Christmas Parties and Activities

Samantha: 43 Months, Week 1

Aedan: Week 34

Since Ben's semester was finished, he had the opportunity to take Samantha to preschool this week.  He always had class on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:00 a.m., so it was never an option before.  Samantha was SO excited for her Daddy to take her.  Instead of having to rush out the door, we had a more leisurely morning, and Aedan and I were able to stay home and play that morning.

As we were sitting on the floor playing together, I wanted to take a couple pictures of his hair.  As it's getting longer, it's getting fluffier (kind of like Daddy's hair), except for this small patch in the back where he has lost hair from always laying on that part of his head when sleeping.

And here's my little smiley guy.  He gives the greatest smiles and has such a happy disposition.  We certainly love him to pieces. :)

Aedan has been growing like a weed, so I have been slowly going through the clothes in his closet that don't fit him anymore, having him wear things for the last time before putting them away.  This shirt in the pictures below is one of the shirts.  It shows a little too much chest because it is too small for him.  They are cute pictures of Aedan pushing up on his forearms, though.  He actually can scoot himself around a little bit when like this.  He will scoot backwards and even can rotate himself around in a circle.  He isn't making any motions like crawling and isn't pushing up on his knees yet, but I'm sure crawling is just around the corner.  And he will certainly love being able to follow his sister wherever she goes.  (Sorry for all the pictures.  They were too cute not to include them all.)

Ben continued to go to campus and work this week, finishing up his grades, and then getting some more good work done on his dissertation now that the semester is over.

Samantha loves to help feed Aedan and usually does such a good job spooning just enough into his mouth.  It's cute to watch her take care of her little brother.

We had a long day, both Samantha and Aedan were struggling with colds, stuffy noses, and coughs, so we just took it easy that evening.  Our Christmas activity for the night involved an early bath time and getting ready for bed so that we could sit together and watch Charlie Brown Christmas.  I think Samantha enjoyed it.  Aedan didn't think too much of the show, but really enjoyed sitting next to his sister.

Wednesday morning, we all were very tired, so we slept in pretty late that morning.  Late enough, that by the time we were showered, dressed, and had eaten breakfast, Ben decided it would make more sense to just stay home and work.  While Aedan napped that morning, Samantha and I made sugar cookies, our Christmas activity for the day.  Ben and I had made the dough the night before so that it could chill overnight.  Samantha had fun cutting out Christmas shapes, placing the cookies on the baking sheets, and watching them puff up in the oven as they baked.  She loves to help in the kitchen.

After letting the cookies cool, I iced the cookies while Samantha decorated them with sprinkles and red hots.  They looked great and tasted even better.  I love this cookie recipe.  The cookies are always soft and chewy, and the icing and sprinkles make them festive for Christmas.  Plus, it was even better having a little helper this time.

Thursday was another big day at preschool for Samantha.  It was her last day before Christmas break, and they were having their class Christmas party.  They even got to wear their pajamas to school, and Samantha was SO excited.  She had been looking forward to this all week long. Samantha decided to wear her penguin pajamas, and I did her hair in pigtail braids like Anna.  Again, Daddy took her to preschool that morning, along with some cookies we baked as presents for her teachers, Miss Betsy and Miss Becky.  I asked Daddy to take some pictures of her at preschool that morning, but Samantha wouldn't look at the camera at first because she was concerned about one of her friends that was crying in another part of the room.

Even though Samantha did take a nap on Wednesday afternoon, which was good for helping her feel a little better, she was still feeling under the weather.  Her nose kept running and going to preschool wiped all the energy out of her.  Aedan was still struggling with a pretty bad cough, so after his morning nap, he and I went grocery shopping, and I just left him in his pajamas to keep him warmer and more comfortable.  Even though he had just had a good morning nap, he still looked super tired as I carried him around the store in the Ergo, yawning and almost looking as if he could fall asleep again.  I hate it when my kids are sick.  Even though they are just a cold and a cough and could be much worse, it seems like a cold just knocks Samantha out, taking away all her energy, and Aedan's stuffy nose and cough has made it difficult for him to nurse and sleep soundly.  He wakes up many times during the night coughing.  Poor little guy.

Aedan has definitely been learning cause and effect.  After he finishes his food, we put toys on his high chair tray to play with while we finish our meal.  Lately, he has enjoyed dropping things off the side and watching them hit the floor.  Then, on Thursday as we were eating lunch, he discovered he could bang his rattle against the side of the high chair and that it would make a really fun noise.  He repeated this over and over again, every time he got the rattle in his hand. 

Besides Samantha's Christmas party at preschool, that evening at dinner I busted out our hymnal and played some Christmas hymns on the piano, and Samantha, Daddy, and I sung along.  Samantha and I took turns playing songs on the piano.  Our digital piano has the really neat feature called "Concert Magic" where you press a key to play a song and as you play the keys yourself, the song plays automatically to whatever tempo and rhythm you play the keys, making it so that Samantha can play songs all by herself.  Aedan was also very interested in making noise by hitting the keys on the piano.

