2012 in Review

• After 6 years and 9 months of being a one-car family, we finally purchased a second vehicle. And we are grateful for each day the second vehicle will run so we can keep the convenience of a 2-car family!
• This has been the year that we finally did the cosmetic improvements on our home--new flooring throughout, updated the bathroom, changed all interior doors to 6-panel white doors, and new appliances in the kitchen to name a few. It's all for selling it soon, we hope--but it's been nice to see the improvements that we've made. (It was a lot more rewarding to see the progress than when we were doing things like adding insulation a few years ago.)
• David potty-trained!
• 2012 was the year of the bathroom drain--A list of things that went down a drain or were submerged in water is: mom's scale, David's mp3 player (think modern fisher price tape recorder), a whole roll of TP, a sleeve of Ritz crackers (thankfully the paper floated back up), the contents of 7 Costco sized bottles of shampoo, and a spoon (thank you Mr. Plumber for getting on David's eye level and convincing him that he didn't want to come back any time soon to get things out of our pipes again.)
• David learned that when you pick up a bee, it hurts.
• The first five freckles appeared on David's nose.
• David's love for music has exploded, and he can play 3 songs on the piano all by himself. When he's not playing anything particular on the piano--just moving his fingers around--he makes up chords, and it actually sounds musical (not incessant banging on the keys)! He also asks to watch you tube videos of solo performances on the tuba, trombone, french horn and trumpet. (We need to get this boy connected with his star trumpet player Uncle Matt!)
• Dad is learning how to juggle lots of schedules, and  even more demands.
• Mom is learning how to apply the importance of relationship as the backbone of parenting. (Because as someone said, the difference between crying and laughing at a situation is only a matter of time--so why waste that time crying!?!)

Merry Christmas 2012

As we went to bed at midnight on Christmas Eve, I was truly worried that David would go downstairs without us knowing about it, and have his whole Christmas morning by himself. I was really worried that Sam and I would miss all of the fun! It turned out to be partly true--David woke up, and we didn't hear his footsteps until he was coming back upstairs. He burst into our room with all kinds of excitement as he said, "Mom and Dad! Santa came! Can I come cuddle with you?" I asked him if he had opened any presents or checked his stocking. "No, I just had some egg nog." I ate it up that our little guy wanted to cuddle with his parents in bed when the excitement of Christmas morning was waiting for him downstairs. And I was thrilled that he came to wake us up before he opened any gifts. Of course the excitement for Christmas morning soon overtook that cuddling, linger in bed time--but for a moment, it was fun!

David went through his stocking, and found the few gifts that would fit inside. When he came to the last pair of new underwear (what can I say, Santa is practical, too!) he looked up and said in a soft and disappointed voice, "But he didn't bring me a thermometer!" We encouraged him to look at the wrapped gifts Santa left with the stocking, and . . .

drumroll please . . .

Santa did bring him a thermometer after all!

Oh, it was a wonderful morning! Here's David helping Daddy open the present that had too much tape and a hand written tag.

David had a hunch that he was getting fireman gear (thanks to a knee that went through a gift while he was plugging in the Christmas lights one morning), and it is so fun to watch his pretend play with it!

 

 

 

Have you ever seen 70 matchbox cars in one place? Add these to the stash David has, and we're well over 100! We all thought the stack was impressive.

Tis the Season

Take a ride in a one-horse open sleigh, check.

Those carriage blankets kept us super warm!

It was -4 degrees when we arrived to do this, and -6 degrees when we left!

See our reflection?

 Tell the story of the nativity with many different mediums--felt pieces, little people play set, card board cut outs, etc. Check.

David, why do Santa and Rudolph come? To help us celebrate Jesus's birthday!

Meet Rudolph, check.

 Tell Santa he wants a thermometer for Christmas, check.

 Wrap presents and put them under the tree, check.

Too much tape, a hand written tag, the lines are nearly even on his A after much effort, and a sticker tag just  because that's what all the other gifts had--this one was my favorite present under the tree.

Christmas party with friends, check.

Endless Christmas Carols, check.

