Tis the Season

Ahh, yes. It really is here. The most wonderful time of the year.

Christmas carols are playing on the radio. The kids' excitment is mounting. It even snowed this morning.

One of my goals for this season was to mail out some Christmas cards before I had received any. I say some because I knew that there was no way I could get all of them done this early, but yes, I did mail a Christmas card today, and more are ready to go out tomorrow.


We also put up the tree today! Bailey is so happy! She has been asking to put it up for over a week now.

The first few presents were wrapped today.

And the first batch of Christmas cookies are baking as we speak. Yum!



I am definitely ready.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am out visiting friends with all the kids while my hubby is off playing coach in Dallas, but a funny little thing happened today...

On Sunday my inlaws were spending the night and a story was remembered from when Dillon was just 13 months old. I was back in New Jersey at the beach with my family when Pops, who was Kevin's mother's dad died. Being that Pops lived in Queens, and we were back in NJ already, I borrowed my parents car and took off for the city. Not being used to driving in New York City, I was quite stressed about traffic, and not really knowing where I was going. Dillon was a bit fussy in the backseat of the car, but finally settled in. I should have know that when things get quiet that means something is going on.... I finally looked back to check on him, and couldn't help but bust out laughing.

He was sitting back there in a cloud of white!

He had gotten a hold of a tissue box and had one by one emptied the entire box out.

What a stress reliever!

Well, today, I was trying to put Avery down for a nap, but my friend's son has an iguana in his room. It has a good sized caged area for him, but when he would move around, it would catch her attention. Not good for getting to sleep, but definitely fun to watch.

At one point, I had to enter the room in order to get my shower stuff. I was going to take the few quiet minutes that I had for some time to myself. I did happen to notice that she was sitting up in her bed. I did happen to notice that she did not object to me entering and leaving the room.

You would think after all the years of parenting and child experience that would have caught my attention.

It didn't.

I went on to take my shower. When I was done, she was fussing. I thought I will go in and rock her and maybe get a few more minutes for me.

Ha!

Her bed had been pushed over to the side of the room next to the nightstand. On the nightstand, there HAD been a big box of tissues. Guess what happened?

Yep.

A cloud of tissues covered her bed!

Lots of people look at her and say that she is Dillon done all over again.
She is proving it true literally.

A new page

children

I have been a mother for more than 8 years. I have been a teacher in a classroom for 4 years. I have been a nanny, a mother's helper and a babysitter. Basically, I have worked with children for about 25 years of my life. And STILL children amaze me!

Sometimes it is my own and sometimes it is in a classroom, but never-the-less kids are amazing.

They are smart, funny, thoughtful, serious. Every day it is something new.

A few things that have happened lately. Avery learning to walk in real shoes, not the soft soles that she is used to. She stares at her feet. She "high steps" across the room. She steps onto the tile and there is a noise. She stops and listens, and then walks more, smiling big time.

I help out at a preschool near the house, and lately I have been spending a lot of time in the mobile baby room. There are two boys there, pretty close in age. One is walking with support, and one is not. Yesterday, I brought in the walking toy. They both raced for it. The one that is walking, does not walk too quickly and the other is a FAST crawler! It was so funny watching the two of them chase each other around the room. One time the crawler was pushing it on his knees and ran into a swing. He was so determined to keep going forward that he pushed and pushed until the whole toy flipped over and he landed on top, stuck there. So funny.
Another time, the walker was trying to play with the front of the toy WHILE continuing to push it, but he couldn't move as quickly, and the crawler would get in front of the toy. They would both get angry. Again- so funny.

Yes, it seems that I find humor in tiny people's real or perceived pain.

On the more serious side...

Bailey- I was subbing in her classroom on Friday and during their quiet time after lunch, she comes over to me and asks how to spell something. I tell her and then realize what it is that she is working on. She has made a picture of Aunt Allison's grave site. I was speechless.


She also made a picture on Sunday after she found out it was Veteran's Day. Notice the camouflage clothes. The top got cut off, but it says "Veterans' Day (USA)" just like the calendar.


Aren't children amazing? What is your amazing child story?

pics from Halloween night...

A scary Great White Shark trying so very hard not to eat the oh so cute Strawberry...


A Little Stinker that would not wear the head of her costume...


Trailing behind, all night long.


Discovering the treasure!


Avery's favorite part... dividing up the loot.
She threw such a fit that night when she finally figured out how to open up a snickers bar and then we took it away from her. She even trying laying on it to keep Kevin from taking it away.

a beach page