.  But it was still horrible and something I couldn't believe I was seeing. 
And in spite of knowing it was what we had to do, the decision and the memory of it still bring me to tears.  Sobs, actually.  Hailey was a wonderful, sweet dog all 8 years of her life, and every member of this household loved her.

I wonder when I'll be able to talk or write about this without crying. 

About 1 year after she'd been gone, I started to consider another dog for our home.  I missed Hailey so much, and missed the presence of a dog.  Plus, the older boys were asking when we could get another one.

Jeff and I both agreed we wanted to adopt a dog from a rescue organization.  As I researched, I was saddened and surprised by how many dogs are in shelters and foster homes.  I am an advocate now for pet adoption.  There are too many pets out there who have been abandoned or mistreated who need homes.
Jeff and I didn't tell the boys, but we went to a function held by a local rescue organization to meet some of their available dogs.  When one of the puppies fell asleep on my lap, I was pretty smitten.  We even had the dog come out to our home for a visit.  But Jeff talked me down from the ledge of Puppy Ownership, and made me realize that it would be a LOT of work on top of the TONS of responsibilities and work we already have on our plates.  And he was right.  But he did say that in a couple of years, after the boys are a little older, we could adopt a puppy.  (There- now it's in writing, Jeff.)

The foster mom of the puppy we met suggested a dog named Molly for our family.  She thought we should definitely meet her.  So we did.  Jeff and I liked Molly instantly.  At 40 pounds, she was much larger than any dog I've ever owned.  But she was playful, spunky, and very sweet.  However, our first introduction did not go very well for Alex and Will, as they both got knocked to the ground during the excited dog's antics.
After much discussion and another visit with Molly (but this time at OUR house), we agreed as a family to adopt her.  Molly was a cute name, but we decided to change it to Skye.  One eye is sky blue, her fur is the color of the night sky, and most importantly, Skye is short for Skywalker. 

On August 4th, the day of her official adoption, I think we all felt a mixture of excitement and nerves.  I hoped she'd be the same sweet dog we met.  And I really hoped she was a perfect match for our family.

The drive to her new home...

And when we arrived home, (Molly) Skye didn't want to budge from the front yard.  I think she was apprehensive too.

 

Thankfully, it only took a couple of weeks to adjust to her new surroundings.  And then she made herself right at home.

 

She even graduated from a Beginner's Training Class, and we've just enrolled her in the Intermediate level.  Mainly so we can put a hat on her head again.

 

 

Alex was skittish around her at first, but I remember how happy it made me when he initiated contact with her for the very first time.

 





Jacob has always been an animal lover, so he took to Molly Skye right away.

 

And Will?  Well, he thinks Skye is one of the most amusing things on the planet. 

When she runs?  Will belly laughs.  When she kisses him?  He finds it the most hilarious thing ever.

Yes, as a 2-year old, he is a bit too rough with her at times.  He sits on top of her.  He grabs her hair.  But he also bestows many kisses and hugs upon her.  He loves her very much.

 

 

 

In fact, he is so taken with her, he channels his inner dog on a daily basis. 





He's excellent at staying character.  He doesn't even speak when he is Doggy Will.

He crawls around with his tongue out and makes panting sounds. 

He approaches humans (crawling, of course) and begs for an invisible bone.  And he won't leave your side until you hand him one.

He digs in the dirt.

Sometimes he even kisses like Skye, which is always a...wet surprise.

And when you hear a scratch at the back door?  In this house, you can't always assume it's Skye.

Because sometimes, it's a 2-year old with a mild case of identity confusion who thinks he needs to come in for a sip out of his water bowl.

 

But the identity confusion goes both ways.  All that's missing is a glass of wine for her to sip on.

So is it any wonder that Will was a dog for Halloween?  There really was no other option. 

Luckily, he didn't feel the need to crawl from house to house.  And he said "Tee tee cheet" (trick or treat) when people opened their doors instead of barking.

I'll always miss and love Hailey.  But Skye and I have bonded and I love her too.  And I'm so glad the boys (and even Jeff) love her just as much.

I'm Back?!

Well, it seems I have returned yet again. I always have the best of intentions when it comes to blogging because I know how much I will enjoy reading about the boys' childhoods when they are much older. And I hope they will like reading these posts at least half as much as I already do. But somehow, life with 3 boys gets busy from time to time, and tasks that aren't at the top of my priority list fall through the cracks. And now here I am, having been absent from the blogging world for almost an entire year, trying to play catch up.

There's absolutely no way I can write about an entire year. Way too much has happened. But let me try to touch on some of the big stuff:

-Our family dog (but really, she felt more like my dog than anyone else's), Hailey, died last summer. On July 19, 2011, to be exact. I did blog after it happened, but since typing the words was too heartbreaking for me, I didn't mention it. It was horrible and traumatic and I still miss her so much. In fact, I am going to stop typing about it now before I cry again.