Christmas break has been treating us well so far.  I kind of like how things wind down more at this time of year, giving us more time to spend together as a family.  I always become more of a homebody at Christmastime, too, when the weather is cold and gloomy outside, I just prefer to stay home more.  Ben went to campus again on Friday; however, it was going to be his last day in the office for awhile as he planned to work from home the following week before we leave for Christmas with Ben's family.  Our Christmas activity for the day was making cards for the rest of the Toll family to attach to their Christmas presents.  Samantha enjoyed covering her cards with stickers.  Here are some pictures from our Friday together.

Daddy took this picture and put it on Facebook, saying, "That moment when your not quite 8 month old fits snugly into a 12 month onesie."

I am so thankful for getting to stay home with these two precious little kids.  I am so thankful to Ben for having a good job, and making the sacrifices, for me to be able to stay home rather than work outside of the home full time.  Even though it's challenging and frustrating at times, I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I know these years are short, and I will take all the snuggles, smiles, hugs, kisses, and play time I can get while they are still little.  They love each other so much, and my heart explodes with love for them. :)

Samantha is such a proud and loving big sister.  Aedan will always be taken care of by her.  He admires her so much.  Just hearing her voice down the hall makes him light up and smile.

We have fun at lunch time around here, usually with lots of laughs.  Samantha likes to make people laugh, and Aedan has the greatest giggle, that I just had to capture it on video.

Samantha actually took a nap on Friday afternoon which is hit or miss lately.  I was very glad that she did because Upland Grandpa and Grandma arrived at our house around 4:30 p.m.  They came mainly to drop off Samantha's Christmas dress that Grandma had fixed for us so that she could wear it at the Christmas program at OBF on Sunday.  However, they got the added bonus of hanging out with us for a few hours.  We had chicken parmesan from the crock pot for dinner and then went to Orange Leaf for frozen yogurt dessert.  Grandpa and Grand had never been to a self-serve frozen yogurt place like that before, so I think they enjoyed themselves.  However, Samantha really loves her grandparents and didn't want them to leave.  In the car on the way home she had a really sad look on her face and then said, "I like my Grandpa and Grandma.  I miss my Grandpa and Grandma.  I'm sad that they left."  A few hours is just not long enough for Samantha.  They will definitely have to come back to Oxford again sometime soon to hang out with us.

On Saturday, we had several Christmas activities to accomplish.  Ben took Samantha to get a few more Christmas presents for family members, and she even helped us wrap presents and put bows on them as well.  Later that afternoon, a package came in the mail from Great Grandma Donna, and we allowed Samantha to open it, even though it wasn't Christmas yet.  She was so excited to rip the paper open to see what was inside.  I think she's going to really enjoy Christmas morning this year. :)

This year, instead of getting a lot of toys that Samantha and Aedan don't need, we asked our family members to give us money towards our family trip to Disney World in January, and then just something small for the kids to open, possibly Disney related as a reminder that they are helping us pay for our trip.  So Samantha got a pink, frilly princess dress, and Aedan got two outfits, one of which has Mickey Mouse on it.  Samantha was very excited to put the princess dress on right away, and then had to go out the kitchen so she could spin around in it.

Sunday morning was Samantha's chance to get up in front of the adults at church and sing.  She wore her Christmas dress and looked so cute in front jingling her bells while singing "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and holding her candle while singing "Silent Night."  She knew the words to "Go Tell It on the Mountain" really well, even singing them for Grandpa and Grandma when they came over on Friday night.  As Samantha walked up the aisle, she noticed us sitting up front and smiled, then as she got up on stage, she waved to us.  It was adorable, and we were so proud of her.  Here are some pictures and videos from that morning.

Then, after church we had a friend take a family picture of us, with Aedan in his Christmas suit and Samantha in her Christmas dress.

Since we didn't have small group on Sunday afternoon, we actually went to first service, giving us more time at home before lunch.  Aedan slept in that morning until almost 8:30, so he was able to take a nap when we got back home from church.  While Aedan was napping, Daddy took these precious videos of Samantha playing with our Nativity set and acting out the Christmas story.  I love that this is what Christmas is about to her, not about Santa bringing her toys.

Our week wrapped up with Daddy working from home on Monday, Aedan taking a good morning nap, then giving us the opportunity to run a few errands around town together as a family.  (I'm really enjoying having Ben around this week.)  We got Samantha to take a nap that afternoon, which was great because we had our small group Christmas party that evening.  For some reason we had the idea to have a kind of Fourth of July theme in December, so we all brought our own meat to grill.  We met at 5:00 and had dinner first, and then one family brought some fireworks and sparklers to set off in the backyard.  After that we had a white elephant gift exchange, each drawing a number to see what order we would pick presents.  Samantha was really lucky and picked a present that was exactly what she would have wanted.  One bag had foam beads and plastic string to make jewelry.  The other bag had a small doll along with a hand-made doll pillow.  She burst into a huge smile when she opened her present, and everyone saw how much she loved it and didn't dare steal it from her.  I was with Samantha during our present exchange, and I had a good time just cuddling with my little girl, having her sit on my lap for an extended period of time.  I don't get this much time with her in this way, uninterrupted by a little baby, so I was loving it.  Ben was holding Aedan, and he actually was falling asleep sitting up his lap.  We stayed at the party until well after 8:00.  We were all still recovering from colds and coughs, even me, so I decided that it was time to go home and get the kids to bed.  Samantha did a really good job that night.  She didn't fight when we took her to the bathroom before we left, and she was polite and respectful.  We had a good evening together with friends but were all pretty worn out from the long evening.

