So I don’t pick up stuff as often as I should, so for about a week now, there’s been a laundry basket in the living room with odds and ends in it that need to be put away. For some reason, there’s a changing pad in there…which Katie pulled out today. I didn’t pay much attention because, honestly, she’s ALWAYS into something…but when I looked up, I saw this:
She had opened it and was laying on it, playing with an ornament…
I put it on her normal and then she pulls it to do this:
Guess who? And why am I not surprised?
She stole the bear off the tree again! She thinks I won’t care because she’s kissing it like I asked her to. 🙂
You put a hat on her and this happens:
This is our holiday display. It’s not quite up to my usual standards…but at least it’s something. 🙂 (My pre-lit garland all died last year so I finally tossed it and haven’t found any decently-priced stuff to replace it. And I was going to string lights on the porch and bushes, but the lights I was going to use ended up on the house. And I don’t really feel like buying new lights.)
Our neighbors, however, surprised me—they’re renters, so I didn’t expect much—but they went all out. 🙂
Owen just started singing this on his own. I asked him to sing it again and it was almost the same. Enjoy!
I thought I’d record Katie’s first sight of the tree, thinking maybe it would be something super cute.
Ha. She got me. Little stinker couldn’t have cared less. 🙂
Then it was off to pick up Owen from school…and I decided to record him, too, sure he would be WAY more excited since he’s been asking about the tree. I love the ornaments he names. Excuse the messy house. 🙂
Then it was game on: Katie vs. the tree. I showed her the bear first, thinking “Oh, she knows how to kiss, I can get this picture super easy on the first try.” Ha. Right. She liked it but didn’t want to get near it to kiss it. I’m sure she was just overwhelmed by (in her mind) all the fun things to play with.
Her shutting the gate because I had left it open. 🙂
Playing with the light cord.
Owen was EXCITED to put ornaments on the tree. SUPER EXCITED. He kept saying “Mom, I like putting ornaments on the tree. I hope Santa likes them!” Of course he still put the first 10 ornaments in the same one-foot section…I had to gently guide him to the rest of the tree. 🙂
Sparty was the first ornament she snuck out of the box!
I am pretty sure this mouse elf was the same ornament Owen first grabbed off the tree when he was her age!
Watching the bubble light!
She kept going back to the bear and finally just grabbed it off the tree and hugged it!
And kissed it!
And carried it around with the mouse.
Then tried to put it back—in the right spot!
Owen hung it up…then a few minutes later she went back and grabbed it again.
Our stealthy shooter. 🙂
Overall, Katie didn’t do too badly. Of course, I did have to keep saying “Gentle! Gentle!” and telling her the ornaments stay on the tree. She would start to take one off, look at me, I’d tell her, then she’d put it back, smile, and run off laughing. Stinker. It’s going to be a rough few weeks as I surely don’t have enough “No no, Katie’s” in my daily life as it is. 🙂
Owen just kept saying how much he liked Christmas and the tree and the lights and the ornaments. 🙂 He knew there were more ornaments left, too, and wanted to put them up. So, we put up the rest of them after Katie went to bed. I think Owen has inherited my love for Christmas…
I wasn’t sure how I was going to get the lights up this year…it’s hard enough to do inside stuff…but outside stuff? Requiring a ladder and four arms? Plus the tree? Ugh. I had managed the mantle and was just going to plod along as much as I could during Katie’s naps and possibly skip the outside lights…until Owen asked when we were putting them up because he liked them. Cue mom guilt. So I posted my lament on Facebook and a friend graciously offered to help (they’re moving soon so aren’t decorating this season). Boooo for them moving, but woohoo for her offer to help!
But what a debacle. (Granted, a minor debacle or two in the grand scheme of things, but still a debacle typical of my life.) My friend is now the outside proof that STRANGE THINGS really do seem to happen to me.
First.
We plugged the lights in before we got started and they worked. By the time we got to the end, they were out. Huh? We look again. Yep, out. This can’t be, we think—we both saw them lit. RIGHT? Maybe it was the extension cord? We tried another. Nope. The outlet? Nope, another item plugged in and worked fine. Reset the outlet. Nope. Tried about six rearrangements of extension cords and direct into the outlet and…nothing.
WHAT. THE. HELL?
