SANTA!

So we decided that the line was too long at Saturday's outing to wait to see Santa. Instead we went to the mall yesterday morning. It was great timing. There was no one in line - the picture guy was reading the paper. I thought it would probably go pretty well as they are really getting into the idea of Christmas. I bought them an Elmo movie about Christmas and they ask to watch it everyday at least once. Also my mom got them a Little People Nativity set and they have played with it almost non-stop. The stable plays "Away in a Manger" and the star lights up at the push of a button. As with any button prompted action this is a big hit. We've also started our advent calendar and while I'm sure they don't really get it they like to watch me move the elf and say "Merry Kissmes" each morning. Anyway, Jack must have thought that Santa didn't know his alphabet and so recited it for him several times. Santa was nice enough to sing along at least once. Charlie didn't have much to say but did give Santa several fives and sat very nicely during the whole thing. That was a feat in itself for Charlie who rarely stops moving. They took about 5 shots before the boys started trying to get down. I thought this one was pretty good.

Updates

We had a very nice Thanksgiving. We stayed in k-town and celebrated at my mom's house with the whole clan. The boys ran circles around the house all day and were asking "Bed?" and "Let's take a nap?" by 5:30. We managed to make it a little closer to bed time but they were exhausted. Charlie capped the evening off in typical 2-year-old fashion by laying himself out in the floor and crying (who knows why). They also really took an interest in playing the piano and were not too bad about banging on it.

On Friday we put up our tree and they tried to help some. Jack gave up pretty quickly in favor of entertaining us but Charlie hung in there. He would ferry ornaments between Chip and I. After we were finished he kept trying to take them off again. We're working on that. Jack loves to walk up and hit them to watch the lights reflect in different directions. Charlie keeps trying to eat one that looks like a watermelon slice, it's glass and covered in glitter so we're trying to discourage that.

On Saturday we went to a Christmas tree show for charity. It's held every year and different groups around town decorate and donate trees to be sold. They also have live entertainment and tons of children's activities. The boys loved seeing all the lights, got a hug from a polar bear, and rode the carousel. I wasn't sure how they would do with the carousel since our last experience was mixed at best but they both requested a ride and did well. We did it last since I was unsure if they'd go for it. That turned out to be a mistake since Charlie asked to ride the horsey again but we needed to leave. He cried. Next year we'll have to spend more time there. It was hard to take good pictures since we were also trying to hold them on the horses but at least we got some.

Baby it's cold inside

Last night's low was in the 20's. Man that's cold. Our playroom tends to lend itself to extreme temperature fluctuations. In the summer we have to use multiple fans just to make it tolerable due to the sun exposure. It will warm up today (thanks to the same sun exposure) but it sure can be cool on winter mornings. After both boys telling me it was cold this morning I decided to put their hoodies on them. Now Charlie keeps insisting that we go outside, since it's still just 22 we'll be staying in.

Trick or Treat

Well, they really only went to one house but they did try to say Trick or Treat. It was almost a battle trying to get Jack's costume on (I may go into designing children's Halloween costumes after that). They both hated their "hats" so we were completely unable to get a picture of them together in complete costume but here are a few pics.

Halloween Cookies

The boys did a little cookie decorating recently with Meredith. Charlie spent most of his time smearing icing on his face while Jack methodically picked the sprinkles off one at a time and ate them.

Santa Claus is coming to town

Back by popular demand (seriously - lots of folks have asked for it) is the boys' blog Christmas list. Each item is linked to a picture/description of it on the Internet. Most of things are also available in local stores I just wanted you to be able to see them easily. I'm starting my shopping this week so I thought it was time to post this too. I'll try to add to it as I think of things and if you email me I'll take things off as well.

Pictures from the boys' birthday party

Here are some pictures from the boys' second birthday party. They got a huge new swing set from us and some of the grandparents. Chip put it together almost entirely by himself. The idea was to play outside all afternoon but it rained. Oh well. The Elmo balloon didn't hold up too well in the rain but the cake Aunt Phyllis made was great.