Santa Gave It!

The magic of the twinkly house! The magic is that Tyler has so far refrained from breaking it.

There is nothing better than having the magic and wonder of Christmas back in your house after years of nice-but-not-quite-there Christmases (the one John and I spent in Las Vegas takes the cake - yuck! I can still see the cigarette hanging off the lip of the weathered blackjack dealer as smoke swirled around her head, jingle bells played merrily in the background and the faded decorations from the Carter administration all made me wonder what the heck I was doing). Tyler has definitely got the Christmas spirit and it is truly infectuous. Everywhere we go we see twinkly lights on the houses that either "Jose did it" (our gardener who put ours up) or "Santa gave it" which generally applies to anything Christmassy.

Sittin in the big man's chair. I'll be the judge of who is naughty and nice!

The big man and the little man, both as stoic as stoic can be.

The Santa at the mall is a big draw this year for Tyler. He likes to go and see if he's there in his house, but that's about it. When we had his picture taken with Santa, there wasn't any screaminig or crying (from either of them), but they both looked like they were getting their mug shots after a hard night of drinking eggnog and chasing elves. Once we're at the mall, though, we can spend a good hour or so at Pottery Barn Kids playing with all their toys. The firehouse, the firetrucks, and the firemen are big winners, but T's also really fond of the baby dolls. He especially likes to undress them and give them a bath. Then there is the doll house at Toy Jungle, which he can't get enough of. He plays with the little bunnies and mice and makes them go to sleep then wake up, have an Otter Pop, and cook Swedish Pancakes and soup. It is truly adorable!!

After a hard day of "put out the fire," what do the firemen need? A jacuzzi with "cucumber eyes!"

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


We also got to spend some time with Grandma this Christmas. She came to visit while Iowa was having an ice storm and losing power (smart move, Grandma!) and Tyler just loved hanging out with her. I would be upstairs taking a shower and I could hear him downstairs just giggling up a storm while Grandma worked her magic on him!

The Turkeys Are Here!

Turkey Day dinner and I'm at the head of the table - woo hoo! Who can I throw food at?

No, we're not referring to Nana and Papa who came to visit when we say "the turkeys are here!" We're referring to the fabulous and fashionable headbands we like to wear during Thanksgiving dinner (and beyond) that make us look so, er, festive! Last year I couldn't bribe Tyler to keep on his headress - this year it was a super special hat that one was privledged to wear, yessirree! We had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner (well lunch) and some of us even ate it in our pajamas (that would be slacker/cook mom, not Tyler). Even though the food was excellent, Tyler was clearly the star of the show. He even belted out a huge and un-coached "gobble gobble" during dinner!

Last year to try this gag, daddy. Next year, I'll be willing AND able to stick my whole face in the pie!

Our visit with Nana and Papa was a lot of fun, filled with walks to the beach, some shopping, lots of cooking and just general chilling. I am astounded daily by how much Tyler's vocabulary is increasing. He elbowed me in the tummy while I was rocking him to sleep and promptly said, "Sorry 'bout that!" He also has this insane memory for all the characters (even the ancilliary ones) of all his shows and books and for things we did six months ago! He is just a riot and I am constantly thinking how ridiculously cute he is, even when he's made a complete mess and is just looking at me saying, "messy, messy!"). That's not to say we haven't seen hints at the terrible twos, they are there for sure. Two weeks ago he decided to give up his naps and would scream in his crib after sleeping for only 40 minutes. He also told Nana to get "out!" of his room when she wanted to come in with me one morning to wish him good morning. His tantrums are still pretty funny, though, since it takes him a good minute to throw himself down on the floor - he looks like an old man going down for a nap, then he just silently taps his fingers on the ground. He's also started to think that a diaper change includes pants off, diaper off, run away and he'll even mimic this with his dolls. We're going to get the Christmas tree this weekend so I'm hopeful that he won't be tearing it down or going for my expensive ornaments. Saying "sorry 'bout' that!" will not cut it after breaking a few $40 ornaments!

Sharin' the love (and the ni-ni with Papa).

Ride 'em cowboy! These boots (Mama's) were made for walkin'!

Old bathtub gets a second life as a boat, but is still best enjoyed when naked.

Nana gets a taste-tester for her peanut-butter cookies.

Ha ha! You don't know that I stuck my leftover pumpkin pie in your suitcases!