happy, merry christmas eve to you all…

…from our beautiful baby GIRL!!!!!

“Oly Ma moo Dada”

 

Scene:  Charlie is watching Jonathan and I kiss with a big grin on his face. 

Jonathan, leans over and says conspiratorially:  “Mama’s smooching Daddy, Charlie!” 

Charlie demands:  “Cha moo Daddy” (Charlie smooch Daddy!)

Jonathan, emphatically:  “Only Mama smooches Dada!”

Charlie agrees:  “Oly Ma moo Dada”

….Here’s to the Merry Christmas “mooing'” in all your houses and ours!

Going on a Tree hunt, a Tree hunt!

Since we have the glorious luxury of staying put for Christmas this year, we decided to go hunt and cut down our own Christmas tree.  The day after Jonathan finished his finals, we loaded all of us--our scarves, mittens and hacksaws--into the truck and headed into the wilderness…..OK, that was the idea, but we really only drove an hour or so to Meert Christmas Tree Farm.   It was great!  There was snow on the ground and hawks flying above.  We had lots of fun loosing each other while trying to find and compare trees.  Decisions, decisions!The tree lot began right at the parking lot and we found what we wanted in about 20 minutes. That was perfect since it was COLD!  Charlie helped Jonathan cut it down.  The proud owners of their first self-cut Christmas tree!  They handed out little candy canes when we paid, and Charlie thoroughly enjoyed his (and so did his car seat and sweater) on the way home. 

Since it was past lunch time when we got home, we ate Pho for lunch.  Charlie is a true northwest boy, he loves his Pho!  He’s even starting to get the hang of chopsticks!And then it was time for naps (Charlie), and trying to get the tree, with a very short little trunk, to stay straight upright in the stand (Jonathan and Keren—no swearing this year!).   And lights, and DECORATIONS! Charlie got the idea of it pretty quick,  and cheered every time he got something to stay on the tree! The task was not complete without some crazy dancing to cheesy Christmas Music!  (Ahh, can’t you just smell the strong scent of memories being made?)

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

“Tay be God-uh!”

(Background:  After our Advent reading from the Bible every night, we’ve been saying, “This is the Word of the Lord.”  We taught Charlie the response, “Thanks be to God.”)

I love the way Charlie gets confused about his world!  Today, Jonathan was reading excerpts to him from a book of short stories by W. B. Yeats.  Though he explained several times that reading Yeats is not reading the Bible, every time he stopped reading and closed the book, Charlie said, “Tay be God-uh”  with great enthusiasm!

Thanks be to God for W.B. Yeats, indeed! 

Oh Potty!…here we come!

Charlie had his first poop in the potty today! ( I mention it here because it is the first bodily substance he has volitionally transferred to that great ceramic bowl we all take for granted)  He was greatly inspired by his friend Jackson who was over to play this morning and was the first boy Charlie has seen wearing underwear.  I re-iterated again to Charlie that when he was a big boy and went in the potty he would get to wear underwear too.  About ten minutes later Charlie told me “potty, Mama.”  He usually does this before he poops.  And I usually ask him if he wants to sit on the potty, to which he usually replies, “No.” 

But!

Today he said yes!  So I whisked him to the bathroom and then he pooped!  In.  The.  Toilet!!!!!!  I was so shocked.  Silly me, I tried to put his diaper back on afterwards, but he was having none of that….remember, big boys who go in the potty don’t wear diapers they wear underwear (there is nothing wrong with his memory!) 

So without further ado, I present Charlie, wearing his first pair of underwear!

Hooray for Charlie!  (Eya clap?)

Just like Dada…

(...He insisted on wearing jeans and a shirt with buttons like Dada. Then when he was all dressed he looked up to see Jonathan watching us with his hands in his pockets and said "pocket," which led to needing help finding his own pockets so he could be just like Dada....)

Advent—Kissmuss Comin

Christmas is coming!  The second Sunday of Advent is here already!  

(If you are not familiar with celebrating Advent, here’s my lay recap.  Advent is the part of the church year where we anticipate the coming of Christ to earth as a man, being born a baby to Mary.  (Traditionally, the season of Christmas is celebrated Christmas day through Epiphany, on January 6th—hence the 12 days of Christmas) Advent mirrors our preparation for Christ’s second coming.  Each of the four weeks before Christmas day focus on a theme. The four colored candles represent these themes and as we light them each evening we remember the hope of the prophets, the joy of the shepherds and angels, the love seen in Bethlehem, the light in our darkness, and finally on Christmas day, the Christ candle itself.  In our family growing up, each night we lit the appropriate candle(s) had a scripture reading, sang a song and worked on memorizing a verse together each week. )

Jonathan and I have been celebrating Advent this way since we got married.  This year we started off Advent with wreath-making in NC.   We were making a new wreath for my parents.  Charlie and I loved helping/interfering/taking over/eating the fake red berries.  

The first Sunday after Thanksgiving began Advent this year.  That night, because he was the youngest,  Charlie lit the first candle of Advent. 

It was such a delight for us to be together with my parents doing advent and to bring Charlie into that tradition.  I always feel like advent is a gift to those who celebrate it.  We were staying in my parent’s friends the Bushnell’s house.  (They were amazing hosts and generously  gave up their master bedroom for the whole week we were there so that Charlie would have a consistent place to nap.  Thank you, Susan and Jason!)  What  fun to be able to bring advent into their house and celebrate with them!