How Fun to Be Four!

Max and I have been talking about his birthday a lot over the last few weeks and he's been getting more and more excited about it. We talked about how he would be four instead of three on his birthday and that we'd have a little party with the papas. I figured he was probably old enough to have some say in his birthday cake, but when I first asked him what kind of cake he wanted, his only request was, "CHOCOLATE cake!" When I pressed him to tell me what kind of design he wanted on his cake, all he would say was that he wanted a "Max" cake. Thinking I could get away with a Where the Wild Things Are cake theme, I showed Max the pictures of Max the Wild Thing in the book and tried to jazz him up about having Wild Things on his cake. He looked at the pictures, turned to me, and said, "No, Mama. I want a picture of ME, Max!" Vain child!

After working on the cake last night, I stayed up just a little past midnight and tiptoed in to give my sleeping boy a birthday kiss and whisper a "Happy Birthday" to him. He looked so sweet and peaceful and healthy and BIG sleeping there in his bed. I have a very clear memory of exactly what he looked like right after he was born. I was able to hold him briefly on my stomach while Dad cut the cord, before they had to whisk him back to the NICU SWAT team. I remember trying to soak him in and memorize every little detail before I had to hand him over, because I had no idea what the future would hold for him. I can look at my great big boy and still see that tiny baby -- it's funny how they can change so much without really changing at all.

Max was up early on his birthday -- bright eyed and bushy tailed. When I talked into his room, singing "Happy Birthday," he said, "Mama, is it my birthday now?" I told him it was, to which he gleefully replied, "I not three any more ... I'm FOUR!!!" I offered to make him birthday pancakes, but he wanted his normal "oatmeal breakfast." He had a nice day, since he got to rule the roost and pretty much do anything he wanted (which involved watching some videos and playing on some kiddie websites).

Max actually took a nap today, which probably made the afternoon more enjoyable for everyone. We had wrapped his birthday presents while he was napping and had them all set out in the family room. Max spotted them as soon as he got up and was dying to open them. He had to wait a little while, since the Papas were coming over for a little family party. When he couldn't stand it any longer, he'd sneak over to the pile of presents and start poking at them and shaking them. It was pretty much the perfect part agenda for a four year old -- Max got to have pizza, salad, and juice boxes for dinner, open a bunch of presents, and eat chocolate cake and "cold ice cream."

Grandma and Grandpa gave Max one of those spring-mounted ride-on horses for his birthday. Before we picked up the pizza, Grandpa and Dad put it together (with help from Max). Of course, Max's help involved him dropping a piece inside one of the bars, which Dad and Grandpa didn't discover until the horse was almost fully assembled. So, the long assembly process ended up taking even longer, but I think being able to "help" work on the horse was probably one of the high points of Max's day!

When it was finally finished, Max and Molly liked it so much that we had to set a timer and make them take turns. Of course, a true cowboy isn't complete without a cowboy hat, so Max and Molly borrowed Dad's hat (since, with all the dress up stuff they got for Christmas, they had no cowboy hat of their own). He also got some Duplo blocks, some Mega Blocks, Colorforms, a Doctor play kit, some stencils, the Snowman DVD, a kaleidoscope, a stuffed snowman, and a few other bits and bobs. So much for trying to avoid a present overload!

We ended up saving one of Molly's Christmas presents (a play birthday cake set) so she could open something on Max's birthday. Well, Max opened the doctor kit first and Molly didn't want to do anything except play with that. She opened her present, but didn't even look at it because she wanted to get back to playing with her "doctor ears" (stethoscope). I might just pack it away and save it for her birthday!

Max really liked his birthday cake and I was pretty happy with the way it turned out (especially considering I had no idea exactly what I was doing until this morning). It's was chocolate cake with 7-minute frosting filling and chocolate frosting on the outside. On the sides, I tried to put decorations that reflected things that Max liked or things about Max.

We always light an extra candle on the cake "to grow on." This year, I bought some relighting candle and Max's extra candle was one of those. He thought the relighting candle was HYSTERICAL and he had a blast continually blowing out the candle and cracking up when it lit up again.

So, it was a nice (exhausting) day. I can't believe my baby is four. And, every time we celebrate his birthday, I can't help but think of the day he was born and how amazing it is that we're where we are today.

On the Night You Were Born

tears fell
world prayed
dreams lost
gave way
vain hope
brave face
last push
small face
tiny cry
dark hair
time stopped
held there
quick kiss
loving touch
whisked away
too much
empty arms
full heart
brave boy
hard start
baby mine
so dear
fought hard
stayed here.

