Christmas Part I

We really wanted to spend Christmas morning with the kids at our new house this year, and we really wanted to spend Christmas Day with my family in Indiana, so we decided to pull a fast one on the kids and celebrate two Christmases this year. We pretended Dec. 23 was Christmas at our house so that we could hop on the car on Christmas Eve and be in another state in time to do it all over again.

Part of the reason for this scheme was that we knew Santa was planning on bringing the kids a train table, and it's hard to transport such a thing (along with boys and cats) in a modestly sized Pontiac Vibe. So I subtly skipped a couple days on the advent calendar, and we went through all the usual Christmas Eve rituals on Dec. 22: stockings, cookies for Santa, wide-eyed youngsters who can't seem to fall asleep, quiet secret assembly of toys.

Santa needed quite a bit of extra help putting this whole table and train set together, but when it was all done, we were pretty impressed. It came with a mountain tunnel, suspension bridge, roundtable, and crane, and it has sound effects as you push the trains around the track! And, something that I love, storage drawers to keep all the little pieces.

Christmas morning Casey came out and said "Wow!" An hour later, Darby finally woke up and said almost exactly the same thing "Wow! New trains!" It was totally worth the hand injuries Chris incurred during the assembly (I think--I guess you'd have to confirm with him).

Stockings for everyone ... that's a four-pack of Sprecher's Cream Soda sitting under Chris's stocking. He must have been good this year.

As entranced as they both were by the trains, Casey and Darby both had their eyes on this giant package in the back from Aunt Susan and Taylor. I had wrapped it, but they tore the paper off that one right away.

An air-hockey table! Those lucky ducks. I remember having something similar when we were kids. Chris and I will get some use out of this after they go to bed. I wonder if I am as good at this as I remember ...

As you  might recall, Casey asked Santa for a "toy car" this year. Darby, of course, decided he also wanted a toy car. Santa came through with a Batmobile for Casey and a Lighting McQueen Monster Truck for Darby.

This Curious George Hide and Seek Zoo Game is so much fun. In the middle of the game, the Man in the Yellow Hat announces over the walkie talkie, "The animals have escaped!" All the other players have to don an animal mask and run and hide, and the person whose turn it is has two minutes to go find them. It's a level of zaniness that I was previously unaccustomed to in board games.

Darby has been wanting his own snow shovel ever since winter started. We've been letting him use one of our adult-sized shovels, but he can hardly push it around. This one is just his size, and I am not kidding when I tell you that he saw it and said, "I LOVE this present, Mommy!" Aww. He uses the word "love" pretty liberally about things lately, but it was still really sweet.

Grandma and Papa sent some really cool gifts this year. One is a tent which I'm sure we'll pitch in the living room as soon as we clean up the Christmas clutter. One of the things Casey likes to pretend is that we're all camping, and now we have a tent! Someday when they're a bit older Krista and I are going to take these boys on a real camping trip. I think I've probably been planning that since before they were born.

You can see Darby with his new art supplies there too. On Christmas Eve I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, and he actually replied to that, "Markers," and then he actually got the Color Wonders marker set. He started coloring right away, and after that it was hard to get him to come over and finish opening presents.

A pirate-themed puzzle for Casey ... he later told Grandma and Papa a pretty long-winded story about the dragon that's swimming near the pirate ship. I can't recall the details, but it was probably the most words they've ever heard him say.

And here's Darby showing off a few of his stocking stuffers: sunglasses and a slinky.

 Those were some happy little boys on (pretend) Christmas morning! It was almost a little cruel to pack them in the car the next day to carry them away from all their new stuff. But more fun was to follow ... (to be continued)

Merry Christmas!

Casey in Concert ... For Real This Time!

Just got back from Casey's preschool Christmas concert. Most adorable thing I have ever seen! I was enjoying it so much, Casey's part was over too quick. It was the concert for the whole school, pre-k through eighth grade, so there was a full gym of parents. But Casey didn't look intimidated. He seemed pretty happy up there, and when the applause started after each song, he just lit up. I might be biased, but he was definitely the best kid up there.

Here's Casey looking all fine ...

And here he is up on stage ... We were sitting toward the back of the gym, so it was a true test of my little camera's zoom power. I'm surprised any of these came out at all.

I took a few videos too. This probably goes without saying, but make sure you watch until the end. Casey cracked me up at the end of this song.