Christmas Lights, Gingerbread House, and Visiting Relatives

Samantha: 42 Months, Week 4

Aedan: Week 33

Last Tuesday was a special day at preschool because they were going to be painting some pottery to be fired by the staff at You're Fired, probably for a Christmas present for the kids' parents.  After our family painting experience on Monday night, Samantha was really excited to be able to paint again with her preschool friends.

When I took Samantha to preschool and we did our normal potty stop before going into the classroom, she did something really funny.  I won't go into much detail since I don't want to embarrass anyone, but she did something when she was done going potty and I gave her a quizzical look.  She then said, "Daddy doos (her word for does) it."  I had to laugh, and then I had to immediately call Ben to tell him the funny story, to which he also burst out laughing.  Our kids watch us and everything we do, that's for sure.  They learn by example, whether good or bad.  That's a good reminder for all of us.

After getting back home and getting Aedan down for his morning nap.  I noticed the strangest phenomenon outside.  There were literally hundreds and hundreds of birds outside, covering the grass across the street and then flying across the sky right above our townhouse.  It was so strange (and so loud), that I just had to take some pictures and videos of it.  It thought Samantha might find it interesting that afternoon.  They must have all been migrating somewhere.

Tuesday was Samantha's last ballet class before Christmas break, so Daddy got to take her that day while I stayed home and hung out with Aedan.  He was playing with his musical, light-up toy, and I decided to help him stand up and hang on to the toy.  He has such strong legs and actually seemed to really enjoy standing up on his own.  He didn't want to let go.

Days that Aedan and I get to stay home are always rather nice because it gives him the chance to take a good morning nap and good afternoon nap.  Tuesday he took an hour and a half nap that morning, and I actually gave him some acetaminophen before his afternoon nap because he felt a little warm to me.  However, he was having a good day, better than Monday.

Samantha had a great morning at preschool.  She said she painted a mitten and that it was the best part of her day.  However, she wasn't napping again.  I continued the charade of staying in the room with her for a few minutes to see if she would fall asleep, but she was just being silly in her bed.  She looked tired to me, like maybe she could fall asleep, but I knew she probably wouldn't.  Napping hasn't happened for awhile, and Ben and I both agreed that it seems like napping for her is officially over.  However, the positive aspect of her not napping is that she still goes to her room for quiet time in the afternoon, and then we put her to bed a little earlier at night.  On days she doesn't nap, she'll sleep close to twelve hours at night, sleeping in until 7:30, sometimes almost 8:00.  Also, she has been better in the evening the last few days.  Back during her last stint of no naps, we knew she wasn't ready to give them up yet because she was so cranky and tired in the evenings.  Now, she seems to be better able to handle herself and think about her actions better, even if she's tired.  Sometime over Christmas break, Ben and I will probably transition to not staying in the room with her at all, or even not playing the game of having her lay in bed, but instead, just take her to her room and tell her to enjoy her quiet time.  We'll see!  Part of me is not ready to give up naps with her, but I know that most kids her age are not napping anymore.  Especially when it becomes a battle every day, it's just not worth it, particularly when she's had such good night sleep.

Tuesday night I went to a Mom's night out at a local restaurant after helping Ben give Samantha and Aedan baths and get mostly ready for bed.  I didn't want him to have to handle all that by himself.  The Christmas activity for that day was getting to watch Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas after getting all ready for bed.  I figured that would be a nice activity for Ben when he would have to get them both to bed on his own.

On Wednesday we made another trip to the library for story time.  It was a bit busier this week than last week, but Samantha still had a great time listening to Christmas stories and singing and moving to winter songs using props like snowflakes.  Aedan also enjoyed himself and loved watching the other kids.  After story time, Aedan was getting pretty tired, so I put him in the Ergo and after walking around for awhile, he finally fell asleep, taking about a twenty-five minute nap, just enough to hold him over through lunch.

Wednesday night, once Ben got back from giving his final exam, I had dinner all ready to eat so that we could go see the Christmas lights at the Whispering Christmas display in Eaton, Ohio.  I am really glad that we went during the week because when we drove through Eaton on Saturday evening on our way home from Ben's Grandma's house, there was tons of traffic backed up from people going to see the lights display.  Once we got to the entrance of the display, we stopped and got Samantha and Aedan out of their car seats, allowing them to come sit in the front on my lap as we drove through to see the lights.  Samantha thought that was pretty neat to be out of her car seat and sitting in the front.  Aedan thought it was really cool to be sitting next to his big sister.  I loved having both my kids sitting on my lap.  The lights were pretty neat, not the greatest thing we've ever seen, but they were pretty.  We drove through the display fairly slowly, pointing out the different figures on either side of our car.  Then, towards the end of the display, there was this little log cabin that you can see in the picture below.  The main attraction was Santa, but we didn't really care about that.  We just wanted to go in and get hot chocolate and a cookie.  Samantha enjoyed that part. :)

