Merry, Merry Christmas . . .

. . . to all of you, from all of us! We hope that you prepared your hearts for Christmas this December so that you may truly appeciate the birth of Jesus. We have cherished our Advent season and are extremely excited for all that Christmas will bring! We especially are enjoying Norah Noel's first Noel!

Our family handprint tree and precious little ones, who bring us so much joy!

All our love,

Eric & Becky

Simon (3 1/2) & Norah (9 months)

Christmas Preparations

HO HO HO!!

Simon was not too sure about Santa. He just stood in front of him and did not move. He needed encouragement to sit on his lap. He seemed to be in awe of him, as he was excited to see Santa from afar. He told Santa what he wanted in his stocking. Norah just looked at him with a blank expression. No tears shared with Santa this year!!! Going to see Santa just as the mall opens is a fantastic idea. The mall opens earlier than some stores, so there weren't so many people. We were first in line and no one behind us. We took all the time Simon and Norah wanted with Santa! Then Simon had his little train ride and then played in the tree house. We had a very fun morning.

The Doorbell Rang

And it wasn't a brown truck, a mailtruck, a solicitor, or company. It was a florist, delivering this, for me!!!

Do you know how wonderful it is to have flowers delivered? It is one of the loveliest surprises one could receive! My delivery came at 4:30 p.m., long into the afternoon on a day spent at home with the kids on a bitter, winter day! Who sent them? Isn't that always the question asked when receiving flowers?

Back to Thanksgiving for 1 Brief Moment

Here are the Thanksgiving Day pictures taken a few days after the fact!

Treasured Moments

Adorable comments and moments have been happening around here! Mostly from Simon.

Q: What do you want Santa to put in your stocking?
A: No answer
Q: Some clothes or toys?
A: Hmm, (looking out the window). Yeah, a cool shirt (in a quiet voice)
Q: What is a cool shirt? Does it have pictures or letters?
A: Yeah, a cool shirt (pause) with a moose on it. And a little car for my hoopty-loop.
Q: What does Norah want for Christmas?
A: baby toys

So at the library after this declaration, my eye caught a book called "Looking for a Moose". We have read it daily, and we highly recommend it if you are looking for enjoyable children's literature. (Secretly, I wanted to reinforce the moose as much as posible so a change of mind would not occur!)

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Q: What do you want to give Daddy for Christmas?
A: A cool shirt with a moose on it.

Q: That's what you want. What does Daddy want for Christmas?
A: Comfy underwear and comfy pants and cool shirt. Not monkey clothes (work or church clothes at our house are referred to as monkey clothes).

Q: I'm not so sure Daddy wants underwear for Christmas. What do you want to give Norah for Christmas?
A: A cool shirt. (pause, sincerely looked at me) Mommy, what you want?

I answered him, and decided I will give him the same answer every year until he remembers and gets it for me!

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One morning, Simon declared that I was a Mommy Mary, Daddy was a Daddy Joseph, and Norah was a Norah Jesus. Sometimes he is a Daddy Joseph. His treasured, star blanket becomes Mary's hood and has been worn by all of us.

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Simon added that Norah wants a furry friend, a little sister moose from Santa. How ironic that one was found?!?!?!

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This morning the Fisher Price Angel (FPA) and the Usbourne Advent Angel (UA) were conversing.

(FPA): Hello

(UA): no answer

(FPA): How are you?

(UA): no answer

(FPA): I'm fine.

(UA): no answer

FPA): I have wings. You have wings?

(UA): no answer
(FPA): I can fly. (and she flew away, was left abandoned on the floor, and then was chewed by Norah).

Oh, the life of an angel in our house. Last year, the angels lived on the semi-truck with a few other essential people and animals (Lady_Park_Truck). We have progressed!

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Every December, Christmas comes and goes, and we usually say "finally, we can enjoy being home". So, we wanted to change that and enjoy December as a family, be at home, and enjoy our tree. Highly important now with children! So, we started our shopping early, said no to a few things, and made sure we put family events on the calendar.