I took this one before I figured out how to zoom in on the video setting. But you can hear them, at least.

'Tis the Season ...

... for shoveling snow, sitting on Santa's lap, and--apparently--dressing up like a snowman.

I've taken lots of pictures since Thanksgiving but haven't been sharing them because I hadn't picked which ones would go on our Christmas card yet. But I got those ordered this week (for FREE because of my little blog post a few weeks ago--yay), so now I can share:

Casey's been asking me about snow since about September. Finally, we got something measurable last weekend. Casey was very happy; Darby was less sure how he felt about the situation.

The same day, Santa visited our local fire station. Casey was very sweet talking to Santa. He asked for a toy car, which I'm pretty sure the elves can handle. Darby was less thrilled about the experience, but at least he didn't burst into tears like some other toddlers there.

We still haven't built a snowman because what we have has been too powdery, but the snowman kit that my mom made me years ago is out and ready. Casey had fun one day dressing up and posing for pictures.

Ok, I admit, I tried on the hat too that day.

Darby the Pirate

This pirate thing seems to be contagious. It's been Casey's obsession for awhile, but Darby was really getting into character a couple days ago. It's a little frightening to see my sweet little 2-year-old so transformed.

In case you missed that, I believe it was "Arrr, walk plank." Or possibly "I walk plank," which makes less narrative sense but is still completely believable coming out of Darby's mouth.

P.S. I don't know why it appears sideways. I rotate it when I edit the video and save it that way, but for some reason it still looks wrong on the web site.

What the Boys Are Up To

I can't believe Casey built this house completely by himself. I saw it and immediately asked Chris, "Did you help him build this?" Chris was equally confused. Well, if neither one of us had a hand in it, and probably Darby and the cats weren't involved ... Casey's a lot better with the Lincoln Logs than anyone knew. It's got a door, window, two levels of roof, and a fence! Very impressive.

Darby has also surprised me this week. I had my back turned to him while he was painting and I was unloading the dishwasher, and when I checked on him, this is what I found. Not much paint on the paper, but four or five distinct colors streaked through his hair. I'm not sure if he does this intentionally, or if he just happens to run his hands through his hair a lot while he's contemplating his next brushstroke.

Bath time!

Casey in Concert

We get to see Casey in his first school holiday program in a few weeks. Here is a little preview of his vocal stylings.

Sugar High

Hildale Mall had some sort of gingerbread event going on Saturday, so I took the boys over to check it out. They went very reluctantly--it turns out neither one of them knew what gingerbread was, so they didn't see the point. Even Darby protested, that's Darby who a mere six weeks ago was up for anything that got him out of the house. Finally I mentioned there would be cookies involved, and suddenly they were both miraculously buckled into their carseats.

The main event was a live gingerbread house decorating contest. We went pretty early in the day, so the teams were just getting started, so that wasn't as interesting as I had hoped. But the kids each got to decorate their own gingerbread man with frosting and sprinkles and candy, so there was just as much sugar involved in the trip as I had promised.

I helped Darby decorate his cookie, but he kept eating the candy as fast as I could put it on.

Casey was a little more into the whole decorating process. He put a face and some buttons on his.

Lookin' good.

Nobody got too emotionally attached to their creations to eat them.

There was also a giant gingerbread house that the kids got to help decorate. Casey took a turn slathering some icing on and attaching a candy cane.

Neither one was hungry for lunch when we got home, but at least now they know what gingerbread is.

Drinking to numb the pain

The kids were passed out by 8:15 tonight, but it was a hard-won victory. We've been building up to this for days while we train Darby to stay in bed willingly.  Perhaps tomorrow morning will go better than it did today.

Because today, at quarter to 6, Darby threw the door of his room open and called down the hallway, "Mommy?" My wife, who is perhaps the kindest person I know, groaned menacingly and said, "I hate everyone."  These are dark days.

Fortunately, there are bright spots to tide us over.  Like drinking.  We've been planning for the holidays and just the other night spent some time watching the kids run in circles while we shared visions of fuzzy navels on Thanksgiving.  We decided I would be in charge of visiting the liquor store.

Casey, who has radar for this sort of thing, immediately lost all interest in running, giggling, and knocking Darby over. "What's a liquor store?"  Oh boy, here we go.

