Nate at Christmas

Nate has loved Christmas, too. This age is so fun because he is really starting to understand things about Christmas. He likes Santa - but only from a distance. I will post the Santa picture soon. He knows that Christmas means presents and he definitely likes that. One morning I was in the shower when Nate brought me an opened gift! He decided that a present needed to be opened. He knows that Christmas means family. He loves having all the cousins around. He also loves bossing the cousins around! He truly loves his cousins.

The remains of the package!

All of this holiday season fun has Nate worn out. He laid down his head around 6 in the evening and then I heard snoring. Note how his feet are and that he has his shirt off (he is still loving to strip down). He slept that way for at least 45 minutes before I got him up and changed him into pj's. He went straight to bed. Tired boy!

Who knew that a vacuum could be so much fun?

Nate helping me to stuff the Christmas cards into the envelopes. Too bad that the cards still were not mailed on time.

Nate seeing what Santa brought for him. He was so excited!

More goodies.

He has become very attached to Dylan lately. Here he is getting Dylan to read to him. Dylan is super sweet to him and very happily reads Nate one of his new books. While we are at Grammy and Granddaddy's house, the boys have been sleeping in one room. Two in a bed and 2 on the floor. Nate has been sleeping on the floor, sort of! He has been asking Dylan if he can sleep with Dylan. Of course Dylan has been letting him. Two boys on a twin bed - cuddly. Tonight, Chase and Dylan had Nate riled up. Nate was not in the mood to go to bed. He crawled into bed with Dylan and proceeded to prevent any boy from going to sleep. After many threats and "NATE, GO TO SLEEP", Nate had to be moved to a different room. He was so upset. "I want to sleep with Dywan, Dywan, Dywan" Honestly, I was having a hard time not laughing at his antics. I was listening at the door before I had to move him and I could hear Nate saying, "Dywan, Dywan, DYWAN." I had given Dylan instructions to ignore Nate and Nate was not liking that. It was truly super sweet.

Nate and Cade dancing to Cade's penguin. Nate has started to call Cade "Cade Cader Raider".

This is a fun present.

He pulled the cars out of this one but he will need to wait until we are home before it is set up.

He loves his pirate shoes.

Diego Rescue Pack from Grammy and Grandaddy!!! He loves it!

Patiently waiting for Daddy to finish opening the rescue pack.

Chilling with Daddy

Nate continues to love music. He loved playing the piano with Aunt Charlotte and with Grammy. The pictures with Grammy are still on my camera so I will post them later. I know that I am biased, but I think he sings very well for a 2-year-old. He is very interested in music and picks up lyrics super fast! I have to be very careful about the music I listen to around him.

Nate loves the Sponge Bob towel that Grammy gave him.

Cade (aka The Penguin) at Christmas

I am very behind in my blogging so I am going to try to catch up one child at a time. There is a lot to write about Cade so excuse the novel to follow. I am starting with Cade because he has been a complete joy this holiday season. He is loving - LOVING - everything about Christmas. The decorations, the cooking (he so wanted to help make a pumpkin pie, so we did), the family, Santa, and of course the presents. He has been so happy about everything. Here are some of the highlights.

He saw this poster at Half-Price Books and talked about it for days and days. We finally went back and he used his allowance to buy it. He loves it!! It is one of those 3-D posters. I had to go out that night to buy the stuff to put it on the wall. It now is proudly displayed at a low spot in the playroom.

This is Cade's snow globe. Really, it belongs to him. He used Christmas money last year to buy it right after Christmas last year. It was up only a short time last year. Cade clearly remembered it and could not wait until it was time for it to go up. He was so very happy about it. He did not like for us to turn it off during the night. He wanted it left on all of the time!

Cade has developed a penguin obsession lately. See his penguin pajamas. He absolutely loves them and wants to wear them 24/7. When I first gave them to him, he immediately put them on. They are warm and cozy and penguin so they make him very happy. The next morning was a school day so I told him that he had to change into his clothes. He did not want to change so he told me that it was pajama day at school - "really, Mommy". I finally got him to change by promising him that he could put them back on as soon as he got home from school - and yes, he did immediately put them back on as soon as he was home. Luckily for him, it really was pajama day at school a few days later. I wish he could wear pajamas everyday, it would be so much easier to get him out the door.