So far, I went to the Lessons and Carols at Elmhurst College, took the kiddos to see Santa, we all went last weekend to Cantigny for the Lego train show, picked up poinsettias and made special deliveries, have gone to church and Sunday School, enjoyed our annual Christmas party with our small group from church, drove around to look at lights and decorations, made cookies - and ate cookies! We also have made time to read an Advent Nativity book where each night a nativity piece comes out. We are also following an Advent devotion "I Spy" book and it is amazing what Simon is learning about Christmas. Simon gets the books and Bible when we are done eating and is excited to read! He has memorized the Advent Nativity Book and says it himself! When asked when he would give a gift to his uncle, and he said "when baby Jesus comes out"! How awesome is that, not "when Santa comes"! Although, he also said he would sleep on the step (by the fireplace room) to see Santa! We are really enjoying our December, and hope you are as well!

A Furry Friend

Norah is smitten with furry friends (a.k.a. stuffed animals). A furry friend can be the ticket to going to bed without tears! In this case, Doggy was needed for a snuggle.

Winter Fun

Simon hanging his first ornament! He was really interested in helping this year! The lower brances are quite decorated much to Norah's delight! We also had a great time cutting out and decorating cookies. He is an expert roller, cutter, and sprinkler; especially if you want uneven, smooshed, and mile-high sugar sprinkles on your cookies!

No tears this year while my boy plays in the snow! He cannot get outside fast enough nor will he come inside until he declares himself cold. We are still waiting for snowman snow! Hopefully we will have a white Christmas. The last couple of years we have had a white December, but a brown Christmas. I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Let the snow stay!!!

Here is my attempt to repeat a favorite picture from last year. Our evergreen trees were trimmed this summer, so our branches do not hang very low to the ground. They were overcrowding the sidewalk and Eric needed to duck when mowing, hence the trimming. This pic is okay, but wait until you see our Christmas card picture!

Lego Train Show at Cantigny

We enjoyed Cantigny for a Lego train show. The displays exceeded our expectations. Simon was in awe and enjoyed everything. A good time was had by all. We took a ton of pictures with the intent of turning them into an "I spy" book. We took a winter stroll around the grounds until our noses and cheeks were chilled and rosy red!

A first kiss for Daddy!

The symmetry and parallel-ness of the trunks amazed me and I deemed them to be picture worthy.

Mommy's Cooking Show

Welcome to Mommy's Cookin' Show

Today we are making _________.

And her little helper is Simon!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Which Beef Stew Is For You?

Mmmmmm tasty! Gotta love comfort food.

Thanksgiving

You may wonder why we glossed over Thanksgiving. Well for one, I am always on catch up mode with updating the blog. Another, we forgot, yes actually forgot, to take just one picture on this holiday. My friend recently discussed Mama points on her site, and I guess I lost major points on this one! The day was a busy one, here are the events.

• We woke up Thanksgiving morning and went to church. I love ringing bells on holidays and festivals.
• We visited our neighbors upon returning home. They are 80 years old and love our children. Their kitchen window facees our side/back yard and they have watched Simon and Norah grow through that window. So, we felt a hello and a Happy Thanksgiving was in order.
• We then packed up the needed equipment for two kids to be gone for the rest of the day as well as my two pumpkin pies and cheesy potatoes and went to Eric's brother's house. Spent the day there playing with cousins, eating, talking, and your other typical Thanksgiving day rituals. I watched the least amount of football on turkey day, which was none! Eric told me that the I didn't miss much.
• Came home late and went straight to bed!

I was sitting down at Eric's brother's house for the first break of the day when I realized I didn't have my camera. How horrible is that! So does dressing the kids in the same clothes and snapping a few photos after the fact count as marking Norah's first Thanksgiving? Maybe I'll get half of the Mama-points back!

