The Best Christmas Ever

We have had such a memorable Christmas it is hard to know where to start.

On Christmas Eve we invited Aunt Anita and Great Gram over for dinner. Drew and I then went with them to a church service. Drew was somewhat patient but sighed audibly several times. He really enjoyed the candlelight portion of the service, but he became a little too excited and started dropping wax everywhere. So Anita and I blew out our candles and Drew's. Clever little guy kept lighting his candle off Great Gram's and blowing it out. After she started to hold her candle out of his reach he decided to participate in the singing of "Silent Night." Let me say now that Drew does not know the words to "Silent Night" but that did not stop him from singing. Loudly;)

Christmas morning was fun. Santa left some Yo Gabba Gabba plush figures in Drew's stocking. Mirra got a veterinarian set with a plush puppy. After opening up all their gifts Andy happened to notice a note that Santa had left for Drew. He said that he couldn't fit Drew's gift under the tree so he left it in the garage...



It was a little too cold on Christmas day to take it out for a spin but we managed to today. We found a vacant parking lot and Andy pushed Drew around some cones for a while just to work out the kinks and get Drew used to it before we fire up the motor and turn him loose.

Back to Christmas...we headed to Grammy and Papa's house for lunch and met Uncle Bee there. Turns out Santa had visited their house as well because he left a handmade baby doll bunk bed for Mirra there. I think Santa has a happy, handy elf that goes by the name of 'Papa'. Drew put his Yo Gabba Gabba guys on the top bunk and Mirra quickly remedied that by throwing his stuff on the floor so her baby doll could have the top bunk. She didn't seem to mind that Drew then took over the bottom.

You know that song "All I Want for Christmas"? It should be Mirra's theme song because she had two cuspids pop through this week. Not really a fun highlight of the week, but a bit ironic you must admit.

We headed back home Christmas night, but returned to my parents' the next day. We had a family dinner for my dad's side on Friday night and celebrated Saturday with my mom's side of the family. It made fora busy weekend but it was nice to see so many family members that we don't have the opportunity to see much during the rest of the year.

My mom doesn't like it when I say my kids are spoiled so we have agreed to say that they are very fortunate. We hope that in addition to all the generous gifts they received that we have created some memories that will last awhile.

New Additions to the Family

No. We are not having twins. If you thought that you haven't been paying attention. I only have the patience for my two existing cherubs.

Drew received a fish tank from his grandma last weekend. So last night we added 4 new fish to our family. According to Drew they are all named Dorothy.



He also received a set of racing flags (made personally by Grandma) and a flag stand that his Grandpa Miles made many years ago. Very cool. His new remote control car was also a hit with the "big boys."

Mirra got a tea party set, luggage set, and telephone among many other things.

We also spent an evening with our friends Jamie and Lea and their kids. They are renovating an old farmhouse with a wonderful history. They have done a lot of work already and preserved so much of its character. We were also excited to meet their new daughter, Ava. Mirra was facinated with the baby. She seemed to think Ava was a live doll.



So we had a wonderful weekend to start off our Christmas holiday. We hope yours is full of memories and joy too.

Silence is Golden?

When you are the parent of a toddler you know this is not true. Silence usually means they are doing something they shouldn't be and you will be spending the next half hour cleaning up whatever experiment had them so quietly enthralled.

HOWEVER....I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner and Mirra wandered off and was suspiciously silent for some time. Amazingly, I found her in her room like this.




She is starting to talk even more now and is replacing some of her signs with spoken words. She knows lion, cat, tree, cheese, Laci (Grammy & Papa's dog) up, help (up and help sound the same you just have to look at the context). She is also putting together two-word phrases like "all done" and "hi Dad".

Show Time!

Drew had his very first program last night. His gym school had a short holiday show where each of the classes performed a few songs. Drew is in the back row on the far left. He seemed to have a really good time but did have to battle with his reindeer antlers throughout the show.



This video is pretty shaky but you can actually hear Drew singing in this one.

Me Want Cookies!

Drew and I drove to my parents' house after our second Santa adventure. Our purpose: cookie baking! Drew was very involved this year. He is my little baker. Whenever I make a cake he wants to help pipe the icing.

Drew freaked us out when his mouth suddenly turned blue, but fear not, it was only food coloring.