We took a step back off the porch and—AHA! It was only the last 4′ of lights that were out—the section right above us that we were looking up at. The rest were on. But seriously? They were brand new expensive LED lights last year. GRRR. So our options were to leave them as is or restring the whole house again with some old-school multi-colored lights that are many years old that were just extras. And I’m sure you can guess what option I chose. I couldn’t leave the mantle garland uneven…you think I’m leaving up lights that have a section burnt out? 🙂 So we restrung the whole house (at least we had the system down by then!) and I chucked the “old” ones.
Second.
This one should really be filed under YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. I wouldn’t have believed it if it didn’t happen to me—but I had photo proof and a friend watching. So there.
I think it was actually quite impressive:
Yes, that’s a light completely wedged in the sole of my flip flop. What? How? I mean really? I was just walking along and it got jammed in there. JAMMED. Like we needed to use pliers to get it out—and of course it broke. Which meant I had to take a light out of an extra string of all-blue lights. And then we had to replace a few other burnt-out lights with…blue lights.
Fixing the dips.
By the time we got to the end of the house, we had enough extra to put on the bushes…except we noticed that most of them were burnt out as well. Ugh. By that time I was burnt out on lights myself so I just let them hang down the side of the house and that was that!
Then Ruth, saint that she is, asked if there was anything else I needed help with. Well, I said, we could put the tree up… So we broke open two wine coolers as our celebratory drink after the escapade that was putting up the Christmas lights (plus we were both sweating from doing the lights—it was 72°!) and put the tree together and decorated most of it! (We left the bottom undone for Owen to finish.)
I can’t begin to thank Ruth enough. Really. She helped me not lose my shit when all kept going wonky. If I had been doing it by myself, the swearing would have been in utter frustration instead of in humor. 🙂
As soon as she left, someone was already making herself at home.
And her sister checking things out, too. Thankfully, this is as much interest as they both show.
The first attempt…
And the stockings drive me nuts. Does anyone have stockings that hang correctly? This is our third set that hang sideways. Why is it so hard for manufacturers to comprehend how a hook will make it hang? This irritates me EVERY year.
So I posted exactly that on Facebook…and my friends came through with ideas!
But first, the kids seeing them for the first time:
So…my second attempt, complete with curtain rod! Perfect!!
Well, the stockings were perfect—but the garland needed adjusting. There’s no way I could live with the garland like that. Looking at it all day every day. /shudder
So, the third and final attempt:
And that’s as good as it’s going to get this year!
Owen: Mama! Watch me! He runs around the living room moving his feet really fast.
Me: Wow, that’s fancy!
Owen: Yes! Do you know where I learned it?
Me: No.
Owen: Galloping school!
Me: Galloping school?
Owen: Yes, next door to my school!
Owen just came up to me and said “You don’t smell like the queen.” I had to think a minute. Oh! Yes. He was quoting A Bug’s Life. 🙂 Then he says “You smell like a mom.”
Our neighbors put up their Christmas lights. Owen noticed them at night when they were all lit up.
Owen: Mama, look!
Me: I know—aren’t their lights pretty?
Owen: Yes! Mama, when are you going to put our lights up?
I hung the stockings while Owen was at school today so told him there was a surprise for him at home.
Owen: What is it?
Me: Go look around.
Owen: THE STOCKINGS!!
Me: Is that a good surprise?
Owen: Yes. Where are the two reindeer?
Man he has a good memory. I usually put out two silver reindeer…and he knew they were missing!
Me: They’re still in the garage.
Owen: Mama, you have to put them out.
Over the years we just never cared about getting the picture with Santa. I hate crowds and I hate holiday crowds even more…so we just never did it. Then, once Owen was a bit older, we tried…but the commotion was too much for him and we had to leave before Santa even arrived.
Fast forward to this year and he’s showing A LOT more interest in Christmas—like things he wants and asking about Santa—so I thought I’d have to try this year (of course, the year Tom is gone). Thankfully, the local autism society planned a sensory-friendly event at the mall (two hours before regular pictures with Santa started) and we were first in line!