"It's a store where they sell liquor."

"What's a liquor?"

"It's a drink that's just for grownups."

Casey immediately got into character.  "I'm going to go to the liquor store and pick up liquors for you!"

"Ooh, I don't think they'll sell you any, buddy.  You're too short."

"They're not for ME, Dad, I said they were for YOU."  Sometimes, I just don't get it.

"Oh, right, you said that.  Well good luck, Casey, let me know how it goes."

Thirty seconds later he returned and announced, "Daddy, I got you seven liquors!"

"Wow, seven!  Good job, pal.  I usually stop after one or two."

Two is Tough.

One-year-olds are so sweet and angelic. Just a few weeks ago, back in the good old days when he was one, Darby always said please and thank you, always went down easily for a nap, and just wanted to do whatever he could to please his mommy and daddy. The most challenging things about him were that he wanted to be read to all day long, and he had a habit of smearing food and paint through his hair. I wax nostalgic because ...

Two-year-olds are nap-refusing, boundary-pushing, fire-breathing MONSTERS. I exaggerate, of course. He is still super sweet. But let me tell you some of the things Darby has started doing since he turned two. He has started pushing a chair up to the counter to get access to whatever he wants. What he wants, usually, is sugar. I used to keep my canister of sugar near the stove and microwave, very handy for all the cups of tea I need to sweeten. Then I dared to turn my back on Darby, and he used the opportunity to push a chair up, get the lid off, and start helping himself to fistfuls of sugar--as well as spilling it all over the floor. For some reason, it took this happening twice to realize that I needed to move the sugar to the top of the refrigerator. And supervise my toddler better. If Darby's playing in the kitchen while I'm cooking, and Casey calls to me from the basement, I can't leave Darby alone in the kitchen for 30 seconds because he might push a chair up to the stove and start conducting experiments with boiling water. (He hasn't done that--just considering the worst-case scenarios.) It's made life a little more difficult.

Darby is a short little guy--officially 2 feet 9 3/4 inches, according to his doctor's appointment yesterday--but he doesn't let that stand in his way. In addition to using chairs and stools to get what he wants, he's an excellent climber. In our downstairs family room, we have a wooden ledge halfway up the wall. Darby has decided it's fun to climb up on that ledge and jump off onto a pile of cushions--next to the coffee table. Whoa, bad idea, dude! When I don't let him do what he wants, he gets really mad at me--kicking, thrashing, screaming mad sometimes. Now, when it comes to my kids, I'm probably a little bit of a softie. But let's recap what Darby wants: to eat pure sugar, and to leap off a 4-foot shelf. I'm not the one being unreasonable here.

The little climber has also decided that he doesn't need to sleep anymore, like, ever. He's been climbing out of the crib, so we finally gave in and converted it to a toddler bed, which basically meant removing one side of the crib. We knew that meant he probably wouldn't stay in bed, so we put the gate up on the door to keep him in his room, figuring probably he'd just eventually pass out somewhere. Now, let me tell you about this gate. This is not the same gate we used for Casey when he was 2. This is the taller gate we bought after Casey started escaping the first gate. So this is the serious gate that we previously thought was an impenetrable barrier. Three-year-old Casey couldn't get over it. It took Darby, who can barely see over it, ONE DAY to escape.

So ... he didn't nap Sunday. He stayed up late Sunday night. Woke me up several times during the night and got up for the day at 6 a.m. Then he didn't nap Monday despite seeming ridiculously tired and finally fell passed out at 6 p.m. in a chair after a totally pathetic meltdown. Today, we struggled once again at naptime. He escaped several times and came to visit me, only to be returned against his will. After about an hour of this, I discovered him coloring in the kitchen and told him he had to go back to bed. "No, still coloring!" he insisted pretty sweetly, and I was tempted to let him go. But he's too young to give up his nap! I'd seen overtired Darby too recently, and it's not pretty. Back to bed he went. And now, he is finally sleeping. Too bad we have to pick up Casey from school in 20 minutes.

P.S. There are lots of good things to say about Darby. I owe the little guy a counterpoint entry sometime soon.

Happy Halloween!