After a whole week of no naps, Thursday was an interesting day for Samantha.  She was not very respectful getting ready in the morning for preschool and carried on through nap time that day.  She knows that even if she doesn't nap, she has to play or read quietly in her room.  However, she was not doing that at all on Thursday.  She was being rather loud, saying "Mommy, Mommy" over and over again until I came up to her room, and I'm pretty sure she woke Aedan up with how loud she was being.  I have somewhat come to terms with her not napping anymore, but I definitely need her to have a quiet time in her room in place of nap time.  On this particular day, she was just begging to come out of her room, saying she didn't want to be by herself in her room.  Needless to say, it was a frustrating afternoon during nap time.

We debated not doing our Christmas activity for Thursday due to how disrespectful Samantha was being, but we decided to go ahead and make our gingerbread house because our weekend was going to be pretty busy.  Before dinner, we rolled, cut, and baked the dough into the right sizes and shapes for our gingerbread house.  Then after dinner, we attempted to put the house together with icing and let Samantha decorate it will gum drops and red hots.  It was a bit crazy trying to get the house to stay together, and it wasn't the sturdiest nor prettiest house in the world, but it worked.  (And even as I write this a week later, the house is still standing, so we must have done something right.)  Samantha enjoyed decorating the house that evening.  She is a very detailed little girl and had to line the gum drops all around the outside and put the red hots along the top of the roof.  In fact, we had to put a limit on how much time she had to decorate because she would have worked on it all night if we let her, but she had to get to bed at a decent time since she was so tired. 

Friday was a cleaning day for me, so I let Samantha watch a few Christmas cartoons from a DVD I checked out from the library, and that was our Christmas activity for the day.  We just relaxed and played at home as I knew it was going to be a busy next couple days.

That afternoon Ben got home early from being on campus so that I could go to my doctor's appointment.  Samantha actually took a nap, the first one in a week, so that was good, especially considering how busy the rest of the weekend was going to be.  I had an appointment at 3:00, but the doctor didn't come to see me until 4:20.  It was pretty crazy that I had to wait so long.  I almost got up and told the office staff that I was going to have to leave.  However, I needed to get my foot taken care of.  I will spare you the details of what the doctor had to do; however, afterwards, my right big toe was pretty sore and still partially numb.  It hurt to push down on the pedals in the car, and I couldn't wait to get back home after getting my antibiotic and picking up the presents from OBF that we were going to deliver on Sunday for kids in need around Oxford.  As I was on my way home, Ben sent me this video of my little girl.  Both kids were excited to see me and were hoping that my foot was feeling okay.  I have a sweet family. :)

On Saturday we had plans to travel to see Ben's Grandma, Samantha and Aedan's Great Grandma Dorothy.  We hadn't seen her over a year, so a visit was long overdue.  We got up and ready fairly early that morning so that we were on the road by 8:40.  Samantha did a good job of looking at books in the car while we drove two and half hours to get there.  Aedan took a little nap, after we told Samantha to stop smiling at laughing at him.  It's nice having them in the back seat together because they can entertain each other, but it sometimes makes it a little more difficult for nap time.

We arrived around 11:20, giving us time to visit, play, and get situated before everyone arrived for lunch around noon.  We had our traditional Christmas spread of ham, beef and noodles, rolls, potatoes, and a variety of salads, fruits, vegetables, and desserts.  It was all very delicious.  Pretty quickly after lunch, I got Aedan down for his afternoon nap, while Samantha went down in the basement to play toys with Alaina and other relatives.  Samantha was pretty excited that she was skipping her nap time altogether that afternoon.  While the kids were occupied, Ben and I were actually able to play a game and talk with other adult relatives.  It was a nice, relaxing afternoon.  Aedan must have been really tired and comfortable because he slept for almost three hours.  We didn't think he'd sleep that long, but were glad that he had a good rest.  He just missed the party, slept right through it!  We thought about stopping for dinner on the road, but decided it would be easier just to have a little food there before we left, that way we could just drive and get home.

Before we left, we had to get a picture of Great Grandma Dorothy, Samantha, and Aedan.  These were the best we could get with two wiggly kids. :)  After this picture was taken, Dorothy wanted to hold Aedan, so she had him on her lap for awhile, and he was smiling at her and talking to her.  It was wonderful, especially since Aedan's middle name, Arthur, is named after her late husband, Arthur Thomas.  We had a great visit, and even though it was a long day, it was definitely worth it for these precious moments with family meeting across generations.