Owen was good at being patient (just asking a handful of times how many more minutes) and overall it was easy peasy! Of course Katie wasn’t her normal smiling self, but I was just happy she wasn’t snotty and/or screaming and/or wiggly and actually looked at the camera. I think they only took four pictures! Owen was great, too—and was EXCITED to see Santa. (Last night when I was telling him about the “mystery trip” to prepare him, he asked if it was the real Santa or a pretend Santa. I had no idea where he got the idea of real and pretend, but I told him it was a pretend Santa because of course the real Santa was getting ready at the North Pole. He accepted that.)
Of course the picture packages are a complete racket—but I ended up with a $40 package because it came with a $20 Shutterfly credit. I could have gotten cheaper packages but they only came with $10 Shutterfly credits so it was cost efficient (for me) to get the bigger package. So I will have actual photos to mail out this year. 🙂
On the way out, Owen wanted to ride in this kiddie car. I just happened to have the required quarters, so I said okay.
As you can see, Katie lasted about four seconds…and Owen only lasted about three more. 🙂
Katie just wasn’t having it this morning…and this first picture is about the best of the bunch. Then you can see some of the fun I had.
He wanted his picture taken with this Santa at Walmart. Out of six shots, can you believe this one was the best?! Again, you see why I was so impressed with his school pics!
I tried to have a talk with Owen about getting rid of some of his toys to donate to kids who don’t have as much as he does—especially since Santa will surely be bringing him some new toys for Christmas.
He seemed to really think about it and agree that would be a good idea.
Me: So what toys do you want to give away?
Owen: My costumes…my blocks…my guns…my swords…my trains.
Me: All of those things? You know you won’t get them back, right?
Owen: Yep.
That’s pretty much a list of ALL his favorite toys. I’m thinking he didn’t quite understand and was more concerned with the tower he was building at that moment. 🙂
So of the items he listed, I picked the toys he played with the least. I asked what specific trains he will donate and asked him to separate them into piles. I figured this would be interesting since he RARELY plays with them.
He picks out the Ikea trains to give away and his Owen train letters to keep. Okay, not bad. Then I dig for the Thomas trains he hasn’t even seen in at least six months and ask about those. Nope. HE LOVES THEM ALL AND THEY’RE ALL SPECIAL TO HIM! Of course they are. 😐
So it looks like I’ll be doing the toy purge by myself.
I bought these decals for us for Christmas and I’m just now getting around to putting them on the car! Owen helped me pick the arms and legs!
(Oh wow. I just noticed my finger was in the photo. How embarrassing. At least you know I’m human, right?)
I have been looking on and off for YEARS to find the Christmas outfit (see here)…and I finally found it today at our new Once Upon A Child!
I think this one was from Grannie Lin…capris, that I think are supposed to be pants. 🙂
Grauntie Marge sent Christmas gifts so we Skyped tonight to open them. The robotic bugs were a HUGE hit with Owen (and we think they’re cool, too). Here he is, showing them off:
And here we are having fun with them in the kitchen!
Katie’s Gund Peek A Boo Bear
Thanks papa and grannie!
He wasn’t terribly interested in it when he opened it…got a little interested when he saw it in action…carried it around but refused to put it on…until bedtime when he HAD to have it! Fast forward 15 minutes and he was out of bed so I went in there and he didn’t want it on anymore and HAD to give it to me (versus just putting it on his dresser).
I’m sure it will get lots of use in the future.
Santa brought Owen Pascal in his stocking…
…so now Owen has to have him while he watches Tangled…which, of course, includes acting out scenes. 🙂
Thanks Aunt Beth and Uncle Jim—this thing is a riot. We all like it!
Well this morning was…not quite what I expected. I thought Owen would wake up and be super excited about Santa…but all he wanted to do was play his Xbox game. 🙁
We excitedly said “Owen, who came to visit last night?” and in the most quiet and bored voice simply said “Santa.” Not quite the response I expected. About 20 minutes later we convinced him it was time to check out what Santa left—and he was a bit more enthusiastic. Here we are coming down the stairs to find the stockings…
And then it was off to see the presents…where he got upset because Santa ate “his” (Owen’s) cookies—even though Owen didn’t want any himself last night or this morning—and then back to happy again remembering there were presents to open.
