What is your favorite part of Christmas?

I asked my kids this question today. Their replies:
Morgan said "saying Merry Christmas to people!"

And Trevor's response: "That it's Jesus's birthday" (this kid never fails to just melt my heart!)

My favorite part of Christmas? Oh dear... the list could go on and on! I am really enjoying seeing the AMAZEMENT in the kids eyes this year. Its so neat to see it the way they do. To hear their innocent comments, see the wonder on their faces, and watch them carefully write their letters to Santa. While I do think there is a bit of commercialism in the holiday, we do our best to try to teach the kids the "reason for the season." And when I hear comments above from Trevor it just warms my heart as a parent. For all the things we do wrong as parents, I think (and pray) maybe we are doing some things right too.

From our family to yours... have a blessed holiday season!

Positive Peer Pressure

Morgan is now 3 years and 9 months old. For nearly all of those years and month, she has been hesitant to go to strangers. I'm sure is often mistaken as being snotty because she will not willingly talk to people she does not know... not even a simple "Hi." About a month ago I took her to the mall with me (which we have only recently been able to do without having a major meltdown) to buy new shoes for her Christmas dress. Low and behold, Santa was there that day making a visit! She would not even look at him. She buried her head in me and wanted to walk around the back of his chair because she DID NOT WANT TO SEE HIM. Now really, I can't blame her. Why would any little kid want to see a big, older man, with a beard that covers his face? On their level it probably is a bit scary.

Fast forward a month, and Santa makes a visit to school! Wow! What a surprise! All of Morgan's friends in her preschool class sat on his lap. Then what do you know...

She sat on Santa's lap! Now that is what I call positive peer pressure! She asked him for a princess castle with a Cinderella doll.

When it was the kindergartner's turn, Trevor walked right up to him and got his picture taken. He asked for a butterfly catcher.

tagged!

I have been tagged by Amy

The rules are to link the person who sent this and leave a comment on their blog so their readers can visit yours~Post the rules on your blog~Share 7 strange/weird facts about yourself~Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and link their blog~Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are my strange / weird facts:
1. I play bassoon. I started in high school, sold mine in college to pay for a year of tuition, and Brian bought me a new one a few years after we got married.
2. I am allergic to dogs, but I have 2 of them.
3. I hate to exercise. They say it releases natural endorphins, you feel good when you do. Yeah, not so much for me. Oh well. I'll keep trying.
4. Our house no longer has diapers or a crib. May not sound weird to you, but feels weird to me.
5. I take pictures just to be able to use certain scrapbooking supplies.
6. My face is so dry, yet I still break out. I break out now more than when I was a teenager.
7. I have been at the same job for 9 years. When I started, I didn't think I'd make to 1 year


OK, now I tag: Jodi, Leslie
Sorry - I don't even know 7 people who blog!

an update of sorts

We're baaaaack! Another sabbatical... and here we are again.
So lets just cut to the chase - I'll update on the latest happenings in our household (we'll be clear right now - no I am not pregnant, I can hardly handle the 2 I have)

• Christmas was awesome. Both kids totally were into it. On Christmas Eve Trevor wanted to call Santa and ask him for a picture of the reindeer. Since Santa had already left the North Pole (and doesn't have a cell phone), we left a note. And sure enough, the big guy left 3 pictures of reindeer. The look on Trevor's face when he saw the pictures was PRICELESS! Top gifts this year: Smart Cycle, Browns football helmet, princess suitcase filled with princess dresses, princess vanity.
• Brian's (twin) sister Heather is engaged and is getting married on April 26. I am a bridesmaid, Brian a groomsmen, and the kids are the flower girl and ring bearer (or princess and bear as Morgan would say)
• Sonja's twins are 5 months old and lots of fun. They are really interacting a lot. Trevor and Morgan LOVE to see them and "play" with them.
• We are going to Siesta Key, Florida in June with Sonja and Vince and all the kids. We are so looking forward to a relaxing vacation with the kids. Trevor and Morgan have both been to a beach before, but at ages 3 and 5, it will be even more fun!
• We got a Wii. A few days after Christmas Toys-R-Us had a bunch in stock so we (well Brian) just walked in and got it. We all enjoy it. Morgan loves to watch Daddy play Guitar Hero. Trevor loves to do the bowling and baseball. As I suspect (hope?) most boys are, he always wants to win. He has really had to learn the whole concept of "having fun" and "doing your best."
• As happens every time this year we are considering moving. We have "considered" it every year for the last 4 years. We'll see.

OK, thats about it. I'll close with a picture from yesterday when the kids and I went to visit my sister at work for lunch. The kids both adore Aunt Jodi, and asked repeatedly if they could go to her house and have a sleep over.

Catch the Christmas Spirit

Trevor and Morgan took part in the "Catch the Christmas Spirit" concert at church last Sunday evening. They both had such a great time, and they did really well with the singing and motions! I was afraid Morgan would stand up there like a deer in headlights but she did very well! I have uploaded the videos of the 4 songs they did:

Mary Had A Baby Boy

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Away In A Manger

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We're Having a Good Time

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Jesus We Will Sing

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Then after the concert Santa dropped in for a quick visit. Trevor was excited to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus:

But Morgan wanted nothing to do with it! This picture shows her back as she looks at Santa... that was as close as she would get!

Go Browns!

Go Browns! These two helped cheer them on to the OT victory today! Well Trevor did at least. He was so excited and pumped up about it. Every time they scored he wanted a high five. He gave us an update on the score about every 30 seconds. It really was an awesome win for the Browns. And in case anyone is wondering, when Trevor grows up he is going to be a football player for Ohio State, then the Browns, and then when he's done with that he will be a plumber.
Trick-or-treating was fun - for Trevor. Not so much for Morgan... we got off to a bad start when we walked onto the front porch and she was scared of the "punkins on fire" (the tealights inside the jack-o-lanterns). But Captain Hood (aka Brian) took them out trick or treating while I handed out treats. Morgan was not at all thrilled with anyone in a mask, any jack-o-lantern, or any Halloween decorations (let alone sounds). They made it about 1/3 the way around and Brian brought her home. Even at home she didn't want to sit on the porch - she was getting scared of the kids in costumes coming to our door. I said to her maybe she's to little. Her reply "I too wittle for twick-0-tweat"



And the babies had their first costumes on... Thing 1 and Thing 2.

Happy Halloween!!!

From Peter Pan and Tinkerbell:


We carved pumpkins last night. Of course in Morgan's eyes they were not pumpkins, they are actually huge orange bouncy balls. After we cut the tops off, we thought for sure the kids would just dive in and scoop the slimy stuff and seeds out. Trevor's teacher at school said he "dove right in" to scoop stuff out when the class carved a pumpkin. As you can imagine, things went in fact completely opposite of what the parent anticipated. Morgan was just too busy to help - playing with sticks, leaves, bricks from the landscaping. And Trevor said it was too slimy, and was begging for a real ball to play with. I did manage to get them to pose for pictures though:

Next post... Adventures in Trick-or-Treating!