Celebrating Christmas: Round One

Last Saturday night we had our first night of celebrating Christmas with Brandon, Jess and Jordyn! They braved the cold weather and traveled to our house for dinner, presents and an attempt at making a gingerbread house. I'm finding it's much easier to tell stories through pictures, so here we go.....

This was one of Garrett's presents from Jess...his very own "buggy" like "the ones at Taw-get stuh"! He loved it so much and immediately took off into the playroom to stock up.

Ms. Jordyn opening her present....check out those pigtails! Could she be any cuter? And, I am so bummed that I did not get a picture of her feet - she had on the spunkiest pair of Ugg-looking boots that perfectly matched her lavender outfit. I oohed and ahhed over them all night!

I call this one "Three Kids in a Candy Shop"..... all three were trying to maneuver a candy-grabber machine from Granny Opal.

And this, my friends, was the saddest attempt ever at decorating a gingerbread house. I, in my naivety, bought one of the kits at a local store that literally read "Includes Everything You Need" on the box. Except mortar to hold the house together, patience for the parents and a sleeping pill to get the kiddos to sleep after eating the candy instead of decorating. And really, because someones counting, the candy wouldn't have stuck to the house even if the rock hard insta-icing would have kept the house stuck together. But it didn't and so no harm done. Other than the fact that the blue candies left G's teeth blue and green all through the next day and into our Christmas card picture session. If you got our card, you'll notice we didn't chose color - just black and white to soften the oh-so-fabulous look of colored toothies.

Any-who, it was so much fun to celebrate in a special way with our first round of family! And, let's hope that next year I will be a better prepared hostess and have our gingerbread house assembled and ready to go!

Where Ya Been, Watcha Been Doin?

No, no. We have not moved. Not been on an exotic vacation. We have not been in hiding. Just busy celebrating Thanksgiving and preparing for Christmas. In good ole Jill-fashion style blogging, this post will be in picture/caption style in an effort to catch up:

1. Thanksgiving: We had a really great series of Thanksgiving celebrations....3 in all! I think my favorite or most memorable thing from this Thanksgiving was making our "Thankful Tree" with Garrett and adding a leaf each day with what he was thankful for...it was quite comical!

(Garrett was thankful for: Ms. Stephanie, plastic cars, a snowflake, Prestyn, a tree, the mail, the garage and Anthony)

Round One: The Wade's...we missed you soon-to-be Aunt Haley!

Round Two: The Freeman's...we missed you Stephanie!

Round Three: The Mayfield's (I never got a group picture so you get one that represents all of the commotion that typically takes place at Mimi and Poppy's house. That's G opening his 1st gift for Christmas.)

2. After stuffing ourselves at Thanksgiving, Santa brought us a little present early....ear infections and bronchitis. Actually, Daddy brought home the love from work, shared it oh-so-kindly with little man (who, had the most difficult time with it) and somehow, I only managed to be knocked down for a day or two. Because, after all, Momma's can't be sick.

This was the look on G's face EVERY time we wrestled him down to the ground, I mean, kindly asked him to sit, for his breathing treatments. Let's just say this: we here at the Wade household are praising Jesus for healing our little one and sparing us the drama these treatments brought on!

3. Christmas Preparation: We always get so giddy at our house to pull down the deco's, put them up and yet somewhere about 2/3 of the way in, Kenny and I both look at each other in wonderment of WHY, OH WHY, do we do this each year? Which leads to a quick finish with what's in progress and x'ing out whatever hasn't been unpacked. Like the snow villages. Or the manager. Or the outdoor lights. It seems like something gets left out each year.

Decorating the Big Family Tree

Garrett Decorating His Little Tree

Garrett-the-Red-Nose-Reindeer...thanks, Jess, for the fun treat!

And, since I really don't want to over-tire my out-of-practice typing fingers, I will return tomorrow for round one of Christmas celebrations....to be continued!

Fall Whereabouts

Here's a recap - in a list version - of some of our fall whereabouts:

1. Pumpkin Patch: Usually, we visit 2-3 Pumpkin Patches each fall but this year we only managed one. We met up with Jess and Jordyn one weekday in October. We had visited this one in Flower Mound last year and it was amazing to see how different Garrett interacted with everything as a 3 year old vs. a 2 year old - little man is growing up!

2. In Touch with His Sole: Long gone are the days of multiple pairs of Crocs in our home. Crocs have been replaced by these shoes. Garrett now owns a pair in black and brown and cherishes them dearly. He even slept in one brown and one black during his nap a few weeks back. And I couldn't resist snapping a picture.

3. Trick or Treating at Daddy's Work: Garrett had a blast going Trick or Treating at Kenny's work this fall. I was so impressed that those people who sit in cubes all day long mulling over a square monitor and rarely interact with society and real issues took the time to spread the love Halloween style. AND, if you cannot read my tone in the last sentence, please know it was full of sarcasm and jest. I love to kid those computer nerds. Mainly because they have more knowledge in their little pinky toe than I have all together. At least computer knowledge. Because, you know, girlfriend IS street smart. I digress. Sorry.

4. Halloween Night: Garrett was SO excited about dressing up as a Spider. Not to be confused with Spider Man. I cannot recall how many times he bodly corrected people that he was "Ga-wet the Spid-uh" and "NOT Spid-uh Man". Kenny and I had so much fun watching him run from house to house and giggling with glee that people would actually give him candy. And he didn't even have to go potty for it. My favorite part of the night was when Garrett went up to a front door, knocked twice and then, when no one answered he delivered a monologue that went like this:

"Oh, I guess they won't answer. I must sing vem a song.

We aw he-uh to Twick or Tweat, Twick or Tweat

We aw he-uh to Twick or Tweat

Oh Happy Ha-wo-ween!"