Don't worry, we'll get to Darby's birthday. But first, I  haven't gotten the trick-or-treat photos up yet. This was basically Darby's first time trick-or-treating. He rode along in the stroller last year, but he didn't actually get to go up to any doors and get candy. (He didn't even know how to walk yet! Now, that just blows my mind.) And he's lucky he got to go this year--when Casey was two, I was nine months pregnant on Halloween, and we just stayed in that night, waiting for Darby to jump out and say, "Boo!"

Two years may still be a little young, but Darby wants to do everything Casey does, so of course he got to go. At first, I wasn't sure if we could get him to wear the pumpkin costume, though. If I asked him, "Darby, what do you want to be for Halloween?" he would reliably answer "pumpkin." When Casey was that age, he was so excited about that pumpkin costume, and I thought Darby would be similarly thrilled. He gets to look like a pumpkin! What could be better than that? But whenever I tried to put the thing on him (say, for the library's Halloween dance party), he refused to wear it. When it came time to trick-or-treat, Chris was the hero. He forced it on him, distracted him with a few candy corn, and got him out the door. Once Darby was outside, he was just happy to be outside and forgot about it.

Then he caught on really fast to what we were doing. He didn't usually say "trick or treat," but he always said "thank you," and sometimes he totally brought down the house with a random "Happy Halloween!" He seriously impressed everyone. I even heard some random little girl tell her mom the story of the tiny little pumpkin who said thank you. Darby's small for his age, so I think that made it look all the more impressive.

Casey also did a great job saying "trick or treat" and then "thank you," but he's four, so that's just business as usual. He was actually supposed to be a pirate this year. He has been in a huge pirates phase for ages now. Back on his birthday, Susan gave him the costume, and Darby gave him the hat, and he wears them to play pirates on a regular basis. It was pretty set in stone that was what he was going to be for Halloween. He was super excited after I took him to the dollar store to get a pirate sword to finish off the look. But ... I don't know what changed. Maybe the pirate outfit feels too much like everyday wear at this point that it didn't seem special enough for Halloween anymore. Maybe he thinks he really is a pirate, so he had to dress up as something else. Whatever the case, he suddenly on the the day before Halloween decided he wanted to wear his monkey costume from last year. I didn't argue with him--it was going to be chilly, and the monkey costume is way warmer.

Our First Jack-o'-lantern

Casey and Darby were very interested in helping me carve our big pumpkin today. After I made the incision, Casey pulled the top off. Once he got a look at what was inside, he pretty much stood back and let me and Darby take over. He didn't want anything to do with all those pumpkin guts.

Darby doesn't mind getting his hands messy. He stuck his spoon right in there, although I can't really say he was helpful. First, he wanted to taste the stuff. We were at the table and using spoons--I can see how he would get confused.

 Later I had to stop him from putting the goop I had already scooped out back into the pumpkin. I admire the enthusiasm, though.

While Darby and I worked on extracting the innards (actually, Darby wandered off at some point), Casey made some preliminary sketches of how he wanted the face to look. He decided the eyes had to be circles, and that the nose should be a triangle. He was less specific about what the mouth should look like, though. He just kept telling me it had to be "scary." So I gave it a few teeth.

Casey seemed pretty happy with it. Actually, I was just glad it turned out ok. I haven't made one of these things since my own parents were helping me. And, I remember being pretty squeamish about the pumpkin guts too.

 

Casey likes to take the top off and put it back on. Simple joys, I guess.

Casey's First Field Trip

Casey's preschool class went to a pumpkin patch last week. I couldn't go because Darby wasn't allowed to tag along, and Casey hardly told me anything about it. He seemed happy enough when I picked him up, but he was just in one of those moods that day where he would only talk in non sequiturs. Examples:

Me: Casey, how did you like riding on the big school bus?
Him: Ready, set, GOPHER!
Me: Were there a lot of pumpkins at the pumpkin patch?
Casey: Moonbeam Bear has a new restaurant! He makes pancakes!

And so on, until you just give up. Luckily, one of the other parents in the class was nice enough to send me a few photos of Casey with her daughter, Caitlyn. Now, about this Caitlyn person. She is the only girl in Casey's class. Her mom told me once at drop off that Caitlyn talks about Casey constantly. It's always Casey this and Casey that. I asked Casey if Caitlyn is his friend, and he didn't really answer me. I try to ask him who his friends are, who he likes, and he only tells me that he likes all his classmates. Equally, apparently. So who knows.

Ready, set, GOPHER!