Since Samantha didn't nap that day, she was pretty tired on our ride home.  We actually brought our portable DVD player with us and let her watch Frozen on the way home.  It's hard when it's dark out because there's not much little kids can do to entertain themselves in the car, and she's not one to fall asleep easily in the car anymore.  Aedan did a good job amusing himself and playing in his car seat as Samantha watched the movie.  He was well-rested and had a full tummy, so he was pretty happy.  However, as we had about an hour left, both kids were starting to lose it.  I actually ended up crawling in the back seat and sitting in between their car seats so that I could talk to them and play with them for the rest of the way home.  It was getting late enough into the evening that we really didn't want Aedan to fall asleep, so I played with him enough to keep him awake for the rest of the way home.  Then, once we got home, it was bed time for both kids.

Sunday was another busy day as we had church, lunch and small group right after church, and then we had plans to deliver the Christmas gifts for the needy children in Oxford.  We bought presents for one boy, and actually had his family to deliver to, so Samantha was really excited about meeting him.  We knew we wanted to buy presents for a child in need, but we thought it would be even more of an impact on Samantha if we were able to deliver presents as well.  It was one of those situations where we didn't know what to expect.  Delivering these presents was a humbling experience to us.  Several families lived in the same apartment complex, one lived in a trailer park, and another lived in an older house (that was the Angel tree gift which meant one or both of the child's parents were incarcerated).  It was rough to see how some of these families lived.  You drive around Oxford and you never even notice these areas.  It makes me want to help so much more.  I am so glad that we can do this at Christmas time, but I want to help somehow throughout the whole year.  We have so much to be thankful for, but I don't want to stop there, I want to give what I have because after all it's not mine to begin with.  I'm just not quite sure what that looks like for me.  It's definitely something I will be praying about as I have always had a heart to help people in need, especially children.

After our long weekend, Monday called for another relaxing morning playing at home.  Then, once Ben got home from campus, since Samantha wasn't napping anyways, she came with me to run a few errands in Hamilton.  Samantha had her studio Christmas party for ballet that night, and we had to buy an inexpensive ornament, a snack, as well as a few other odds and ends.

So that night, after eating an earlier dinner, we headed off to Samantha's ballet party.  The first half hour or so, the older ballerinas performed, and we were invited to sit down on the floor to watch.  Samantha was in awe of the older ballerinas, and Aedan sat right next to her on the floor.  It was so cute to watch him watching her.  He would look at Samantha, smile, and then go back to watching the dancers, moving his head back and forth like he was watching a tennis match.  Daddy captured this little picture of the three of us watching the show, even though it is a little blurry.

After the older dancers finished their performance, Miss Ashley opened the dance floor to the younger dancers.  Samantha had a wonderful time dancing, spinning, and running around the dance floor with the other girls that were five and under.  I think she could have done this all night.  The only thing that pulled her away was the chance to get herself a snack.  After most people had a chance to help themselves to snacks, the kids did an ornament swap.  However, it was funny because when it was Samantha's turn to go up and choose one, she chose the bag with the ornament we brought.  I had to go up to her and tell her she couldn't choose the one we got, but had to pick a different one.  She then chose the gift bag with the most sparkles and inside was a silver, glittery Christmas tree, the perfect ornament for Samantha.  It was a fun party, and I'm glad that we are able to experience it together as a family.

The Beginning of the Advent Season

Samantha: 42 Months, Week 3
Aedan: Week 32

After a full week of Thanksgiving and decorating our house for Christmas, plus Aedan not feeling too well, we went into the week a little tired and felt like we were still recovering from some sickness.  Samantha had preschool on Tuesday, and Aedan and I went grocery shopping.  He had a hard day on Monday with not napping very well, and he developed small bumps across his forehead for some reason.  I actually had to wake him up from sleeping in the morning to take Samantha to preschool, and then had to wake him up again from his morning nap so that we could go back and pick Samantha up.  It was a busy morning, but he was having a better day and was napping better.  Plus, his bumps looked better, so I decided I didn't need to call the doctor about it.  They popped up shortly after we started him on banana strawberry baby food, so we'll have to see if he gets them again the next time we give him that food.

Both kids were pretty tired, and luckily, Samantha fell asleep pretty easily for her nap.  I ended up just laying Aedan down while he was still awake because he didn't fall asleep while I was nursing him.  I wanted to get Samantha down since she has ballet on Tuesdays.  However, I didn't hear him make much noise at all, and then by the time I was done with Samantha, Aedan was asleep.  I accidentally included the following pictures in last week's blog, but they were actually from Tuesday of this week.  They're too cute, so I'll include them again.  I love seeing how they fall asleep.  Samantha, with her blanket tucked up all the way around her chin so only her face is exposed.  Aedan, with his head turned to the left and his right hand tucked under his back.  I'm not one to go back in my kids' rooms to check on them, so I don't get to see them sleeping very often.  It's always good when they both take naps, especially considering that we were going to try and go to a little play that evening.

I volunteered to take Samantha to ballet that afternoon, and since it's now December, Miss Ashley played Christmas music and had Christmas lights along the mirror.  They even did a cute little dance at the end with the lights dimmed.  Each student got a chance to dance around candles on the floor, with their flower hats and toys in their hands.  Here are some adorable pictures and videos from that lesson.  I think Samantha enjoys being a little ballerina. :)  It's cool to see how much she's learning even though sometimes it doesn't look like it.  Her balance is getting much better, she can stand on one leg without tipping over right away, and she can spin around pretty fast.