All while swaying back and forth. Apparently the Little Einstein's taught my child this. And, I guess I am no longer above letting tv teach my child. Because it was the darndest, cutest, most innocent thing I've ever seen. At least on Halloween night.

And, that's all folks. This concludes the Fall/Halloween portion of said blog. Too bad it's 5 days into November before I gave the report. I have high hopes of being a better bloggy citizen in the next two holiday months to come.

Joy

You have filled my heart with greater joy....

Psalm 4:7

Yay Three!

Did ya'll ever watch the Cosby Show episode where Rudy was five years old and felt left out of the family, so Claire Huxtable (sp??) ends up in a tent in the back yard with her, convincing her that being five years old is really great? And, at the end Claire and Rudy are saying things like "Five year olds can (you fill in the blank). Yay Five!"

Well, I am convinced Claire had her timing all wrong. She was supposed to say "Yay Three" because 3 is the age (at least at our house) in which little ones go potty. All. By. Themselves.

YAY THREE!!!

I have been holding off sharing the good news for one week now so as not to jinx the luck we're having. Apparently, all of you wise mommas out there were right when you told me to 1)Wait until he's three and 2)He'll tell you when he's ready. The first one sounded dreadfully okay but the second one seemed unbelievable.

Until last Tuesday when Garrett announced that he was ready to wear big-boy undies and use the potty. And get a fish. Because I had promised him a while back a fish for his bathroom (to look at while going potty) if he chose to use the potty. The enticement fizzled for many weeks. But, after seeing a fish tank at a doctors appointment, he pulled that thought from about 2 months ago out of his memory and badgered me with it all morning long.

So, I did what I had to do. We bought the fish. We bought MORE big boy undies and these magical "protectors" that have allowed ME to not worry as much about accidents - thank you lovely lady at church for the recommendation - genius! (And in case you are wanting or looking for them, we actually ended up finding them at Wal-Mart)

I really thought that potty training would entail loads of laundry, tantrums and staying home all of the time. But, I was wrong. We've been on the go from day one and no problems. REALLY? REALLY? I keep thinking Garrett will change his mind. But, I called his Daddy at work today to say, due to a series of lovely pottying accomplishments this morning, that there's no turning back. This kiddo is serious about his potty. I hope I don't have to eat those words anytime in the near future.

Until then.......YAY THREE!

Stick 'Em Up, Line 'Em Up!

Look closely and you will see that Garrett is lining up tiny reward type stickers all across the back of my shirt. Two things the boy adores most in life: stickers and lining things up!

Still Alive, Well and Now Whining

Well, peeps. It is true. I am still alive, well and my preschooler is now into whining (even though via this blog you might just think I was on another planet without a connection to the Internet and hence the lack of entries).

A wise momma friend of mine said that right around age three this might happen again. I chose not to believe her because if I did that, it might come true. Dern. My disbelief didn't work. I must say that these three year old tantrums really aren't that bad. No where near like two. But, the tantrums have weaseled their way back into our lives with the added bonus of whining and persuasion and three year old reasoning. Here's a mild sampling of my son's reasoning:

Momma, I do not HAVE to do any-fing. It is MY choice, Momma. I chose to not do ANY-FING. That is a good choice, Momma. Because I am the boss. Not you, Momma.

On a much brighter note, it is October and our "new" life is set to begin. By "new" I mean that G's preschool was set to open and his Kindermusik class was ready to begin (really the last week of September). Unfortunately we did not get to begin either last week due to viral infection number two of the season and the fact that the preschool (which is under construction) opening has been delayed. Again. To October 15th. No problem. No issue.

Until we went to turn in some additional paperwork today and the lovely (really, she is) director stated November is now the new start date. I really am in no hurry to get G into school because although tantrumitis has hit, we really have great days together. BUT, I am dreading the separation anxiety (for him, not me) that is to come and have been preparing G for the new change for about 1 1/2 months. Every time we drive by the school, he asks, "Momma, is it ready yet?" Poor kiddo. He probably thinks I'm making it all up.

We DID get to go to Kindersmusik today. We have not been to Kindermusik since G was about 20 months old. I was a little nervous about the revisiting this adventure only because it was with someone new and at her house and our last experience was smack dab in the start of the 2's. And, oh yes, Momma couldn't stay. Or isn't supposed to. But G's teacher, Ms. Lissa, was so great. She let me stay in the room and then back into the hallway this first week.

And, oh honey child. Garrett LOVED him some Kindersmusik. He ran. He sang. He squealed. He hugged on some new friends. He played instruments. If there is a Garrett version of Heaven here on Earth, this was it. I am so glad I did get to stay to see the joy that oozed from his eyes and body. Homeboy was truly in his element. While I will drop him off next time, I almost want to leave a video camera to capture his excitement. As a parent, this is the stuff I live for - seeing my child peering into what we think will be a talent of his one day and exude sheer giddiness about it.

Which got me thinking. Isn't that exactly what our Heavenly Father loves to see in us, His children? I cannot capture in words the soaring emotion I experienced watching Garrett today. My love for him is beyond words. And, because I take the Word for Truth, I know God loves me and Garrett and all of us a million times more than I can fathom. What kind of joy did He find in watching Garrett today?

I'll never forget being up late one night feeding a newborn little man and crying tears of joy over how much I love him. And that's when it hit me. As much as I love Garrett, God loves him so much more. And me so much more than my Earthly parents love me. It was as if I really got that Heavenly-Father-love-thing for the first time.

As I leave you today with probably the most unorganized thought process of writing, I challenge you to try and see how much you are loved. And to love others the way God loves them. Not as we see them. I will try and cling onto that notion today. How about you?

And PS: I cannot for the life of me, despite my college education, decide whether or not "earth" should be in caps or no caps....