White Christmas

Apparently Ben has been telling Grandpa David for about a month now that we will be having a white Christmas. It has been seven years since Tulsa has had a white Christmas, so this might be a tall order. Ben was very matter of fact though. Well, apparently he knows something we don’t.

On Christmas Eve, it began raining and then sleeting in the morning/midday. By late afternoon it was snowing with blizzard conditions in neighboring counties. By later that evening, our dinner guests had taken long journeys to get to our house and some even cancelled because there were white-out conditions where they lived and they couldn’t see to drive. We enjoyed a nice dinner with Mom’s family and then it was time for everyone to figure out where they were headed for the night. Some had as far as Olive to travel, and that would be quite a trek in the newly fallen 6 inches of snow that came during that time and the ice/sleet that had come before it. It was a long haul, but most everyone made it home. Some didn’t make it home till the next day after a night at a hotel, but everyone stayed safe and warm.

We enjoyed a quiet Christmas morning. Luckily, Santa’s sleigh is made for this kind of weather so his gifts arrived right on time. The kids had a fun morning and enjoyed a leisurely day of playing with their new things. They didn’t even change out of pajamas that day. We spent the next day doing the same except the boys made it outside to play in the snow. E made an appearance to "experience" the snow, but came right back inside with Mom. Ben tried his first hot cocoa after his afternoon of playing and was in love.

Christmas was celebrated late with various parts of the family over the next days. It was weird not to be together on Christmas Day, but was actually a little nice to spread it out and have a relaxing Christmas. The kids will be sad when we stop opening presents everyday, but I think they will manage with all the new toys they are enjoying. :)

Dear Santa

Part of our countdown to Christmas activities included writing a letter to Santa. Here is Ben’s, as he dictated it to Mom (and yes, he dictated it in third person):

Dear Santa,

Ben has been very good this year. He would like you to come here. Please bring presents to Ben. He would like a toy that goes up and down with squishy stuff. He would also like a jumper from school.

See you soon!

Ben

Wow, that is a tough order to fill when Santa has trouble knowing exactly what to bring. After the letter, Mom questioned Ben extensively. The jumper from school was probably the inflatable jump castle that was at their fall carnival. Not hard to figure out, but a little big for Santa’s sleigh this year. The other item was described with hand motions that made a box or sphere shape. So the size was established. Here is a series of questions and Ben’s answers that followed the letter.

Q: What is this toy called? Does it have a name?

A: I don’t know. Santa will have to make it first.

Q: How will you play with the toy? Is there something you do with it to make it work?

A: I don’t know. I have never played with it before because Santa hasn’t brought it yet.

Q: Is it the same toy that goes up and down and is squishy or are you talking about different things?

A: It is all one thing, Mom. It will go up and down and is squishy.

Q: Where have you seen this? How did you know you want it?

A: Santa will make it like this with his hands. I have never seen it before because it isn’t made yet. I want it because Santa is making it for me.

A week or so goes by and when asked what he wants from Santa, Ben politely replies “Something that goes up and down and is squishy.” This is the standard answer now to anyone that asks. Santa is getting nervous as Christmas is approaching and a more specific description of the toy (especially a name) would be very useful. Finally, we are at school one afternoon and one of the volunteers at the front desk is making conversation with Ben while we are all getting coats on. She innocently asks what Ben would like for Santa to bring, while Mom is somewhat hopeful that he doesn’t hear her or gives a different answer for once. He launches into the same description and she politely accepts the answer and proceeds to become interested. She began guessing things that it might be called, and listed jack-in-the-box as one of her ideas. Ben exclaimed, “Yes, a jack-in-the-box! That is what I want!” What else could it have been? Of course it was a jack-in-the-box!! The volunteer responded how fun that would be and began to recount a year she got everything she asked for from Santa and listed the items. Mom tuned out as she was now doing a victory dance in her head and wanting to race up and hug the volunteer and let her know how precious this information exchange had been. Mom could not wait to tell Santa the news and update him on Ben’s list.

Santa was updated in time and Ben was thrilled to find a jack-in-the-box by his stocking. He was pleased that the toy jumped up and down and that he could squish him back into his box. He has played with him quite a bit and seems to be satisfied with Santa’s presents. Thank you, Santa! You came through yet again!

