Snapshots of Life Lately: December Festivities
Sitting close to the CD player to hear every magic syllable of the Polar Express. Our advent countdown includes opening a Christmas themed book each night before bed. The boys dance around the tree and often forget hugs after family prayer... they are sooo excited to open a "present"!
Little snow snitcher... wherever we go!
This painted vintage desk is the newest piece of furniture in our home. I accidentally won it at a school benefit auction a few weeks ago. Meaning, the first desk went for $175! I raised my hand when the bidding began at $50 for this one. To my surprise, no one else bid. It was mine! Woohoo!
On another note, a load of fertilizer (aka manure) went for $2K. My friend Amy and I had a good laugh over that. Two thousand dollars for a load of poop! Hahaha. Only in a community as rural as Kimberly, Idaho. But really, those farmers are pretty savvy. That's probably exactly how much a load is actually worth. But I digress...
Jed's little desk has turned out to be the best little accident as it has become his creative corner. Jed loooves to cut and color and create. It makes him happy, the excited look-what-I-made proud of himself kind of happy. And he should be! For a while there, our tree was littered with Christmas "ornaments". And now the house is cluttered with artwork. I don't dare throw away anything with my name on it. But I love the thoughts behind Jed's blue-green eyes. Better yet, I love that Jed has found a way to express those thoughts and his need to give gifts to those he loves, all in the form of paper and crayons.
Christmas crafts! I have to be careful about what traditions I put in place for Jed because he will ask for the same activity year after year. He remembers! And like me, he's a creature of habit. Fortunately, Michael's craft store has a plethora of cheap kid-friendly holiday crafts to choose from, so I picked up some more this year. They've been a hit. Plus, it makes me feel like a stellar mom to have us gathered around the kitchen table putting something together and having fun at the same time. Whatever it takes to make Christmas time feel magical!
Whenever track 03 begins to play from my Mannheim Steamroller Christmas CD, both boys exclaim, "It's the cowboy song! (I think they've seen the Man from Snowy River one too many times?!?) Levi rushes to find his boots and a horse and a hat. One day, this is what Levi's outfit looked like. I laugh every. single. time. It just doesn't get old! (Hashtag: momblinders.)
Funny story: Last night I asked Jed if he had brushed his teeth. "Yes, Mom! See? Smell my breath!" That's when Levi grabbed Jed, leaned into his brother's face... and burped. Long and loud. We all busted into giggles. This boy stuff. I don't teach it to them. It just comes naturally.
The boys have also become quite adept at playing pretend. (Have I ever mentioned how grateful I am that they have each other?! Biggest blessing ever, brotherhood.) One day Bron and I had to listen to their entire commentary in the car. It went something like, "And then, Jed, pretend my robot went like 'shing!' and cut off your robot's arm!" "Then my robots got around your robots and sliced off their legs. And they fight like this! (Insert boy exploding noises.)" "And then, 'shing!' mine popped off your robots' heads!" As you can imagine, the robot fight escalated and the boys got a bit upset. Finally, Bron brought the hammer down. "Dad just dropped a big bomb and blew up ALL robots! They're all dead. No more robots." "But Daaad! What about the sleeping ones?..."
Levi reading up on my '21 Day Fix' meal plan. The counter is his new hang-out spot while I'm in the kitchen.
Three year old hands are still kinda cute and pudgy. Also, below, going straight to the good stuff. Haha.
There's something about the holiday season that makes me want to bake. Fortunately, the kids don't mind one bit. Yummy! It's been a fun--and messy--December!
you are such a good mom. You do so much with the boys and it's always something different. I admire that you are able to slow down and take the time to bake and do arts and crafts with them. They will always remember this....I love the photo of Levi eating the sugar and the snow. You cut his hair, but he still has his curls. Also, the desk is GREAT. I saw one similar on sale at Amazon and wanted to get one for Mia. She really wants a desk but there is no room in her room or anywhere in our house. My sis is still living with us. Great, great buy!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like your boys enjoyed a wonderful holiday this year--all the way leading up to Christmas. I just love those little smiles and their creativity!
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