He saw this penguin towel and the penguin music player (you have to hook it up to a music source) and he fell in love with them. What did he ask Santa for? A penguin towel, an Icy- M (the penguin music player), and a digital camera. How many 5-year-old boys do you know that want a penguin towel for Christmas? He was so thrilled and happy to see what Santa had brought him.

His Icy-M is by far his favorite gift. He confiscated my ipod and I started the Christmas playlist for him. He carries that penguin around and dances to the music. He left the area for a minute so Mark turned it off. Cade was heartbroken but all was well again when Mark started it up. Lucky for Cade that Mark got a new ipod for Christmas so Cade will be able to have Mark's old MP3 player - as soon as I load it up with Cade music. We have already had to change the batteries once! He also completely drained my ipod battery.

Yes, he did walk around the house wearing his penguin towel. He loves it!! Who would have guessed?

Cade is learning about gift giving and gift receiving. At museum school, they had a book exchange. Cade ended up with a baby book. I don't blame him for being upset. When I picked him up, he was talking about how he did NOT like his book and he did NOT want to bring it home. First, I reframed the situation by pointing out what a great book it was and how special it would be to read to Nate. We talked about how Cade could probably read some of it to Nate and how much Nate was going to love it. Cade really did get excited about that. After we were in the car we had the "gift-receiving manners" lecture. We talked about how it could hurt a person's heart if they picked out a special gift and the person receiving the gift did not say thank you and talked about how they did not like the gift. We talked about how you need to say thank you for a gift even if you do not like it because you are thankful that the person wanted to give you a gift. Cade was very happy to show Nate the book later when we were home. When they had a puzzle exchange at school, he was not thrilled with his puzzle but he said thank you and later he told me that Nate would really like the puzzle. I was very proud of him.

The boys had a "Penguin Patch Gift Shop" at school where they could buy gifts. Cade was SO excited about this and he could not wait. He already knew what he was going to buy. The big day came and he left his wallet at home. I knew he would be so devastated so I went up to the school with his wallet even though I did not have the time that day. His class had already visited the shop so I took him down myself. His teacher told me how heartbroken he had been about leaving his money at home. He looked everywhere for it but could not find it! When the class went to the shop, his teacher had the kids with no money wait out in the hall. She looked up a few minutes later and Cade was in the shop. She asked him if he had found his money and he told her that he had and that is was invisible money. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his invisible wallet!!!! Needless to say, he was very happy to see me! He knew exactly what he wanted to get everyone. I pretended not to watch what he picked out for me. He was so happy to have the gifts and he could not wait to wrap them. Of course, he really liked the gift that he got for Dylan and he started playing with it later that day. He told me that he had decided to keep it because it was a store for him too. We talked about how sad Dylan would be if Cade got a present for everyone but him. Cade put the gift back. Later that week, Cade had the best time helping me wrap the gifts. He was very proud of the gifts that he got for his family. The pictures above and below are of Cade "helping" Daddy open the gift that he got for him. He could not wait for Mark to see it.

Cade was thrilled to get a Pokemon DS game from us.

Cade and Chase with the gift that Cade bought for Chase.

Here is the present that Cade bought for Dylan. It is a crow puppet but Cade is convinced that it is a ...... you guessed it, a penguin!

Here is my little penguin after his bath. He insisted on using this very blue towel even though I had not washed it yet. He had blue spots on him after he dried off!! My mother-in-law had talked to Cade earlier in the day about how she was going to put his name on his towel. He was putting on his pajamas and I was telling her how he had blue spots from the towel. She pulled out a blue towel with an "M" on it that had been Mark's in college. He had only used it once because he got blue fuzz all over him and then he felt like a smurf. Cade wanted to know why it had an "M" on it and I told him that it had an "M" for Mark. Cade could not understand why and he started to get very upset. I finally realized that he thought that his Grammy had put an "M" on his penguin towel instead of his name. He was so upset that his towel was messed up. All was right with the world after we explained that his penguin towel was free of any "M's".

