Well, since I'm working my way backwards here on catching up (make sure you see the post below if you're interested in the recap of our Christmas Day), I wanted to put a post together of a few random things I want to remember about our holiday season this year.So first up, Tyler made this shirt at school and was very proud of it. Again, I thought the idea was very clever and was impressed by the creativity involved! I never knew there were so many uses for hand & foot prints. And as you can see, he was thrilled to be modeling it for me. :)
Next up...Sam had the above pj's when he was about 9 months old. They were a big hit and loved by all. The blue background with jolly rogers on them were just too stinking cute. So he was on his way to growing out of them last Christmas when I shopped the clearance sales in January when I found these:
They were blue, they had jolly rogers on them, but they were warm and fuzzy and wearing Santa hats! They were a 2T, which I figured would be perfect for this year, and I snagged them right up. Paid $3 at the Gap, I believe. And I was so excited to pull them out this year. I thought they were cute before and all, but oh my goodness--put that little boy of mine in them and then the cuteness factor went up a thousand notches. I couldn't get enough of him in them and neither could he. He asked for them every single night (and still does) and is always devastated when they need washed. Now if only I could find some for next year....(I'm quite doubtful!)
And next up are a few school projects Tyler brought home. His projects were a fun thing to add to our holidays. He was definitely more and more excited about it every time he came home from school.
We had the cotton ball beard countdown. We have a few advent calendar/countdown things around the house, but eventually this became the only one we were doing because we were forgetting about the other ones. None of them could compare to the excitement of gluing a cotton ball on Santa's beard!
In fact, here is a sampling of Tyler's "wall" he had going during the month. He had a crepe paper candy cane, a finger painted Christmas tree, and a stable made of popsicle sticks, to name a few.
Here is another countdown activity we have at our house and I have loved using it every year. We have been using it for three years now and it originally came from the Children's Friend. Each day you pick an ornament and on the back of the ornament, it lists a task to do that day (i.e.: help mom with dinner, tell Daddy you love him, read of Christ's birth in Luke, etc.) and then you can put the ornament on the tree. There are some that are a little tough for Tyler to do, of course, but as he gets older, every year it gets a little bit more fun.
And now we're on to the treats...ahhh, the treats! I hadn't made or really eaten hardly a single holiday treat until the week of Christmas because I hadn't had time to do it until then, but oh boy, oh boy, we made up for lost time. We made a little bit of everything and I am still in a sugar coma from it all! Above, I made Chewy Chex Mix, recipe found here. It truly is addicting--just ask anyone who's had it. It's a scary thing for me to make, because half the pan is gone before I have a chance to realize it--and I'm the only one to blame!
And I tried out some pretzel turtles this year too and LOVED them. They were so easy, so yummy, and I loved that Tyler could help out and be very involved in the process. The mix of salty & sweet is always a favorite of mine. The recipe can also be found here.
And as you see, my man was pretty proud of his creation and he was excited to take them to his teachers. And I was glad to have them out of the house since I had already eaten so many! And there are no pictures, but I also made a batch of Oreo truffles and caramels--the recipe for both can be found here. Oh heaven help me, I'm going to be rolling myself into the gym next week. But unfortunately, each year my "The holidays wouldn't be the holidays without _________" list just keeps getting longer and I just make more treats. Sigh.And a few other things to remember this year:
Sam became obsessed with nutcrackers after watching the Radio City Music Hall Christmas production on PBS (it wasn't intentional, it was just left on after one of their kids' shows had been on). He watched all of the nutcrackers fall down and he laughed his head off and pointed out every single nutcracker he saw on a lawn, in a book, or at a store after that. And then (in his own language that you'd never understand unless you live with him every day, lol), he'll proceed to tell you about all of the nutcrackers falling down and act it out for you. It was quite entertaining.
Sam also was insistent that Santa Claus was going to bring him an elephant and he was complete in his description with waving his arm like a trunk and giving the sound and all. He started the season saying Santa was bringing a "big car" or a "big tractor". So, Santa went with the big tractor. But then after Santa decided what to bring, Sam was dead set on an elephant. And I had no idea where this had come from until I realized that the mall Santa had given out little toys to the kids who visited him and Sam had gotten a little plastic Christmas elephant from Santa and he has packed it around ever since. So that is where the idea was planted in his little head. It's always cute to see those little wheels in their heads turning. And once Christmas morning came and went, he was definitely distracted by everything else, so he didn't say anything about the elephant. But if you ask him now, he'll say he got "no elephant" from Santa...
And last but not least, this story just tugs at my little heart strings. On the Tuesday before Christmas, Tyler woke up and as we were getting ready for the day, he came to me with his piggy bank. And then he said "Mom, can you take me to the store today so I can buy Dad and Sam a present? And then later tonight when Dad gets home, I am going to ask him to take me to the store to buy you a present". He had the perfect little plan in place and a way to execute it. And I about crumbled. This boy of mine can be so sensitive and so sweet sometimes I could burst. And part of me wanted to say, "oh you should save your money for something for you. You've been saving it for so long." But the other part of me knew that this very thing is the exact reason for the season and I could not tell him no. And I figured he could spend $1 on each of them and the job would be done. So we got ready to go and got to the mall and fought the crowds and Tyler was just acting so tired and started really dragging--much more so than usual. So we were more rushed than usual and he picked out an air freshener for Garrett to use in his pick up and a ball for Sam. And he walked up to the register with his own money and handed it to the cashier and everything. He's so big now, it kills me! And by the time we got home, he was not looking so great and I took his temperature and sure enough, he was running a fever... So, long story short, he was not feeling well at all the rest of the day and night and I took him to the doctor the next morning (on Christmas Eve) and he had strep throat. He got really sad when we were sure that he really was truly sick and he got teary eyed and said "I can't be sick on Christmas". But I assured him he'd be feeling better by Christmas morning and thankfully, he was! But after it was all said and done, on Christmas Eve, (while he was not feeling well at all, mind you) he got into a little bit of a panic and said "oh no! Mom, I didn't get to go to the store and buy you a present with my dollars." My poor little boy in his state was worried about that. I, of course, assured him that it was going to be okay. But this will be one of those things I will never forget and I wonder if I'll ever be able to think about it without tearing up. I just love that boy and his sensitive little heart!
More posts a'comin.... I'm gettin' there!