I am trying to do something Christmas related every day of December, so on Tuesday evening, after yummy chili soup for dinner, we went to a free play at the Oxford Community Arts Center called "The Night Before Christmas".  I thought Samantha might enjoy it because she really enjoyed the puppet show.  However, this play wasn't quite what I expected.  The room was much busier than last time, plus we got there late, so we didn't get a very good seat for Samantha.  The play was a little advanced for Samantha, but she did a good job of listening and seemed to be following along with the story okay.  Aedan did much better at this event, even though he was tired.  Daddy did a good job amusing him while I sat with Samantha to help her see better.

Wednesday morning, Daddy was up with Aedan while Samantha was still sleeping and I was taking a shower.  Ben posted this on Facebook that morning, after feeding Aedan his cereal for breakfast, "Aedan loves his big sister so much that when she is not around, he will resort to smiling at and talking to my coffee cup that has pictures of Samantha."  He certainly does love having her around.  If he is up before her, and he hears her voice on the monitor, he will turn his head around, looking for his big sister.

On Wednesday, I convinced Samantha to go to the library for story time.  Lately she has not wanted to, but I knew she would enjoy it if we went.  Story time was always a highlight of her week in Bloomington, but I think she hasn't gotten used to the one here yet.  Plus, the last time we went on a Friday and that story teller wasn't quite as engaging as the one on Wednesdays.  So, after Aedan woke up from his morning nap, we headed out to the library.  Miss Jennifer does a great job with songs and active participation, which is great for little kids.  Samantha has a pretty good attention span and can sit still for the half hour of story time.  Other kids, on the other hand, have a hard time with that, making it a bit distracting at times.

This was the first time Aedan was able to sit on the floor next to Samantha, and I wish I could have taken a picture of his little face.  He thought it was SO cool to be sitting on the floor with all the kids, with his doting sister at his side.  He was constantly looking around the room, watching the kids sing and do motions for the various songs.  He got a little bored during the reading of the stories, but still sat there quietly playing with his toy.  The last song we song goes like this, "Tick tock, tick tock, I'm a little cuckoo clock.  Tick tock, tick tock, now I'm striking one o'clock."  (During that part you hold your child under the arms and swing their legs back and forth like the pendulum of a clock.)  Then, you say, "Cuckoo!" (And during that part you throw your child up in the air.)  The song then repeats, except with saying two o'clock and then three o'clock, making it so that you throw your child in the air three times at the end.  Aedan LOVED that part!  He loves to be thrown up in the air, and I have a feeling he loved being a part of the song.  It's fun that he can sit up better now, allowing him to participate more in activities and play with Samantha and other children.  I think he likes his view of the world much better than laying on his back.

Aedan took a nice, long nap that afternoon.  I got Samantha to sleep, but she slept less than an hour and then was up singing in her room, so I made her stay up in her room a little longer.  (Both her and I need a little more quiet time than that in the afternoon.)  After putting Samantha down for her nap that afternoon, I came downstairs and found this, as you can see in the picture below.  She put the wise men and camel from our Little People Nativity scene on the page of a Christmas book we checked out from the library that morning, matching up the wise men to the pictures of the wise men on the page.  I thought it was so cute.  I love that she is playing with the nativity scene, acting out the story of Jesus' birth.  

I forget if I've written about this or not, but Ben and I discussed what to do about Santa this year.  Up until now, it hadn't been an issue, Samantha never really talked about it.  Well, this year she was already starting to ask questions about whether or not Santa was going to come to our house and deliver presents, and I felt weird just saying, "Well, some people believe," and just leaving it up in the air.  So, Ben and I sat down one night to talk about what we wanted to do.  We didn't feel comfortable with telling Samantha that Santa was real, and it seemed even more strange to tell her that he wasn't real but still pretend he is (like put out cookies and visit him and get presents from him).  So, we decided to get books from the library about St. Nicholas, and we told Samantha his story, about how he helped people because he loved Jesus, obeying His command to sell your possessions and give money to the poor.  He used the whole inheritance from his wealthy parents to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering.  We explained to Samantha the basics of St. Nicholas' story, telling that the Santa Claus people talk about today is based on this man's extraordinary character, and that's why he's so loved and depicted as someone who gives presents.  However, we discussed that St. Nicholas died a long time ago, so the people that look like Santa today are just dressed up and acting like St. Nicholas, pretending, like in a story.  She took to this really well, and it didn't seem to confuse her or surprise her.

We didn't really know the full extent to how much she understood us until later in the week when, on several different occasions when someone asked Samantha about Santa, she replied, "Well, St. Nicholas died a long time ago.  But Mommy and Daddy are going to give me Christmas presents."  It's funny to watch people's reactions to her saying that.  She told the man that came to look at our dishwasher, as well as a lady at the hockey game on Saturday night.  After telling the lady at the hockey game, the lady replied, "You're a pretty smart girl.  How old are you?"  Samantha answered, " 3 1/2."  Then the lady asked, "Do you go to preschool?"  Samantha replied, "Yeah, I go to preschool and church."  It's amazing to me how open little kids are and how unwilling adults are to share about Jesus with others.  Samantha is an example to both Ben and me.  