Our good friend, Theresa, was able to join us which made the day even more enjoyable. The only downside is that I have gained about 4 pounds in the last 48 hours from all the quality control.

The Gear Head Santa

Last night Drew decided that he wanted something different for Christmas: a Yo Gabba Gabba present. He wasn't particular, but it had to be Yo Gabba Gabba. He had his coat on and wanted to go find Santa right then so he could tell him. We told him we didn't know where Santa was that night, maybe Florida or California. We then suggested he write Santa a letter, which he did. But that wasn't completely satisfactory. So on our way to Grammy and Papa's house today we stopped at the mall.

Virginia, I believe in Santa Claus because for the second time this season we didn't have to wait in line to see him (despite the 20,000 cars in the parking lot). Drew sat in Santa's lap and told him he wanted a Yo Gabba Gabba present. Then Santa asked what else he wanted. Drew replied "a Wall-E present." Santa acknowledged that then asked what else Drew wanted. Drew was silent for a moment and Santa said "I know there is something else you want." (This guy really IS magical, I think). Then Drew answered "a quarter midget."

"Oh, are you a quarter midget driver?" asks Santa, intriqued. I told him not yet and asked if Santa liked quarter midgets. He told me he did and that he even helped out at local tracks. Then Drew starts talking about what the racing flags mean and since no one is in line behind us Santa started quizzing him.

The whole experience was so cool. Merry Chirstmas Santa!

Deep Thought of the Day

Bunk beds were great in theory, but changing the sheets is a pain in the bootie!

Oh, Christmas Tree

Drew didn't have school Friday so I took the kids to the library to meet Nicole and Colin. After lunch we headed to the mall and saw Santa Claus. To my utter amazement we were the only ones in line. Drew told Santa he wanted Wall-E and a quarter midget for Christmas and to swim with fishes. No, we haven't let him see The Godfather. When asked what his little sister wanted he answered "ladybugs." Maybe because Mirra was a ladybug for Halloween.





Today we brought home and decorated our tree. I still can't fathom why all the light strings worked last week when I pulled them out of storage and tested them but when they were put on the tree some mysteriously didn't. Oh, well. Drew had fun helping me with the ornaments and was very happy to put all the presents under it.


Once the tree was completed we went outside to try to make the most of the little snow we had. Drew, Andy and I had fun sledding, but Mirra was more interested in her rice cake. She had no complaints while being pulled around, but she was definitely not enthused. Probably because she won't keep her mittens on and her fingers are coldy.

Yes, He's Taller

"He seems to be getting taller." I heard this of Drew many times in the last couple of months. And indeed, he grew 2 inches in four months.

Daddy's Girl

Only after watching the video did we realize it sounds like MJ is saying "over there" and "what are you doing?"

Mirra is now 18 months old. She is 23 lbs, 1 oz. and 32 1/2 inches tall. Her height is in the 76th percentile. I think she will take after her dad and be tall. She is spitting out new words every day. Today the new word was 'shower' as she paid me a little visit during mine.

"I wish I had his energy"

I can't tell you how many times I have heard this about Drew...or how many times I have thought it myself. But what I wish for most is his enthusaism. My son can get so excited about the littlest things....a song, a hug, a book. We pulled out all the Christmas boxes and started setting up decorations last weekend and he was almost giddy trying to 'help' me put things in place. We will get our tree and visit Santa this weekend and I can't wait to see his reaction to all of that.

I even wish for snow days now because I know sledding with him and sharing hot chocolate afterward will be so much fun!

He has an amazing memory. And he can remember a wide variety of things like dialog from a TV show he saw weeks ago or even the order of animal appearance in the dolphin show at Sea World. He had not seen the show in a year and he knew when the whales were going to jump up! He can even determine our destination in the car based on the ramp we take to get on the interstate. He knows Grammy and Papa live one way and the museum is in the opposite direction. I remember being 15 and thinking "I need to start paying attention to how to get to my grandparents' house so I will know how to get there when I get my license." I was never attentive to those kinds of things.

We have started trying to teach Drew the states. He can now point out Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, Texas, Arizona, California, Washington, and Oklahoma ("watch sprint cars at the Chili Bowl"...something he and his dad are going to do this winter).

I love to watch him with his sister too. He can still be tough on her and hates to share but he loves to make her laugh and tickle her. The sweetest sight to me is when they hug and pat each other on the back and Drew will say "I love you, Baby Mirra."