Watch Christmas classics like Rudolph, Frosty, Elf and Polar Express, check.
Watch Frosty 40 more times, just to see the part in the greenhouse where the thermometer turns red and Frosty starts to melt, check. (Frosty even sent a gift for David. Santa was kind enough to bring the gift from Frosty and  leave it with David's stocking.)

Read Christmas books together, check.
Do Christmas crafts, check.
Go caroling at an assisted living facility, check.
Make cookies and fudge, check. (but only one batch of each--not much baking this year!)

Make candy trains, check.

Attend a Christmas concert, check.

David is standing on the far left, in the red sweater. Sam and I were in the Mezzanine level--and we started laughing nervously when he stood up to watch the instruments play. Last year he zigzagged back and forth through the crowd of children to get up close and personal with the performers. This year he was kind enough to stay put, and just watch. This is where David's fascination with all brass instruments began--the Tuba, trombone, trumpet, french horn and saxaphone. He recognizes any kind of music with the big band swing feel to it--and he says, "Oh! This is concert music!" One time we were at the department store, and he sat down on the floor. He wouldn't budge until the song was over, because, he explained, "I'm listening to the concert!" I looked up, and sure enough, he had parked himself right under the speaker that was playing a Harry Connick Jr. version of Christmas carols. This boy loves him some good music!

Have a Merry Christmas the whole season long, check, check, and check.

Big Enough, Little Enough

Lately I have had a gripping fear that someday we will truly miss David at this absolutely hillarious stage, and that our memories will not do him justice. I want to bottle him up--most of the time. He'll be four next month, and that is so much older than three!

• He's big enough to insist on opening the door for me when we go in to church every week, and small enough that once we're settled in to our pew, he lays his head on my lap while I rub his back.
• He's big enough to stop an associate at Home Depot and tell her everything he knows about water heaters (90% accurately, in a 5-7 minute breathless monologue) and small enough that he tried to roast a stick in our water heater flame, just to see what would happen. (Thankfully, not much can happen when Mom is standing just a few feet from you. And this brings me to the fact that he was big enough to understand my explanation of the danger in what he was trying to do in that curious moment.)
• He's big enough to flawlessly play Twinkle Twinkle, Jingle Bells and Mary Had a Little Lamb on the piano, and small enough that he sings at the top of his lungs while he makes up original music at the piano. It's one of the times when his little boy heart comes out in its fullest capacity!
• Big enough to give himself a shower without any assistance from the grown ups, and small enough that every time he flushes the toilet, he opens the toilet tank lid to watch everything work. (I'm so grateful for a climate that has unlimited water and a flat-rate water bill. While I don't encourage David to waste it, I'm also not on edge about how his excessive interest in all things water will hit our pocketbook in our monthly water bill.)

Measuring Up

• If David ever sees me weigh myself, he cheerfully inquires, "How tall are you, Mom?" To which I am more than happy to reply, "5-5."
• David has a current fascination with thermometers. In fact, it's the only thing he wants from Santa. His favorite moment in any of the classic Christmas movies he's seen is when Frosty is in the greenhouse, and the thermometer turns red and tries to melt Frosty. Yesterday he got to see Santa, and of course Santa said, "What do you want for Christmas this year, young man?" David put a question and a whole lot of sweetness in his voice when he replied, "Santa, do you think you could just bring me a thermometer?" Santa was a little surprised. "Well, why do you want a thermometer?" David was a little incredulous in responding to a  question, begging such an obvious answer, "So I can see how much it weighs outside!"

Davidisms--Dec 9

• I woke up one night to use the bathroom, and when I came back out, David was there to greet me. He was half-asleep, but leaning against his door jam with one leg crossed over the other, and his arms folded across his chest. In a very matter-of-fact voice he said, "Mom, why does our life have to be so full of changes?" Not really a conversation I was up for at 3 am with my 3-year-old, so I told him we'd talk about it in the morning, and tucked him back in bed.
• Tonight David was trying to convince Dad to do a chore for him that he was just asked to do. David: "Here Dad, you can put this away for me." Seeing that David had passed the buck in doing what I asked him to do, Sam just looked at him. David continued. "Come on, Dad you can serve me and go put this away." Sam was amused,  but still didn't readily agree to do David's chore, so David put his best authoritative voice on and said, "Dad! You're the Bishop! So you really need to serve me!"