I'm glad Ben and I made the decision we did regarding Santa.  I don't think Samantha is missing out on anything by not believing in Santa, and I like that it takes the emphasis off presents and asking for things, placing the emphasis on Jesus' birth and the wonderful gift that is.  As a way to anticipate the celebration of Jesus' birth, I found an Advent reading guide online that goes through certain stories in the Jesus Storybook Bible.  The stories all point to Jesus coming as the Savior, the rescuer, our Messiah.  I love these stories and how they bring it all back to Jesus.  Samantha gets it, and she is so excited about our family Advent readings each night.  We usually do it just before bedtime, once Samantha and Aedan are all ready for bed.  She always wants to sit right next to Aedan as Ben and I take turns reading the Bible stories.  It's a wonderful tradition, one that I would like to continue even past this Advent season.

Well, neither of us felt like cooking or eating at home on Wednesday night, so we decided to make the fifteen minute drive to Five Guys.  Their burgers and fries are just delicious and always hit the spot.  Samantha enjoyed her grilled cheese, and Aedan got some baby food.  However, I think he would have much rather had our cheeseburgers.  You can see him reaching for it, probably thinking, "Forget this sweet potato baby food.  I want some of your cheeseburger!"  He has been exceptionally interested in our food lately.  I think he will enjoy eating finger foods once he gets enough teeth to chew.

To continue in our tradition of doing something Christmas related every day, after getting back home from Five Guys, Samantha and I finished our project for the day.  We made rings to count down the days until Christmas.  Before dinner, while I was nursing Aedan, Samantha colored designs on five pieces of construction paper.  Then I folded them in fifths for her, and she cut along the folded lines.  (She's getting really good at cutting!  You can tell she's been practicing at preschool.)  I then helped her turn the paper into rings, she laced them through and taped them together.  It was simple, but a perfect project for her.  She thought it was neat and will enjoy tearing off one ring every day until Christmas.

Thursday was another preschool day, and Aedan and I were able to spend the morning at home, giving him a good nap.  He also had a good nap that afternoon, and his cold and cough seemed to be improving.  However, that afternoon Samantha did not nap, she was acting far too silly, and little did I know that this would mark the beginning of napping being pretty much over as we know it.  The past week or so it has been rather difficult to even get her to fall asleep, and then when she would sleep, it would be no more than an hour, making it not very worth it for her to even nap, especially considering the battle it would take to get her to stay in her bed and be calm.

Along the lines of sleep, this past week there was only one night that Aedan slept through the night.  Every other night, he would wake up between 3:00-3:30, and I would change his diaper, nurse him, and lay him back down.  He always went back to sleep fine, but it's kind of strange that he isn't sleeping through the night more consistently, especially with how much he likes his baby food.

Anyways, here's a couple silly videos of Aedan and Daddy from after dinner that night.  Don't you just love his laugh?  It's contagious, and you can't help but smile.

Our Christmas activity for the day was going to be to making gingerbread cookies, which I don't think we've ever made before.  However, we had all the ingredients for it, and I knew Samantha would enjoy cutting out the different shapes and decorating them afterwards.  However, we didn't realize we would have to let the batter chill for awhile before baking, so we just mixed up the batter on Thursday night and had plans to bake the cookies on Friday morning while Aedan was napping.  I was on Aedan duty, as he was getting pretty tired, so Daddy and Samantha mixed the batter together that evening.

Daddy teaches Samantha funny things sometimes, and this week was no different.  To explain to her that she is not the boss, he taught her the concept of an oligarchy (run by Mommy and Daddy), rather than the democracy she was hoping for.  Well, Thursday night when she was asking to do something, she said, "Mommy and Daddy are the oligarchy.  I am the subject."  I think Ben was proud of her assertion.  You can tell that she is the daughter of a political scientist.

Friday morning, while Daddy went off to work, we had plans to just stay home, enjoy relaxing, allowing Aedan to take a good nap, and making gingerbread cookies.  We had plans to go to the Oxford Holiday Festival that evening, so a morning in was just what we needed.

Since we were celebrating Christmas by attending the holiday festival, I put Aedan in a cute little outfit from my friends, the Blakes.  He hadn't worn it before, and it looked super cute on him, and very wintry.  (You can also see his great sitting skills in these pictures.) :)

 I may be biased, but I think he is just the cutest little man there is.

I rolled out the dough, and Samantha cut it into various shapes for our gingerbread cookies.  She had a really fun time decorating them with M&Ms, and of course was very excited to be able to eat one of the finished products!  I tried to get her to smile for a picture, but she preferred to make a series of silly faces for me. :)

Friday evening we attempted to head out early so we could find a parking spot Uptown and eat dinner at the Mexican restaurant before the festivities started at 6:30.  However, the traffic was crazy!  We had a hard time finding somewhere to park and didn't know if it was because a lot of people were coming out for the festival or just because it was a Friday night and this is the main area to go out in Oxford.