My happy penguin boy!

Hidden Talent

Dylan's school program was this last week. He told me that he had a solo. I asked him if it was a speaking solo or a singing solo and he told me speaking. He must have misunderstood the question because he had a singing solo. I had no idea that he could sing. He did a good job!

Dylan with his teacher

The great debut

12 Random Things About Me and Christmas

I have been tagged by Stacey so here goes:

1) I figured out the truth about Santa when I was 7 years old. I am glad that my kids are holding on to the magic longer.

2) I loved my grandmother's toothpick Christmas tree - it was painted with that snow spray and it had tiny ornaments on it. She had it for as long as I can remember.

3) I loved the plastic, light-up Rudolph that always went on the mantle. I wonder if I can have that?

4) Some of my favorite Christmas gifts - table and chair set, doll with bottle that worked (Elizabeth was her name), Baby-that-a-way, sewing machine, Barbie perfume maker (they all smelled the same), pogo stick, and a purple bicycle.

5) We leave Santa Dr. Pepper, not milk. For some reason, I just feel that he prefers Dr. Pepper :)

6) Mark has been promising for 3 years to put a hook up for Nate's stocking - still not done!!! Come on, honey!

7) I can't stand eggnog - whoever thought of that "beverage" has a sick and twisted mind

8) The animated Grinch is probably my favorite Christmas movie but I also love "A Christmas Story"

9) I love shopping for my boys and seeing their expressions when they open the presents. I spend too much on them every year. I can't wait to see their expressions this year!

10) We never have Christmas at home (with the exception of 1 year). I wish the boys would have memories of Christmas at home, but they do have memories of fun with cousins. I did not have any cousins so we never went to visit them. Most of my Christmas memories are at home - but we sometimes went to Fort Worth to my grandparents.

11) Those commercials where the girl gets the mean pony while her friends got cool phones totally cracks me up. My sister got a horse one Christmas. She really wanted one, but I don't think she liked it as much as she thought she would.

12) I am a really boring Christmas person, but I do love Christmas!

Okay, I tag Tammie, Tami, Laurie, and Charis

The Elusive Christmas Spirit

I have had a hard time getting the Christmas spirit this year. Normally, I love Christmastime. This year, even pulling out the Amy Grant Christmas music has not done the trick. I think it is a combination of the illnesses and too much work. Normally, I have the Christmas stuff out and up right after Thanksgiving. This year, it has taken forever! Finally it is all up! I do feel the Christmas spirit creeping in. I am catching Cade's excitement and joy. He is loving every part of Christmas. I love watching his happiness and excitement. And his belief!! I love his conversations about Santa and how the elves make all the toys. He clearly remembers what Santa brought him last year. He is so much fun right now! It is also fun to watch Nate start to understand Christmas. He enjoys saying, "Merry Christmas!". So cute!

Finally Finished

Our cat, Biscuit, loves all of the Christmas decorations. "Biscuit! No!!" is heard frequently.

That looks like fun! I am going to play with that.

This is Biscuit's new favorite spot! She loves playing with the ornaments!

The finished product. It is a bit chaotic, but it is filled with ornaments that bring happy thoughts and warm memories.

Cade made this Santa at school and he is very proud of it. He wanted it at the top of the tree, but that would interfere with the star. He was very happy when I told him that we could put it right below the star.

Preparing for Christmas

While I was gone to Houston on Sunday, Cade decorated the tree all by himself (before the stomach bug hit him). As you can imagine, it was all decorated on the bottom half of the tree. Cade has been so excited about Christmas and the decorations. Unfortunately, the decorating has been slow going this year. I still don't have all the decorations up. Hopefully it will be done before Christmas. I haven't even taken the boys Christmas picture yet. I was going to do that over Thanksgiving but puking boys = no picture.

