It's the MOST wonderful time of the year...

So!  I've been be-moaning the lack of official photos for the babe... and made it a point to get one with Santa for his First Christmas (the babe's, not Santa) (at least I don't think this Santa is a rookie).  I was SURE that Sammy boy would cry his lungs out.  I was a bit nervous.  For the past few days, I've been saying "ho ho ho" in a deep voice, to get him ready to meet the big man.  Oh, and Kaden and I have worn a Santa-hat-with-beard and gotten in his face.  Dry run and all that.  Most of the time, we'd get little baby laughs in response.

You can see how well all that smiley preparation paid off.  There's our serious Sam, looking a bit bewildered.  It *could* be because it was 8:30 at night, and we're normally winding down for bedtime, not partying in a candy house.  Or it could be because he had just woken up from a 2 hour nap. Or... maybe it was Santa after all?  If you can click and make the photo big:  notice Sam's curls.  Also notice Kaden's tentative smile:  he was so focused on what to say to Santa, he was a bit more nervous than I thought!

And I'm not sure we'll get those Christmas cards out this year... or that I'll post before next Thursday.  So MERRY CHRISTMAS dear friends and net stalkers!  From our scraggly little love-filled tree to yours!

First Steps, First Turkey

It's been a bit busy around here lately... well, here and there.  So I'm just catching up!

For some family health related reasons, I was out of town the week before Thanksgiving... and flew in that morning.  Timed it perfectly (!) to arrive between Jim's annual Turkey Bowl game and the family dinner.  The original plan was to fly Wednesday and get bumped a few times, thereby scoring some free plane trips for the year... but snow came and I was happy to stay an extra day.  So no free tix, but no snow delays and an extra night with Mom:  I can't complain.

Thanksgiving was one of the normal large-family gatherings.   There was another babe present, maybe 5 months old?  And cute as could be in a little brown outfit, with a matching bib that said something about "first thanksgiving" or "mom's favorite turkey."  I can't remember now, but it was cute.  I realized, with a bit of a start, that it was Cubby's first Thanksgiving too!  So I looked over at my little bear cub, who rips off any sort of bib these days, and who was at the time, under a table growling.  Honest.  I sincerely feel for this second son, who is equally loved and adored, but has a LOT fewer cute photos to prove it!

He did take a few steps that weekend- his first on his own!  They were shaky and only 1 or 2 at a time, but still.  He thinks he can walk, and would pull himself up... then promptly fall in the direction he was heading.  There's a lot of little bruises this days.  He seems fairly determined.  Although, I must point out that his crawling is amazingly fast- especially when a "forbidden door" opens.  He can be in a bathroom quicker than you can turn your head.  And if you call out NO as he heads down the hall, he will put his head down and go faster.  Fun times.

The best month of the year...

What's not to like about October?

It's fall, but usually not too cold.

It has great birthdays:  a nephew, 3 friends, me, my godmother and my dad.

And then there's Halloween!

Our boys went as a bullfighter and a bull this year.

The idea came out of nowhere.  Our local library had a costume exchange, and Kaden fell in love with the bullfighter outfit.  Right away, he started yelling TORO TORO.  Of course we had to get it.

And then one of us came up with the idea of having SamCub as the bull.  His costume was super easy:  black sweats, a sock pinned to his pants for a tail, and a knit hat fixed up with felt.  He was kinda like Ferdinand, though- often looking anywhere BUT the red cape.  Inside was a different story- he'd crawl after Kaden, who was waving the cape and yelling TORO TORO again.  Fun times.

Around these parts, Trick or Treating isn't on Halloween Day (I don't understand, either).  So on 10-31, the boys wore other holiday-ish clothes.  I surprised Kaden with a teeshirt that had Darth Vadar and stormtroopers trick or treating.  He loves the Star Wars part, I love the incongruity:  win/win. And of course I couldn't pass up a Tigger costume for the babe.  He kept pulling off his hat, though.

Birthday selfie!  We adventured out to an alpaca farm... where a baby alpaca had been born an hour earlier!  and so they named her after me!  See?  BEST MONTH EVER.

Night in Bethlehem (preview)

Kaden and I have been having some GREAT conversations lately... but he's also at the age where he knows about "posting things online" and doesn't want everything up here.  So I'm not posting *everything*.  But I had to post this...

After seeing a box with a nativity photo on it, he asked what it was.

Me:  It's called "Night in Bethlehem."  It's a program we're doing at church this year.
Kaden:  really?  So, what grades will be in it?
Me:  All the grades are invited.
Kaden:  even FIRST grade?
Me:  yes.  (realizing he thinks it's a Christmas program the kids act out...) - Not like last year.  It's a little like a VBS night, for families, about Christmas.  So we make the gym look like the village of Bethlehem might have on the night Jesus was born.  And you come and get to walk through town and do fun stuff.

Kaden:  ALL RIGHT!!!  Will Mary be there?
Me:  yes.  at some point.  I don't know if you'll get to see her or not.  They were traveling, remember?
Kaden:  I know, I know.  HEY!  Does Sammy get to be baby Jesus?
Me:  No, silly, he's too big.  Remember when he was just born, how tiny he was?  Now, he'd be sitting up and waving and smiling at people, and Jesus didn't do that on his first night.

Kaden:  Yes he did, Mom.  It's in the story, remember?  The Drummer Boy (one of his faves).
Me: um. yes. well, that was probably not his FIRST night on earth.
Kaden:  I think it was, Mom.

~~~
There was more, of course, as the conversation unfolded to other Christmas memories and general celebrating thoughts.  After bedtime, I found out that he had a chat with JimDad just after he came home (about a half hour after our original chat).   Loosely translated:

Kaden:  Dad, did you know that we are doing a Bethlehem night at our church?
JimDad:  yes.
Kaden:  And Mom says that Sammy can't be baby Jesus because he's too big, and Jesus didn't smile or wave when he was born, but she's wrong Dad because remember the Little Drummer Boy?  Jesus smiled at HIM.  I think Mom is wrong on this one...