You'll see

David saw Santa at the Y last week and when he asked what David wanted, David said "a Christmas tree with a train around it". Easy enough. So we went to the store to find one - only to be shocked that they cost about $200 for a Christmas train. So we opted for the much more manly Cat (as in the construction company - not the feline) version. It's big enough to go around our tree, has tractors on it, is bright yellow and best of all was only $29.99. We bought it before Christmas, which as you will read below, may have been a mistake. But we wanted him to enjoy it for more than a day - after all, I'm ready to get my Christmas stuff taken down the day after Christmas.

Brad asked David again last night what he wanted Santa to bring him and he continued to say "a Christmas tree with a train around it". We explained that he already has a train around his tree and Santa wouldn't bring him another one...that would be silly. So Brad asked again and David said "You'll see". Apparently, the kid has already told Santa what he wants but he won't share it with us. I asked a couple more time and he just continued to say "You'll see". He's kinda secretive I suppose. Hopefully, he's asked Santa for a basketball goal - because that's what he's getting.

Oh yes, I cried

So my little boy is growing up. Last Tuesday he had his first ever performance. The 3K at his school sang two songs (Silent Night and O, Come All Ye Faithful). He did so great....watched his teacher the whole time, listened well, and didn't goof off even once! When he finished he was just beaming with pride. It was a sweet moment and I cried.....just because I'm so proud of my boy and can't believe how fast he's growing up. He's so dang cute. Here are a couple pictures from tonight.

Name Changes

Last night at dinner David decided to rename our dogs. Apparently the names Radar and Sammydog no longer float his boat. So he has given Sam a new name of McDonalds (which, by the way is a place we never eat at anymore)….and Radar is now named Burger King.

I thought it was a passing name change which he would soon forget about, however, that wasn’t the case. I was trying to get him out of bed this morning and he was very sleepy and having a hard time waking up. I then focused on getting the dogs downstairs to eat and go out – I kept calling Radar’s name to come downstairs. David sat up in the bed and shouted to me “His name isn’t Radar anymore”. In his grumpiest voice he told me that his name is now McDonalds. Great – now we have dogs named after fast food joints…and the only thing that will get my kid out of bed is to holler at me.

The Project

We've finally started building bookshelves in the office....which is a project we've been talking about doing for a year now.

This is the beginning - David did some of the demo to help Brad pull up the carpet and remove some of the molding. He's a big helper and must be in the middle of things...what 4 year old doesn't want to be?
Helping to hammer in some nails....
Using his jigsaw....
Brad and I have had fun working together to build these shelves. It's kinda challenging since we are NOT crafstmen nor do we really know what we are doing. But we drew out a pretty detailed plan and have followed it pretty precisely...which has helped. We are actually almost done with the bookshelves and will hopefully be ready to paint them this weekend. More pictures will follow once we are done. We're thinking now about what our next project will be...

Cutest. Kid. EVER.

Baking Day 2008

Emily, Allison and Robbie came over today for baking day. Allison and I started doing this back in 2001 and have done it ever since. It's something I look forward to every holiday season.

This is Robbie, me, Allison and EmilyThe goods....pumpkin butter and apple butter....we made almost 40 jars.
Robbie and her daughter, Annabelle, and Radar -
We had a fun time together like we always do. Next year, I'm going to suggest we try pepper jelly.

Scout is here

This is Scout. He is our magical elf. He showed up at our home on December 1st and will stick around with us through Christmas Eve. Scout will keep an eye on David during December and then report back to Santa on Christmas Eve about how David has been. If David's been good then he may get a present or two from Santa on Christmas morning. I've heard that several of David's friends have their very own elves this year too.

So when I was a kid this exact same elf came to my home every December. I remember it being so exciting when he came....it was one of my favorite parts of Christmas. The elf stopped coming to my home when I stopped believing in Santa....I guess that's how it goes....you grow up and the magical elf stays at the North Pole.

Scout hides every day so when David gets home from school he has to find Scout. It's definitely the highlight of our evenings. I'm excited that my elf is back....it's so fun to see the excitement in David's eyes each night he finds Scout. This is definitely a new tradition that we'll continue for years to come.