Things Not to Do

Don't have the misfortune/poor timing to be born between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Don't decide that a great idea for a child's special birthday outing would be to spend several hours outdoors in the winter. Don't believe the weather forecast when they say that we'll have unseasonably mild temperatures for said outing. Don't be surprised when, instead of a balmy 40 degrees, it's actually 30 degrees and falling with a windchill factor of "freeze your hiney off." Don't take two small children out of the house for several hours if they've both skipped their naps and are still on a sugar high from Christmas. Don't take three junior high/high school aged children with you to a museum/historical attraction. Especially don't take them if the entire trip will involve them showing off to one another by competing to see whose behavior can be the most grating.

Don't drop several thousand dollars worth of camera equipment on the pavement. Seriously, don't. Don't expect the two harried adults to be able to salvage a good mood after said dropping of camera equipment. Don't neglect to make a plan for where exactly you are going and what exactly you are doing there. Don't expect the two year old to LOVE the carousel, no matter how authentic and cool you think it is. Don't miss the trolley back to the entrance. Don't take five children into the gift shop, even if it is REALLY cold outside. Don't park so darn far away. Don't forget to check the hours of the restaurant you plan to eat at on the way home. In fact, don't bother with the restaurant at all -- it isn't worth the aggravation or the dent in your pocketbook. Don't skip the therapeutic drink when you eventually make it home.

Don't forget to try again another day, when everyone is better rested, the weather is more obliging, and a firm itinerary is in place.

Christmas

Max and Molly were up bright and early on Christmas morning. When I went in to get them up, Max asked if Santa had been here and wanted to know if there were presents. I told him there might be a present for him and sent Dad downstairs to get things ready while I took over potty duty. Max couldn't wait to get downstairs to check things and he hopped around impatiently until Dad gave the ok.

It was so fun to see their faces light up when they saw all the presents under the tree. They were each allowed to open one of their presents (some little kazoos) and one of their joint presents (a Peter Pan DVD). Since Dad hadn't picked up Big Brother and Big Sister yet, we saved the bulk of the present opening for later in the morning. We did let them dig into their stockings and they were delighted with the little presents and the candy (a few pieces of chocolate were immediately opened and consumed). Molly fell in love with the little mouse dolly that Santa left in her stocking. She prompted dubbed it Angelina Ballerina (also known as the "Ballerina Guy" after Dad confused a request for Angelina the doll with Angelina the book). Max thought it was hysterical that there was a tangerine in the toe of his stocking (which was always a stocking must in Mama's family). They were happy to play with their kazoos and watch Peter Pan while Mama put the breakfast casserole in the over and finished off the cinnamon rolls.

When Dad returned with Big Brother and Big Sister, the grown ups mixed up some mimosas and we set to opening the rest of the presents. Molly opened her first present (some play cookware) and was content to play with that while everyone else opened presents. Max, however, was very much into the opening of the presents. It was fun to see how delighted Max and Molly were with the gifts they received. Since Max has always been VERY interested in Mama's camera, his big gift this year was his very own kiddie digital camera. We saved it for last and boy was he ever excited. We couldn't get it out of the box fast enough. Both Max and Molly got dress-up/pretend play gifts -- Max loved his wooden sword and shield and pirate outfit, and Molly was over the moon about her fairy dress-up trunk. Since Molly has been enjoying her birthday tea set so much, Santa brought her some more play cookware and play food. Both of the little guys also got some books, DVDs, and art supplies (who knew glue sticks were so COOL?).

It was an all-around camera Christmas, because Big Brother and Big Sister's main gifts were their very own digital cameras. Big Brother also got a practice drum pad and sticks that he'd been wanting and Big Sister was happy with her kimono (which came all the way from China). And, in keeping with tradition, there were boring gifts of clothes and socks and underwear all around (even for Mama and Dad).

After presents, we dug into our Christmas breakfast. Max chowed down two and a half helpings of breakfast casserole, but Molly decided that she only wanted to eat her cinnamon roll (they had already had oatmeal when they first got up). We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon opening boxes and playing with toys. Molly and Dad took a nap, but Max was too keyed up to sleep, so he bopped around while Mama put a few last-minute touches on the Christmas desserts. After wrestling the little ones into their holiday finery, we packed up the goodies and headed off to Grandma's house!

Grandma had a full house -- there were aunts and uncles and cousins galore! Max and Molly enjoyed playing with their first cousins once removed -- Molly's first comment on seeing the four month old was, "Oh! I LOVE babies!" Dinner was delicious and Max and Molly stuffed their faces (especially Molly). We definitely don't have picky eaters! The kids were spoiled with even more presents and the little ones especially liked the hobby horses from Grandma and Grandpa. We even managed to put together an impromptu group portrait, so we could share our holiday spirit with a family member who was unwell and not able to attend. It was hard to fit everyone into one room!