Of course, he was happy to pose with all the presents:
And smiled with one when I asked him to:
And enjoyed playing with some of the things:
But honestly, he seemed less than thrilled with most of his stuff (though I guess to be fair, it’s hard to get excited about clothes or games when they’re in a box). I mean, he enjoyed opening them (which I guess is good enough, right?) but then they were pretty much immediately tossed aside and it was on to the next present. (Yes, I know he’s three. But it was just such a change from last year when he wanted to play with everything as he opened it). He did like a few things (meaning he expressed some awe over them—like both new Xbox Lego games, his Cars cars, and his Indiana Jones minifigs)…but the biggest hit wasn’t even from us or Santa—it was a bug vacuum and fishing rod (that you put your iPhone in to pretend fish) from Tom’s mom that were both immediately turned into guns. And an activity box that was for Katie.
I guess I was expecting too much from a 3yo, right?
And less than an hour later, he was already done playing with everything new and wanted to play the stupid xbox game I had hoped would be forgotten about with the appearance of two new games. 🙁 I feel bad that I’m a little upset, but I just keep telling myself it’s not a big deal, it’s not a big deal, it’s not a big deal because I know he’ll eventually play with everything and like the games, etc…but it was just a bit disappointing because it wasn’t what I envisioned (and you think by now I’d know better).
There were lots of smiles and fun moments, though. 🙂
We Skyped with Grandma Marsha and Uncle Rob while Owen opened the presents they sent and some from Santa and mom and dad.
We had labeled everything with big name tags because Owen knows his name, so with just about every package he picked up he said “O-W-E-N spells me—Owen” and it was completely adorable. So then it was funny when we caught him opening a package for me and we said “Owen, is that yours?” YES! “Owen, whose name is on the label?” He looks for the label, sees it’s not Owen and immediately says “I’m sorry! So so sorry!” 🙂
Katie enjoyed the tags on one of her gifts:
And Charlie enjoyed a box in the middle of the floor—and watching everything from her perch:
And he was excited about this Captain America figure…
…until Tom pressed the button to make it speak and it freaked Owen out:
And he liked his trampoline…for about 15 seconds. (That was free so it may end up being gifted elsewhere because we don’t really have room for it if he’s not loving it.)
So overall I’d say it was a success, even if it didn’t go quite as we planned.
This is the first year we’ve left treats for Santa!!
Owen got a new pair of jammies tonight! And surprisingly, he even wanted to wear the bottoms (he NEVER wants to wear the bottoms).
We went out for dinner tonight with the Trimbles and Mitchells and I decided to dress Katie in a very special outfit…something that was mine forever ago. Isn’t she adorable?
He LOVES putting on Santa’s beard every day!
Prompting Owen to write an actual letter to Santa is backfiring, as he now wants stuff he’s not getting.
For the past few weeks we’ve been saying “Owen, would you maybe like ABC for Christmas?” Knowing full well it was already bought and wrapped. And of course he’d say yes because we know he’d like it. Now after a trip to Costco he’s asking for something completely new that he saw (which, on Costco trips before now, he’s NEVER wanted anything!)—and the specific color he asked for I found on ebay for pretty cheap so we added it to his pile.
So today when we’re actually writing the letter, he doesn’t want that color anymore, but a new color. Which he’s definitely not getting because Santa is DONE shopping. Sigh. I think we’re done with the whole “asking for what you want from Santa” thing…Santa will bring what Santa has already planned to bring. 🙂
We tried to go to a USMC family-oriented Christmas party tonight on base. We prepped Owen for sitting on Santa’s lap and for telling Santa what he wanted and everything. He was excited! We didn’t have high hopes of him liking the crowds, etc., so kept our fingers crossed it wouldn’t be too big or too loud.
Nope.
We were fine walking in. It hadn’t officially started yet so people were just milling around. He didn’t want to do any of the crafts except decorate a cookie.
I took him over to where Santa would be to get familiar with it…and he refused to even get near the chair.
Then as soon as the pre-party music started over the loudspeakers, he was done. 🙁 He wasn’t as freaked out as he was at Sesame Street Live (I’m guessing because it wasn’t AS loud) but he was covering his ears and asking to go home. So we packed up and left. Before the event even started. Poor kid.
And now I’m pissed we missed the EFMP (exceptional family member program) Christmas with Santa, which would have been super low-key and perfect. Next year…
Project Santa Hat Photo went better than I anticipated (considering Owen HATES wearing hats unless it’s HIS idea)… These were the two keepers from the five-minute session.