Black Friday was spent entirely at home! Saturday, we enjoyed a yummy breakfast - french toast bake and mimosas - may be repeated for Christmas morning. Then I took Simon to see a movie, free as a courtesy of the realtor that sold us our house 7 years ago - free pop and popcorn too! We stopped at Target to buy Norah a present from Simon, so cute to see what he thinks she wants. The tree was put up by Eric while we were gone! That evening, Eric and I enjoyed a dinner out and some shopping for ourselves. Our conversational topics actually did not include the kids.!

Sunday I spent four hours baking cookies with three girlfriends and came home with what seemed like a dozen different types of baked goodies. The freezer is stocked with Christmas goodies just waiting to be gobbled up! I came home to lights and the star on the tree, courtesy of Eric and Simon. Simon NEEDED the star on top of the tree, so it was the first decoration instead of the last decoration on the tree. Why is the topper always last anyways? Then Eric, Simon, and I spent the evening putting the ornaments on the tree. So much fun and so magical.

Monday morning Simon woke to a completely decorated tree, stockings on the mantel, and fresh snow on the ground. He was ready with boots on at 7:00 a.m. to play outside. The little boy could not contain his excitement.

We had a truly wonderful, and relaxing Thanksgiving weekend. We have so many things to be thankful for and our lives are blessed beyond our expectations!

Eight Months Old!!

Norah was eight months old on 11/17 and what a month it was! This month she:

• crawled up our 2 little stairs
• crawled from the family room up the 2 stairs, through the dining room and kitchen, into the bathroom, and was found standing at the toilet
• attended her first football game, Elmhurst College Homecoming Game
• figured out how to clap
• got "stuck" standing under the table, holding onto the seat of the chair
• discovered and learned to love standing at the open dishwasher
• turned into a little candy corn
• cruised a few steps along our couch
• gave Mommy her first big, open mouthed kiss
• experienced her first Vertical Day
• has become a chatty little girl, close to saying "mama"
• imitates the sounds /b, m, n, d, t/ and a little "cough/growl" noise
• used a pincer grasp to eat veggie puffs
• grew some hair
• stood anywhere she could, favorite places include the tub and the toilet
  
  

  
  

Peek . . . .

. . . . a boo!!

Coordinating Stockings

How cool is it, that after 8 years of love and life together with Eric, we now have 4 coordinating stockings to hang on the mantel? Okay, so our choosy selves took at least 2-3 years together before we found stockings that we liked - red stockings with white snowflakes and a white top. When Simon entered our lives, I found a white stocking with red snowflakes and a red top. So I went on a stocking hunt to find a stocking for Norah that was similar to Simon's. Eric and I are not the matchy-matchy kind of people, just as long as whatever-we-are-looking for looks nice. How lucky to find another white stocking with red snowflakes and a red top! Santa will know that we all belong together!

Eric's and My Stockings

(with Simon's in the middle, the stocking backs are either plain red or white)

Simon's white snowflake stocking.

(picture taken last year)

Norah's freshly ordered white snowflake stocking.

Mom's Turn

No time for pics, but wanted to give a little update. We had a very busy week last week. Instead of working just 2 1/2 days, I was gone for 5 days in a row! I worked last Tuesday and Wednesday, and then had my ASHA (American Speech and Language Hearing Association) National Convention in Chicago from Thursday - Saturday. (I drove into the city with the least amount of anxiety ever, I'm so proud of myself!) That was my first ASHA conference and it came very timely. You see, I attended higher language level topics needed to help me feel more comfortable working at the middle school level. Plus purchasing resources always helps too!

Another exciting part was I stayed for the awards ceremony where I saw Senator John Glenn, the astronaut, introduce his wife Annie Glenn who gave "the Annie" to Julie Andrews for her contributions to the field of speech and language pathology. As you may recall, she lost her singing voice after vocal chord surgery. She is such an elegant, classy lady who eloquently spoke and charmed the pants off of me! Click here for more details Julie_Andrews.

