O Soji

Today we got ready for the new year by cleaning the house. Just finished bathing the boys and now we're showering. Feels so nice to have gotten rid of so many dust bunnies. We're ordering Thai tonight--pretty wild and crazy night!

Christmas

This year was a very wonderful Christmas. We went to South Bend for Christmas Eve craziness--fun to be with 40 people in a tiny house, see Santa, eat lots of food. Also fun to then drive home and sleep in our own beds :) Christmas morning was early of course and over so quickly.

We spent the day cooking and playing with toys. The boys got sleds--Dominick took his to the huge hill at K. My parents came up from SB for dinner and spent the night. Just fun, relaxed, lots of good food. A pretty perfect Christmas.

New Vocabulary

Today in the car Xander asks, "how do you say 'hanamizu' in language?" In English we ask? Yes. So both boys are now interested in the word . . . we briefly run through some words like mucus and nasal drainage but Dominick wants to know the word that most people use, snot we tell him. The word is snot. This sent all of us and especially Xander into fits of giggles.

Tonight when I was tucking him in, "snot" he said, starting it all over again.

Laundry mishap

Today Xander fell out of the laundry basket he was playing in. Dennis told him the that he really shouldn't play in the laundry basket. Without missing a beat Xander countered, "But it was mine boat, Dad."

Jingle Bells

Elf on a Shelf

We have a new visitor at our house. Freddy arrived with a book explaining who he was. He's one of Santa's helpers who hangs out at our house all day and then flies home each night to report to the big guy. Each night he lands in a new place.

The boys are excited each morning to find Freddy. Dominick has left notes for Santa on Freddy's lap so he can take them to Santa--AND HE DID BECAUSE THEY WERE GONE! Trying to capture a bit of the excitement with the all caps. The note idea was sweet and all, but here's what it said: "Dear Santa, Xander is bad. Do not bring him some presents." After a particularly bad day Freddy didn't report back to Santa, he was in the same place the next morning! Whew, he must have wanted to give the boys a bit more of a chance.

I think before kids the idea of controlling (or threatening) with an inanimate doll that watches your every move very creepy and wrong. Freddy is a bit creepy but now that I have kids something that works or at least partially works sometimes is never wrong.

Wordles

Frosty Celebrations

We went to Springfield, OH to celebrate Dennis' dad's college graduation. Super special occasion. Also very cool because Mr. Krabs (from Spongebob) was the speaker! At a lunch afterward the boys got his autograph.

We also had Christmas with Dennis, Cindy and Valerie. The boys are at a super-fun age--super excited by all things Christmas. The best part about Santa is that all his toys are FREE--this is Dominick's constant refrain as he adds more items to his list.

Coming home we hit a winter storm and the 5 hour trip took 7 hours. Luckily we have a dvd player and the boys watched 7 hours of classic cartoons. They were classics like Betty Boop and 3 Stooges--so it's kind of a study in pop culture and history.