-Jacob is nearing 7-1/2 years old, Alex turned 5 this summer, and Will is 2-1/2. They're all adorable, smart, handsome, hilarious, and sweet. Jacob is still the little artist & musician at heart.

 

Alex loves numbers and homework.

 

And Will just loves life: he is full of energy (and often, dirt).

-The big boys played baseball in the spring and impressed us all with how well they did for their very first season. They'll play again this spring.

-Jacob played flag football last fall and this fall, wanted to sign up for tackle football. And after my sweet, gentle boy learned that he is allowed to be rough out on the field, he started tackling boys left and right. I'll admit that it has been pretty awesome to watch.

- Jacob is in 2nd grade and Alex is in Kindergarten. Both are super students and their teachers rave about them. Obviously...they're my kids. :) Will is home with me and won't start preschool until next fall.

-We adopted a dog in August. Her name is Molly (the name she was born with) Skye (the name we call her). Skye is short for Skywalker because we needed one more thing Star Wars related in this house. She's part Siberian Husky and part Australian Shepherd. One eye is blue and the other is brown...we love that. She's sweet, energetic, playful, but also very cuddly. She loves being around us. She also favors the patio chairs (and often, the table) for seating when she's relaxing outside.

 

I think that's enough catching up for now. It's a start. My goal from here on out is to have a Story for the Week or Picture of the Week. But when my last post was a year ago, I certainly can't be trusted to commit to weekly blogging. So we shall see. :)

A 4-year old's perspective on Christmas spending

This afternoon, one of Alex's activities was to look through the Toys 'r Us and Walmart catalogs. Christmas will be here before we know it, and we've already begun writing the first drafts of our wish lists.
Pen in hand and a look of concentration on his face, he began circling any toy that caught his interest. After he was satisfied with a thorough job well done, he brought the catalog to me.

Alex: "Want to see what I circled?"
Me: "I absolutely want to see."

So we sat together, and I slowly turned the pages, finding that almost everything he circled was Lego related. His obsession with Legos began a little over a year ago and hasn't wavered. So I wasn't surprised to find that he circled everything Lego Star Wars, Lego City, and Lego Pirates...and occasionally I'd find an odd selection circled, like pro wrestler action figures (I don't have an explanation for this) or Scooby-Doo figurines (that we already own, to which Alex replied, "But I want them again."). The sweetest moment came when I overheard him whisper in Jacob's ear, "Jacob...I circled the Star Wars podracer set you want because I love you." (And their Mommy loves that when they circle Christmas gift ideas in the catalogs, they think of what their family members want, and not just themselves.)

The Lego Star Wars sets (his favorite toys in the world) are ridiculously expensive. The ones circled ranged from $40-over $100.

Alex: "I circled a lot, right? I circled 17 things."

Me: "You did circle a lot. A lot of really neat stuff."

Alex: "Can I have it all? Can I get it all for Christmas?"

Me: "Well, you circle things you'd like to have for Christmas. It doesn't mean that you'll get everything. A lot of this stuff is really expensive."

Alex's eyes were wide and he had the most earnest expression on his face as he explained, "It's OK that it's expensive because you don't have to use your money. Really, Mom. Santa buys it. And he has a lot of money. Like $8!"

I looked at him, trying not to crack a smile at that logic or that sweet & serious expression on his face.
Alex: nodding emphatically, and mistaking my silence for disbelief, he added, "It's true."



Now that I've been reassured finances are not an issue this Christmas, I'm off to do some circling in the catalogs for my own wish list.

Thank you, Jacob.

Hello? Anyone there? Is this still my blog? Is it OK if I come back?

I have no excuse. No good one, anyway. I do find it slightly amusing that my last post was about Will starting to take his 1st steps, and then suddenly I'm gone for 6 months. I'll let Will's perpetual motion, climbing, running, and extremely active personality take partial blame for my absence.

I'll also blame a busy summer, an even busier start to the school year, flag football, Speech Therapy, and my passion (obsession?) with learning photography. (More on all of that later.)

But mostly I'll blame myself, because the more time that passed, the more overwhelmed I became at the thought of trying to play catch up. I didn't even know where to begin.

But a couple of days ago, Jacob said something that I never want to forget. So what better starting point than that?

It happened during our bedtime routine, after Jeff read to the boys, and as Jacob was settling into his bed.
He asked Jeff, "What do we look like in Heaven? Ghosts or real people?"

Jeff: "I'm not sure, bud. What do you think?"

Jacob: "I think only God knows who all of the people are."

Jeff: "Well, you could be right."

Jacob: "So when I get to Heaven, I am going to walk around and ask everybody if they're Alex. And when I find him, I'm going to stay with him."

It made me cry. And I still get choked up when I think about it.

Maybe not all brothers are this way, but these boys have an incredible bond. And I hope it stays that way forever.




Thank you, Jacob, for being such a kind, sweet, and loving boy & biggest brother. And thank you for making your mom get her butt in gear and start blogging again.