Wheeee, Wii!!!

What makes this child shout so enthusiastically?


What makes this one spin with joy?


And what put the giggling grin on the face of this child?


Why, the Wii of course! It's the first "plugged in" toy I've ever purchased my kids, they were beyond thrilled to have received it for Christmas. This weekend was spent bowling, ninja-fighting and battling Lego-to-Lego with Darth Vader, all via the Wii. I actually had to set the timer to remind them to get up and stretch, go the bathroom, and eat!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Sending my holiday blessings to all! Merry Christmas everyone!

Hot Toy

I've never been the Mom who buys the HOT TOYS for Christmas. Fortunately my boys are always pleased with what they do receive, which is usually plenty of board games, crafts and art supplies, books, and yes, even the new toothbrushes in the stocking! I rarely buy them anything that requires a battery or needs to be plugged in. I've never recieved a request for any terribly expensive electrical things...yet. Of course, they are only 5 and 10 and there is still plenty of time for that, right?

This year I bought them their first video game player. Other family members pitched in and have bought some of the accessories and some games. I think that the boys are going to flip out! They would never suspect that I would buy them such a thing. I'm dreaming of all the fun times they will have playing together (ha! I'm just hoping that they won't argue about what games to play and this will actually be something that they will do together!)

Doing the YMCA with Elmo (who I did NOT buy!)

Timing Christmas

For the past three weeks anytime anyone mentions the phrase "Christmas-time", my son goes through the same line of questioning.

"Is it Christmas-time?"

"Yes"

"Tonight? It's Christmas tonight?"

And then I launch into the same explanation, how Christmas-time is the "season" and the days and weeks leading up to and following the actual Christmas DAY are "Christmas-time". I understand his confusion, he doesn't go to school so the day-to-day lapse of time and a calendar isn't conveyed to him. He clocks his Christmas-time by watching the lights appear on neighboring houses, by the number of seasonal shows on Nick Jr and by the sudden appearance of wrapping paper that has just been pulled out of the closet ("What's that for Mom? Whatcha wrapping Mom? Can I just take one teensy little peek Mom?"). He doesn't yet understand that all the festivities account for the time, culminating in one beautiful day. But that it's not just the singular day that creates the Christmas feeling. He is slowly starting to appreciate the joy and warmth of the season, of the "Christmas-time", and not just the build up to that one singular day of gift giving and receiving. I try to keep things low-key and focused on the whole enjoyment of the season and all of the treats that come along with that, including the lights on houses, Rudolph on TV, making cookies and ornaments and of course, all that wrapping paper!

Here he is last year, anticipating the holidays in his darling reindeer jammies!

My Snowflake

Well, no dance recital for my boy, he came down with a cold that flattened him for the night. I'd gotten off work early so that I could get home in time to change and get him there before the doors opened. But when I got home he was snuggled up on my mom's lap, his face pale and forehead hot and he announced, "I don't want to go anywhere!" Poor guy. He fell asleep early and slept heavily all night. He was better the next day, of course, and crabby that I wouldn't let him play outside in the cold air. At least he wasn't sick on his birthday!

Here's my little snowflake a few years ago (oh my goodness those round cheeks!!)

Laugh Track

My son and I were watching one of those silly kid shows on TV the other night. You know the ones, lots of slapstick and corny jokes that kids love. There was some goofy plot that caused the audience to erupt with crazy laughter and my son looks up at me and says, "How come nobody laughs like that when I tell a joke?"

Here he is cracking himself up. He has his first dance recital tonight and I'm not sure how it will go. I know it will be crowded and loud and I'm crossing my fingers that he'll actually get up there. He's not particularly shy or anything but you never know, having not been in that situation before. We'll see! I'll update Monday.

Countdown -364 days

Okay, so he's five now...sigh! It's been a whirlwind 5 years, I can't believe it's gone by so quickly. We went to Disneyland yesterday to celebrate the day. I think he enjoying not having to share me or my mom with anyone and he was a bit opinionated about what rides and events he wanted to do and what he didn't want to do. So I'd expected him to do the Jedi Training show and he said "I'm not in the mood" and then he didn't want to stick around for the parade either so we ended up in California Adventure, riding everything in Bug's Land. He didn't even want a picture with Pluto dressed up like a reindeer! Oh well, he did love It's a Small World Holiday and driving the Autopia cars and he even wanted to go on the Matterhorn (without tears!). Though he did cry after the drop on Pirates of the Caribbean he didn't hold it against us for making him go on it. By the end of the day he was tired and a tad crabby (and so were we, having to wait forever for the tram and then having him announce that he had to pee RIGHT NOW!) In any case, it was still a fun day :)

Countdown - 1 day!

We had a small get-together at home for my son's 5th birthday. There were a few balloons and streamers and the infamous cake that has been much discussed in our house for weeks.

Here he is in a shirt I appliqued:


Opening a gift, so exciting!


With the cake:


The cake itself! I made chocolate, smeared it in cream cheese frosted and coated the outside with coconut. I used a green spray to make it look like grass. Lego Indiana Jones is playing soccer with Darth Vadar and a Stormtrooper is goalkeeper. It's exactly what my son wanted and he was over-the-moon excited about it, I was so glad it turned out well.



Only one more day until the actual birthday. He doesn't know it yet but my mom and I are taking him to Disneyland. He'll be so surprised!

Countdown - 4 days

Went to the grocery yesterday to pick up my birthday boy's favorite foods for his lunch party on Sunday. My brother, sil, nephew, my parents and the neighbor and his little girl are coming over. The plan was to make broccoli cheese soup but my friend convinced me that time is money and to just buy it instead of preparing it myself. I bought tubs of premade soup at the Vons, which will be just fine because it's delicious! I bought cheddar cheese and just need the sourdough bread to make grilled cheese sandwiches. I have chips and soda and there's also a big jar of pickles but frankly, the boy eats so many pickles he's starting to smell like one! Blow up a few balloons, lay out the table decorations he chose, and put out the soon-to-be-created-specially-designed birthday cake and we'll be set to rock! Wonder if I should plan any birthday games for the 3 kids that will be there? They'll probably just run around like nuts anyway.

Here he was on his 3rd birthday, reveling in the joy of a cupcake!

Countdown -6 days

Yesterday I used Priceline for the first time. I was able to get my son's birthday off work (a small miracle during our busiest time of year) and the plan is an overnight stay in Anaheim and a day at Disneyland with my mom. I was able to pick up a room at the newly renovated Anaheim Hilton for $59! The list price on these rooms is $189 (hope we aren't put on a cot in the kitchen for such a bargain LOL).

Here we are on the last Disney trip, hamming it up during our Princess lunch (hey, if the tiara fits...)

Countdown- 7 days

Trip down memory lane this week...Here is my chubby little guy on his first birthday. Oh, how I miss that sweet chick-fuzz hair, so thin and wispy that we could see his scalp through it. He was walking by now, toddling around the house. He dug into the cake with his fingertips, thoroughly enjoying the frosting.

Birthday Countdown - 8 more days!

Boy, oh boy, only 8 more days until my baby boy turns 5! I not particularly sentimental about change but just the anticipation of this has been hard on me. I suppose because short of meeting Mr Right tomorrow, my son will be my one and only child. This will be his last year of being preschool-age and after 5, he'll be another "big boy", getting ready to start school next year (another whole can of worms!) 8 more days...sigh!



My guy at 3 months. You can already tell by that sly smile that he was going to be a stinker!