festivities

We've recently been very busy getting ready for Christmas. Here are a few of the fun things we've been doing...

When we decorated our tree, we each chose a new ornament for this year. 

Jamie was overjoyed to find a green train ornament.

Thomas's

mine

Jamie had so much fun putting ornaments on the tree! However, his technique needs some work. This picture doesn't really do it justice, but he wanted to put all the ornaments on just a few branches. You can tell where Jamie was working from the big clumps.

We've been reading tons of Christmas stories. Jamie's favorite this year has definitely been How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Like the Grinch, Jamie has a stuffed dog named Max that he inherited from Thomas, and one of his favorite things to do is play like we're in the books we read. So Jamie became the Grinch and we tied a stick to Max's head to make him a reindeer. 

Jamie wrote Santa a letter...

 

We've made several treats, including almond poppy seed bread that we shared with professors and friends. Jamie loves to help me bake, and he's getting better all the time. He is great at cracking eggs and can identify all the ingredients we regularly use. It takes longer with a helper, but I love it!

Our library branch had a special Christmas storytime one evening, and the kids got to make an ornament...

Jamie made a wiseman crown. He told me I should be a shepherd and had me put "take care of the sheep" on my to-do list.

Today Santa came to the library! This is the second year Jamie's been able to meet him there, and I LOVE it. It was right after our regular storytime so we were there anyway, it was in a place where Jamie is totally familiar and comfortable, there's nothing even remotely commercial about it, and the line's not long at all. And it was actually the same Santa as last year, which I also love! On his first go around, Jamie told Santa he wanted a train and green things. We were at the front of the line and then we went and read stories as usual. We were still there by the time the line ended, so Jamie got to go back and ask him some questions he'd forgotten to ask, such as how the elves make all the toys, if Santa likes snow, and what his favorite kind of cookie is. So cute!

No pictures, but we also had a family movie night and watched The Muppet Christmas Carol, went to a nativity, and have been listening to/singing Christmas carols all the time.

And finally, this is unrelated to Christmas, but today Jamie was taking random pictures with the camera and then asked me to take a picture of his nose. This may be my new favorite picture ever.

Tomorrow morning we have Jamie's preschool Christmas party, and then we'll be headed back to Missouri for even more celebrating!