Magic of the Season

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year.  It's at least a month filled with festivities, sprinkly treats, sparkly decorations, twinkly lights and magic.  I love that every day we move a little bear around a holiday house on our advent calendar, run to turn the lights on the tree first thing in the morning, actually enjoy the snow (it's so pretty this time of year) and feel so warm and cuddly peering out from the inside - nestled together with hot chocolate by the fire.

To calm the kids one night as we were getting ready for bed I sang Away in the Manager.
Hadley:  Why didn't Jesus have a bed?
Miles:  Aren't there stores in Heaven?
Me:  Jesus was born on earth in a town called Bethlehem.
Hadley:  I want to buy a crib for baby Jesus.
Me:  Where would you buy a crib?
Hadley:  Costco.

I was sitting at the kitchen counter meal planning for the week and making our grocery list.  I told Miles he could pick his favorite thing to eat and I would make it for one of our dinners.  He requested, "a butter sandwich only filled with butter."

After our visit to Santa today Miles was very concerned that in his shyness he didn't articulate to Santa exactly what he wants for Christmas.  (He just saw an Octonauts toy in the Target ad and even though I've never heard of it he's been obsessing about it ever since and says that's all he wants for Christmas.)  He told me, "Mom, text Santa so he knows what to bring me."  I explained to him that we can't just call Santa and that Santa sees that he's been a good boy and has heard him each time he's said what he wants for Christmas.  

After making homemade sugar cookie dough and cutting out lots of Christmas shapes the decorating began.

Lots of icing and sprinkles makes for very yummy cookies.

We met two of Santa's reindeer today.

This was our first pancake breakfast with Santa.

Hadley's eyes are so expressive  - she's giving me that look.

Mike captured this picture of me and my favorite boy.

Santa gave each of the kids a big candy cane and while Miles crunched his and was done quickly Hadley sucked and slobbered on that thing - savoring every sugary moment.

Ho, ho, ho!

So thankful for...

My healthy children (Miles at floor hockey).  Miles had surgery at Ridgeview Medical Center on Tuesday to get his right ear tub removed.  Everything went very well and he had a quick recovery.  (He doesn't even remember it!)

The ability to provide a good life for my family

Happy kids, a Thanksgiving Day spent with family, delicious food and walks by the near frozen lake

The warmth of our home

Delicious hot chocolate

Watching daddy put Christmas lights up on a tree outside

Laughter

A beautiful 10 foot Christmas tree, decorating the house, sharing the joy of rediscovering all of our Christmas tree ornaments, a date night with my husband (Christmas shopping, Thai food, and Catching Fire), the best babysitters next door (thanks mom and dad)

My little doll all dolled up

My handsome boy

Loving siblings

My wonderful family

A sense of humor and being goofy

Getting in the holiday spirit with a trip to the theater to see "Llama Llama Holiday Drama"

My daughter who declared she wants to sing and dance on stage

A great life (Hadley staring adoringly at Llama Llama after the show)

The things they say...

I kept a notebook nearby to capture some of the things they said this week...

Miles

Miles:  I know how to do patterns.  Orange, black, orange, black, orange, black.

Me:  How about this one, Miles, Hadley, Miles, Hadley, Miles, Hadley.

Miles:  How about this one?  Pizza, beer, pizza, beer, pizza, beer.

One night after school Miles described a science experiment they did - "Mom, you need a plastic tray and a cup filled with vinegar.  Then you squirt blue into the vinegar then you add salt and it ERUPTS."

During dinner - "Mom, I love everything you make.  Thanks for cooking mommy."

Saturday night we played cards and Miles explained the rules of the game high-card and was the dealer.  I asked him where he learned to play and he replied, "old grandpa Nickolay taught me to play cards."

Hadley

Mike ran to get pizza for dinner one night and as Hadley looked out the window and waited for him she said, "I can't see daddy's car because his car is black and the sky is black."

She likes to play with my makeup and study my morning routine and often wants to get in on the action - "I want some more toothstick and flosser."  (chapstick and floss)

When asked if she wanted to go to church she replied, "I want to sing to Jesus."

Here are pics from my phone from the weekend.
 

We celebrated my Godson's 5th birthday today.  Happy birthday Daren!

So honored to be this sweet boys Godmother.

It was very cold Saturday so after running lots of errands in the morning we decided to snuggle in for the afternoon and evening.  We spend a couple of relaxing hours beading which the kids really enjoyed.

Miles made two necklaces for himself and then announced "the next one's for you mommy!"

This girl LOVES her daddy.

Picnic dinner-movie-ice cream night

Just checking in

Hadley's 30 months developmental assessment arrived in the mail and now that she's older we made it into a fun 'test' to see if she could do everything in the questionnaire.  She did so well - as she says - she's ready for preschool.  She can draw shapes, identify letters, sing many songs, speak in full paragraphs, stand on one foot in tree pose, jump, run fast, and keep up with her brother in most ways.  At times she's also persistent and will employ every two-year-old trick to get her way (whining, crying, general tantrums).  She loves taking care of a baby doll, jumping on her trampoline and being mama and daddy's helper. 

This weekend Miles got a postcard with a dolphin on it and Hadley received one with a panda from Grandma Nickolay's trip to San Deigo.  When Miles saw his he exclaimed "a shark!"  When Hadley saw her she's exclaimed "a care bear!" 

Miles is excelling at Little Saints Preschool.  His teacher reports that he's well-behaved, social and likes to participate.  When working on his handwriting worksheets or art projects he likes to take his time - he's never in a hurry to rush through these things.  He is one of the most genuinely happy kids I know - he's always smiling, has the best giggle and is always up for an impromptu dance party.

Happy Halloween

October felt like a whirlwind.  I got back late last Sunday night from a week in Las Vegas (part conference, part total fun).  While I was away for almost three weeks last month having lots of adult adventures my November will be about family, catching up at home and the holidays.  Hopefully this will translate to getting back in the groove with the blog.

In the meantime, please enjoy the pictures.

Carving pumpkins

Hadley wanted to carve the smallest pumpkin

Miles wanted the biggest one

Jake from "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" and a ladybug

Going trick-or-treating

Fall at the Arboretum

The highlight was seeing 11 turkeys up close