Nate has a new thing going. When he is home, he strips off his clothes. "Shirt off, shirt off".

Every year, I buy a special ornament for each boy. I try to find one that reflects what they are into at the time. I buy 2 so that when they get married they can take one and I can keep one. This year, I found video game controllers for Cade. I did not realize that they made video game sounds. The boys love playing with them, and they put them back on the tree when they are done with them. The Star Wars ornaments are a big hit too.

Who Knew

So it appears that a cat can catch the stomach bug too. For some reason, I can't get her to use a bucket!! Does anyone know if there is a disinfecting bomb that I can use on our house?

Christmas at the Farm - WARNING - Not for Those with Weak Stomachs

You hope that some things will just fade from memory. Unfortunately, I don't know if "Christmas at Thanksgiving at the Farm" will ever be forgotten. It was not pleasant. Chase was already feeling bad so we knew what was coming. Just as we are starting to open presents, Chase makes his first bathroom run (a later bathroom run would not hit the target which would lead to a lot of carpet scrubbing). I am with Chase taking care of him - oblivious to the action going on in the other room. Dylan had eaten A LOT of one of his favorite foods, burritos! Dylan was feeling fine, or so he thought. While I was out of the room and everyone was starting to open presents, Dylan blew. I did mention that he had eaten a lot, didn't I? I come back in and there is a lot of carpet cleaning going on. My grandmother and uncle make a hasty exit. Dylan is feeling fine so we naively assume that he had just eaten too much. We were wrong, wrong, wrong. In the midst of all of this peacefulness, my dad gets very angry at me about the bug being around him. IT WAS NOT A PLEASANT TIME. Mark and I considered packing up and leaving right then but 7 hours in a car with puking kids did not sound appealing. Mark slept with the 2 older boys in the living room so that he could take care of them and I slept with the younger 2. In the middle of the night, Nate starts crying. I pick him up when I am the recipient of a foul-smelling shower. Mark comes and helps me scrub the carpet. We packed up first thing the next morning and got out of there. Am I glad that we went? Ask me in a few months. I don't think that my family was glad that we came! Not fun, not fun. Chase was finally able to open his presents the next morning.

I still remain stomach bug free! Keep your fingers crossed for me. Nate was able to go back to preschool for the first time today. He has not been since the Wednesday the week before Thanksgiving. I was so worried that he would cry, but he just hugged his teacher tight and did not want her to put him down. They said that he was clingy but happy. Please pray that this bug stays away!! I am really tired of it!

Nate pushing Hannah around

Niecey gave Dylan and Cade Webkinz! They were so thrilled!

Dylan was so excited to get an MP3 player. "Oh my goodness!" is his new favorite phrase. He says it ALL the time. My mom is in the background. She was still recovering from the nasty bug. Good times!

Christmas at Thanksgiving

Nate loved, loved, LOVED this present
This picture really goes down below but Blogger won't cooperate. It already erased these pictures once.

My brother, Jason, with my niece, Hannah

Lanae opening her princess tent. Nate was not happy about giving this to her. He thought that it was his since he had been carrying it around the house for weeks. I love what my nephew is doing in the background.

Christmas at the Farm

Nate loved passing out the presents
Cade being silly. He is wearing his new favorite shirt. He would wear it every day if he could.
My sweet niece, Lanae

Chase - tick tock tick tock - he is about to blow!

Christmas at Thanksgiving

My nephew Lang gave out again. The next day he would be struck down by the nasty bug - it would strike in my brother's car, I think it was even in my brother's seat. They can't wait until we visit again!

Everybody ready to open presents. Chase is already feeling really bad so we knew that it was just a matter of time before the bug struck him down.

Having fun passing out the presents.

Enough is Enough!

I am still well - except for the pink eye that I now have. This morning, Nate had normal poop for the first time in weeks. Things would be looking up except for the fact that poor, sweet Cade started barfing again last night. He was super sick all night long. He has now gone an hour and a half without throwing up (it is 5:30 p.m.). Does anyone want to come over? Mistee?