Holiday highlights

Oh my poor blog, you have been so neglected lately.  But between the kids and the husband and school and church and the house and the holidays, blogging just hasn't been the priority.  But lots has been going on, and the boys are growing like crazy, so here goes.

Hubby T and I are the type of people who refuse to acknowledge the Christmas season until Thanksgiving day.  This year we were fortunate enough to kick off the holiday season by spending the Thanksgiving weekend with my grandparents, who got to meet Baby P for the first time.  

Isn't my gramma beautiful?

I know it's a big effort for them to travel, but it was very special for me to be in my parent's home surrounded by my childhood and adulthood family.  Thanks for visiting Gigi and Poppa!

Our almost 3 years old Little B is experiencing the holidays in different ways this year.  The only holiday song he is interested in singing is the song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse's "Mickey Saves Santa," which he insists on watching every single day.  Needless to say, it's not quite so endearing as last year, when I taught him to sing the "fa la la la la" part of "Deck the Halls."  He's enjoyed playing I Spy Christmas Tree where we sit down together and I call out something I see on the tree and he has to find it.  He hasn't played much with his "activity scene" (translation: nativity scene) but loves the Christmas decorations that have appeared around the house.  He consistently wants to help take down the stockings whenever we build a fire and he insists on helping me plug and unplug the Christmas lights.  (Note: This is all about him being in control.  Yikes, this age can be tough.)  Predictably, he also loves to read our collection of Christmas books.  Clifford and "Berenstein B. Bears" continue to be favorites.  We went shopping last week so Little B could buy a present for his brother.  We picked out a nice board book, but things got a little traumatic when Little B was told he couldn't play with the book yet.  Apparently we still need to teach the concept that we don't play with presents until we give them!  We went to visit Santa Claus yesterday, his first visit ever, but he wasn't that excited.  He was shy about sitting on Santa's lap but went along with it, maybe there will be more understanding of who Santa is and excitement about visiting him next year.  For now, I am excited to see how Christmas Day will go over with him this year.  I am sure there will be much shouting and dancing and wrapping paper tearing, and probably not just off his presents!

Baby P is almost 6 months old and completely adorable.  We started him on solid food after his 4 month appointment and he started feeling heavier about a week later.  He loves eating, I mean he really, really loves it, and screams at us while making indignant, grouchy faces on a daily basis when we don't feed him quickly enough.  This little boy is a monstrously large baby!  He still is not sleeping through the night, I'm normally up once or twice, and I don't think letting him "cry it out" is going to work as well for him as it did for Little B.  (*Insert weary mama sigh*)  We'll see what the doctor says at his next appointment.  Baby P puts everything he can get his hands on immediately into his mouth, including any part of our bodies he comes into contact with.  I tell Little B that is brother is pretending to eat him, which causes Little B to laugh and then launch himself on top of Baby P so that he can be "eaten" some more.  Maybe it's a good thing after all that Baby P is so hefty!  He is also rolling himself across the room, which means I have to be extra careful what toys Little B and Little D leave lying around.

Even though I know he won't remember it, I am joyously anticipating Baby P's first Christmas and our first Christmas as a family of four.  Our life felt extra complete when Mom-Mom visited last weekend and hung his stocking on our mantle.  O come, O come emmanuel...we are ready!