Christmas Morning

When I was a kid, I remember that there wasn't anything more exciting than coming down the stairs on Christmas morning and seeing all the presents piled under the tree. It looks likes Max and Molly are happy to carry on the tradition.

Merry Christmas!

Visions of Sugarplums

Now that Max and Molly are a little older, they're really starting to enjoy and participate in the holidays. Molly is a little young yet, but this year Max has been totally into all things Christmas - Santa Claus, Rudolph, Christmas trees, the nativity story, making and receiving cards and gifts, etc. Being able to experience all these things through my children's eyes makes Christmas "magical" again for me too. It is so much fun watching them get excited and curious and enjoying themselves. I remember loving advent calendars when I was little.

Early in the month I purchased a wooden advent house for Max and Molly, which has a door/cubby for each day of the month. Every day I'd hide two small chocolates in the cubby and Max and Molly each got to take a turn opening a door and removing a treat. I thought they would enjoy this, but didn't realize how much they would LOVE it. It was the first thing they wanted to do every morning when they got up (even though we never let them do it until after dinner). We also checked lots of Christmas books and DVDs out of the library and brought out our little stash of Christmas books, CDs, and toys. So, Max and Molly have had a good month to enjoy all things Christmas (and cajole us into playing "Jingle Bells" approximately 3,234 times).

This year I really wanted to make sure I set aside the time to do all the fun holiday things that sometimes get thrown to the wayside or crammed into the corners. I made sure to start my vacation on the 23rd this year, so I wasn't spending all of Christmas Eve day running around like a lunatic (I made sure to do that on the 23rd!). For the first time in recorded history, we actually started wrapping presents before 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve (we only started a day earlier, but still!). We finished up all of our grocery shopping and odd errands yesterday and had all day today to prepare for Christmas. Which, on our case, meant making lots and lots and lots of food!

Max remembered making gingerbread cookies last year and had already asked if we could make them again. I also always want to make and decorate sugar cookies, but never seem to get around to it, so I promised myself we'd make those as well. I whipped up the sugar cookie dough last night and put together the gingerbread dough this morning. After Max and Molly got up from their naps (even if, in Max's case, he didn't actually sleep), we decided to roll out some dough and make some cookies!

I always have to remember that cooking with small children is not a precision art! Our gingerbread cookies were a little smooshy, contained an awful lot of finger indentations, and tended to sport multiple sets of eyes, but Max and Molly had a lot of fun making them. I also noticed that most of the candy buttons and currant eyes that the kids used for decorating didn't actually make it onto the gingerbread cookies. Molly was also pretty adept at filching scraps of dough when she thought I wasn't looking. When we put the cookies into the oven, they kept peering in the door and anxiously waiting for the cookies to be done. The wait for the cookies to cool off was apparently agonizing, but both kids seemed satisfied with the end product. As Molly put it, "I LIKE gingerbread cookies!"

After dinner we let Max and Molly open the big door on the advent house, where we had hidden the small, wrapped presents that they had gotten for each other (of course, they didn't remember what they'd gotten for each other). They unwrapped the little presents to find two little zoom cars, which they happily played with until it was time for bed. All evening Max was talking about Santa Claus and kept asking when Santa Claus (and Rudolph) were coming to his house -- he was so excited! We explained to him that Santa only came on Christmas Eve night and only if Max was sleeping. Max and Dad spent some time peering out the front window to see if they could see Rudolph yet. Max seemed pretty convinced that Santa was bringing him a present!

When it was time for bed, Max and Molly got dressed up in their holiday pjs and we settled in for our bedtime stories. Max and Molly get a new Christmas book every Christmas Eve -- this year's book was "Room for a Little One." We read that, as well as the traditional "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." I think this was the first year that we made it through story time without lots of fussing and crying (and, of course, it was the only year that we didn't take a picture!). Max was so excited that it took him a while to fall asleep -- he started talking about how Santa and Rudolph were going to come to his house and then talking about all the things he'd say to them. We had to explain that they were coming when he was asleep and they'd have to leave before he woke up, because they had to bring presents to other boys and girls.

After the little kids finally nodded off, Dad and I enjoyed our traditional Christmas Eve clam chowder and watched a good hunk of "It's a Wonderful Life" (which just happens to be my favorite holiday movie). We finished up the prep for Christmas breakfast, finished the Christmas dinner desserts, completed the present wrapping, tidied the house, and set everything up under the tree. We even had a little time to sit and enjoy the quiet house and the pretty tree before we had find our kerchief and cap and settle in for a (not-so-long) winter's nap!