Little Ones Under Foot

I am not lacking for company in the kitchen! Notice the chair to Simon's left? When that chair is in the kitchen, it is the "cooking chair". We now host our own daily kitchen show. According to Simon this is the introduction. "Welcome to Mommy's Kitchen, today we are cooking ______. And my little helper is Simon!" Norah just can't keep away!

Fall leaves are always a beautiful sight, even when we rake 10 yard bags full. Which generally puts us at half-way done. Simon enjoyed his brand-new rummage-sale toy. He never saw or played with the toy until raking day! For $2.00 spent in August, a very used wheelbarrow and leaf blower amused Simon for the afternoon. He worked just like Daddy!

So what is more impressive - seeing the fall leaves, or still vibrant green grass? This is the color question of the day, inspired by my Aunt Cindy's search for color (live_a_colorful_life). Bright colors are hard to come by naturally in the Midwest at the end of November!

Snap that Monkey . .

. . . right out of that tree!

Evidence of all the preschool fun (and learning) that Simon is experiencing!

Hey . . . It's Vertical Day!

A long time ago, back in college, my very first room-mate introduced me to "vertical hour", which was really 11:11 a.m. or p.m. Any time the clock said 11:11, it was vertical hour. Really a minute, but does vertical minute sound as cool as vertical hour? Nothing really happened, except that catching the time when all the numbers stood vertically brought happy thoughts or it was a chance to make wishes. This transformed into vertical day, when November 11 is 11-11! So I shared this thought with my Aunt Cindy and Uncle Mark, in CA and they caught onto the fun. Because how many things in life are so simple and pointless, but fun? Trying to share a vertical minute with a Californian is rather tricky with a 2-hour difference but always special!

Check out her rendition of Vertical_Day!

Happy Vertical Day!

Moving and Doing

Simon and Norah have fun in the tub together!

Norah and her painted stool from the art teacher at my last year's school!

Where I found my Honey-Bunch one day. She was complaining because she was stuck!

I put on an outfit the next size up; and well, let's just say the pants are too big!

Here are some video clips of Norah's and Simon's doings. Norah has been sitting, crawling, and standing for awhile, but the first clip is the beginning of this fine skill. Enjoy listening to her chat as well as one of Simon's and our favorite pastimes! Enjoy!!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Halloween!

Halloween began at our house in late August/early September when Simon declared that he wanted to be a snowman! He never changed his mind; we hope that his strong decision making skills continue with him throughout life! My hunch for his costume was a lion, as he had perfected a ferocious ROAR. I never predicted a snowman. We read the book "Snowmen at Night" in August because he refused to put it away, so yes, we read winter books in the summer. Anyways, he picked out a striped, long hat and scarf from the pictures in the book - which was fantastic. Because a long time ago I knitted him a stocking cap that he wore twice. The second time he dropped it in a store and it was never to be found again. So, I knitted another hat, that was much too big and it finally fits him now! So, he had a striped, long hat with a matching scarf! Norah was a candy corn, which was Simon's first costume.

Preparations for Halloween included making a snowman costume, carving pumpkins, and making "famous pumpkin cookies". We have adopted a treasured family tradition from when I grew up. We only trick or treated to the neighbors we knew, and in order to get a treat, we brought pumpkin bread. So we now say "in order to get a treat, we give a treat". And we deliver pumpkin chocolate chip cookies to all of our neighbors. Enjoy the pics.

Just after Norah was born, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Masato sent us this black and white hooded outfit. I was told that parents dress their little ones like this quite frequently in Japan. Luckily I remembered to pull this outfit out a few days before Halloween! Norah wore it all day on October 30th and on Halloween when she was changed out of her candy corn. It can be tricky to crawl all around dressed as a candy corn! Simon called her "little penguin" when she wore the outfit!

Simon went to preschool in his costume. There was a parade in the "gym"/parish hall where the kiddos trick-or-treated around the room. Just way too cute to see 14 little kiddos enjoying childhood! He is loving preschool and it is amazing to see and hear what he is learning.