Christmas Program

The kids’ school has a Christmas program every year where each class performs a song. Elizabeth’s class dressed like angels and were pushed around in their buggies to the tune of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”. She kept her halo on and did not cry, so we counted that as a success. Ben’s class sang “Frosty the Snowman” and wore matching red shirts decorated with snowmen. Ben learned the words and can still sing a lot of the tune. His favorite part is the “thumpity thump thumps” of course!

The Christmas Train

This is our second year to go to the Christmas Train. www.christmastrain.com We went with a group from church and had a wonderful time yet again. We would highly recommend this to anyone that lives in the area and hope to take our kids as long as they will go with us.

Our first stop upon arriving (after a potty break, of course) was to meet Santa. Ben had asked if Santa would take his picture or if we would take Santa’s picture. Guess he does not remember seeing Santa last year and how the whole thing works. When we got to the room where Santa was waiting, Ben got really quiet. We helped him up on Santa’s lap and then handed Elizabeth to Santa for their photo. This is the result. We love Santa in theory, but are not thrilled about having to sit on his lap.

After stopping for dinner, we headed to get in line for the train. Mom made the mistake of saying that there would be live scenes related to the life of Jesus and one of them would have the baby Jesus. Well, Ben proceeded to ask a million questions because he thought that THE baby Jesus was going to be there. After many explanations we settled with the understanding that there would be some actors pretending to be these people from a long time ago.

We waited about 40 minutes to get on the train and the children did remarkably well. We boarded and Ben was thrilled to be on the train. As we drove by various displays and scenes, he kept asking which side the actors would be on next so he would know where to look.

The kids were still doing well, so we let Ben play on the playground for a while. Mom watched him climb a really tall slide with seemingly too many children on the stairs. We relocated to a shorter slide shortly after and then got further sidetracked by the carousel. Dad and Ben rode the carousel while Mom took pictures. Elizabeth hung back with some of our friends and started thinking she might be done for the evening. So we made a stop at the coffee shop and packed up our car to make the drive home. Until Ben fell asleep he inquired about the sheep and shepherds he had seen in the live nativity scene and we assured him they would get to go to a barn for the night to rest where it was a little warmer.

Can’t wait till tickets go on sale for next year!!

Countdown to Christmas

We have done an advent calendar where Ben gets to open a little door each day and find a treat or a paper describing an activity we will get to do. He has loved seeing what each day brings and can hardly contain himself from opening the next one. So far we haven’t had any early opening, mostly because Mom threatened to take away any prizes that were opened before it was time. Here are a few of our highlights. Some were repeated, but so far all have been enjoyed.

· Build a gingerbread house and decorate it (foam craft kit).
· Have a special treat after dinner.
· New ornaments for our tree.
· Make and play an instrument using a cup and string.
· Watch a special Christmas movie.
· Go to the Christmas Train!
· Make and eat S’mores.
· Go on a tour of Christmas lights.
· Bake cookies.
· Wrap Christmas gifts for teachers.
· Christmas tattoos to play with.

Milestones

Elizabeth has reached all sorts of milestones in the last couple of weeks.
· She stands on her own quite well.
· She took her first steps right before Thanksgiving.
· She waves ferociously any time we are coming or going or when she thinks we should be coming or going.
· She likes to clap and dance to music.
· She is now 10 months old.
· E got promoted to a bigger toddler carseat. She is still backwards, but loves her “big girl” chair.

Ben has also been up to some “firsts” of his own.
· He got to help Dad hang the Christmas lights outside this year.
· He enjoyed Thanksgiving turkey and mashed potatoes.
· He upgraded to a big kid carseat so Ellie could use his old one.
· He started his advent countdown (which he doesn’t remember doing last year).
· He is learning Frosty the Snowman to perform at school.
· This one has gone on a while, but he is pretty pleased that he is wearing underwear full time during the day and pottying “all by himself”. He now requests to go alone and close the door. It is pretty hysterical.
· Ben is discovering new words and concepts each day. This morning’s new idea: “I would like for it to rain in Africa so it will not get me wet in Tulsa when I go to school.” Alright.

We are in the midst of our season of celebrations, yummy foods, shopping, decorating and enjoying family. We hope to post some of those highlights soon and hope you are enjoying your Christmas season already.