After eating dinner, we went over to see the live reindeer.  I had Aedan in the Ergo, and it was raining, so we were huddled underneath our umbrellas.

Then, we got to go on a horse drawn carriage ride.  Samantha thought that was pretty awesome.  She said she felt like a princess.

After the carriage ride, we got some hot chocolate, Samantha got a stuffed snowman, and we walked around Uptown a little more, checking out the giant snow globe, a second visit to the reindeer, and a look at the beautiful lights that lit up Uptown Oxford.

Even though it was rainy and a bit cold, we had a good time as a family.  Since we are new to town, I feel like it's a good idea to do these types of things so that we can get a feel for the town more.  I think the weather kept a lot of people away, so we were able to enjoy Uptown without many crowds.

Saturday morning, Samantha and I went out to do a little Christmas shopping together while Daddy stayed home with Aedan while he napped.  We had to get dog food at Petsmart.  We went to Once Upon a Child to get a Christmas dress for Samantha and an outfit for Aedan, as well as jeans for our Angel Tree boy, and some toys for Aedan from Samantha for Christmas.  Our last stop was Bed, Bath, and Beyond to let Samantha pick out a present for Daddy.  As we were leaving the store, Samantha said, "I'm tired of running errands."  I agree, little girl!  Going to multiple stores to go shopping is never my favorite thing, but it's much easier going with just one child, that's for sure.

When we were in Upland last, I got a bunch of math manipulatives that I used in my classroom because I figured Samantha might enjoy playing with some of them, and I could use them to teach her some things as she gets older.  She has really enjoyed playing with the pattern blocks, and I think she would have a good time using the pattern block mats to make pictures by matching the blocks to the colored areas on the mat, especially with her affinity for puzzles.

Samantha likes to volunteer to sit behind Aedan when he is sitting up playing with a toy, so that way she can catch him and he doesn't hit his head on the floor if he falls backwards.  However, this is what happened when she sat behind him that evening.  He knocked them both over!

But then after that I got some cute brother/sister shots, of Samantha loving on Aedan. :)

That evening after dinner, Daddy and Samantha left for their Daddy/Daughter date.  He bought tickets for a Miami hockey game since she has such a good time when we went to the game as a family.  Samantha got tired as the game went on, but she enjoyed sitting in the second row from the rink, seeing the action up close.  In between plays, she danced around in the aisle.  In between periods, they walked around the rink.  She particularly liked watching the Miami marching band out on the ice.  It's fun that Samantha and Daddy can go do fun things like this together.  It's good for her to have some one on one time.

We had a pretty busy weekend, ending with church and small group on Sunday.  Luckily, Aedan does really well and just takes his nap in his pack and play in an upstairs bedroom.  The kids go down in the basement and usually do a little project, which this week was wrapping a present.  Then, they watched How to Train Your Dragon 2, so Samantha enjoyed that she could watch a movie rather than having to take an afternoon nap.  However, once Aedan woke up from his nap and we were getting ready to leave, we couldn't find Samantha.  She had gone outside to play with some of the older kids, and I went out there to give her a five minute warning for leaving, but I couldn't find her anywhere.  No kids knew where she was, and I was starting to get worried.  The house we were at had quite a big yard, as well as a barn with some animals out back, so we checked everywhere.  We even got the other kids involved in helping us look for her.  My heart started pounding, and my mind started jumping to the worst possible scenarios: that she had wandered off somewhere, that she had gotten hurt somewhere and couldn't move, that she had fallen in the pond that was on the next property over, all these worrisome thoughts.  And do you know where she ended up being?  She was in an upstairs bedroom, the girls' room, playing with dolls.  She got a little upset because we surprised her by coming into the room quickly, but then I just held her and talked to her about how worried we were when we couldn't find her.  I told her that next time, if she's outside and comes back in, she needs to tell us that she came back in so that way we know where she is.  We were so very glad that everything was okay and there was nothing to worry about.

Sunday night, after arriving home from small group, we got the rest of the meal ready for our friends from small group with the mom that had ACL reconstructive surgery.  We made them crock pot red beans and rice with salad, and we also gave them the rest of the gingerbread cookies that we made earlier in the week.  After being out late at the hockey game on Saturday night and not having the chance to nap on Sunday afternoon, Samantha was pretty tired.  In fact, she was so tired that she fell asleep in the car on the way over to deliver the meal!  We could not believe it!  She doesn't ever fall asleep in the car unless we are purposefully trying to get her to nap on a longer trip.  She was so cute, fast asleep in the back seat.  At first, she had wanted to come inside to help us deliver the meal, but she was too tired and just wanted to stay in the car with Aedan.  However, as we were on our way home, out of the blue Samantha said (in a very pathetic voice), "I'll never see those cookies again!"  That girl, she cracks me up with things she says, especially when she's tired.

On Sunday we didn't do anything particularly Christmas related since it was such a busy day, but on Monday, after a morning of downtime at home, we had plans to make a special present for the grandparents.  I can't give away any details because I don't want to spoil the surprise.  But it was a precious thing, made with much love for some very important people.