I can't wait to see Max and Molly's faces when they come downstairs in the morning and see that Santa was here!

Epic Christmas Fail

In an attempt to actually get all of my Christmas shopping done and out of the way early this year, I've spent a lot of time surfing the online shops and browsing through pages and pages of STUFF. I have to say, there are some toys on the market right now that take my breath away (because I'm rolling on the ground and laughing too hard).

One of my favorites is the McDonald's Cash Register. This is just wrong on so many levels. I'm all for pretend play and we have a modest stash of play food, but encouraging your kid to pretend to serve and eat McDonald's fare seems ill advised at best. I think that's a career aspiration that most of us hope to avoid. And, although it's fun once in a while, probably not something that you want to promote as healthy eating habits. I think the Cookie Monster would agree that McDonald's is also a "sometimes food."

Another toy that made my brain hurt was the Fur Real Friend Bird. How cute! A little toy bird that you can adopt and feed ... with a bottle. A bottle?? I think that might be a step backwards for lactivists everywhere when even baby birds dolls come equipped with bottles.

The dolls and doll gear is also pretty amusing. The last thing I want to do after potty training two children is buy a doll that pees its pants and needs to learn how to use the potty. And, after struggling to rid my house of baby gear that has been outgrown and is no longer needed, the last thing I'm going to do is buy a miniature version of all the ridiculous, space-eating items that come along with a newborn baby. I can deal with a dolly stroller, but dolly can sleep in the corner with the rest of the toys, because I'm not letting another Pack and Play (miniature or otherwise) cross my doorstep.

It might just be me, but the giant mechanical animals also creep me out. I wished for a horse (and a puppy) about year single year (in fact, I still do), but a FurReal Friend Pony just wouldn't have fit the bill. I also suspect that there will be a lot of expensive, animatronic clothes horses hanging around in a few months' time.

In the future, I'm afraid my poor kids might be fated to be the only kids in their class without the latest ridiculous toy. But, they'll have to take comfort in their building blocks and books and sensible play things. Or, maybe my resolve will crumble after all -- I never could stand tears. ;)

Snow Day

Max and Molly have been begging me to go outside and play in the snow since they saw the first snowflakes fall some time in November (or, as Max put it, "I want to play in the snow and make footprints and make snow angels and a snow man and ..."). But, we haven't had enough snow to actually play in, so their snow pants, snow mittens, and boots have been languishing in the closet. Well, Molly's boots haven't been languishing, since she loves them and wears them around the house on a regular basis.

When the weather channels started predicting a giant snowstorm, I kind of rolled my eyes and ignored them, since they usually make much ado about nothing. But, when I heard the big kids fervently hoping that they WOULD have school tomorrow (since Big Brother had his Christmas Party and Big Sister had the last of her finals), I figured that the situation demanded that they kids would get a snow day on the one day that they didn't want it.

And, for once, we actually got all the snow they predicted and then some. We woke up to a world of white and more snow was steadily falling. I think we ended up with 10 inches or so of quality snow. Given the state of the weather and the roads, I opted to take PTO and give myself a snow day. Although the little kids had been chomping at the bit all morning to get out and play in the snow, we waited until after lunch and after naps before we ventured out into the cold.

Getting two small children suited up to play in the snow is a time consuming feat. It probably takes almost a half an hour to "put on lots of stuff" (as Molly puts it). There is always the pre-dressing potty break, since the last thing you want to do after you wrestle a two year old into full snow regalia is take it back off again when they realize they have to pee. The boots and hats and mittens always seem to wander off, since Molly likes to play dress up with them. And it's hard to convince small children to help you get them dressed when they are TOO excited about going outside to play.

We eventually all got dressed, including Big Brother, and made it outside. Molly had an easier time getting around in the snow this year, but it was still difficult for her, especially because the snow was so deep. She was also bundled up so well that she was experiencing "The Christmas Story" phenomenon -- when she fell over she couldn't get back up by herself. Max, however, was in his element and was running all over the place.

Max remembered how to make snow angels and we quickly taught Molly. While Max was running around with Big Brother, Molly was content to just plop herself down in the snow and hang out. Max was also introduced to the grand fun of a snowball fight and doggedly tried to make snowballs and fling snow in everyone's general direction. The snow was too light for packing, so it was a pretty unsuccessful snowball battle. ;)

It always strikes me as amusing that it takes 30 minutes to get everyone dressed to play in the snow, we play outside for maybe a half hour, and then come back inside and spend 15 minutes getting undressed. I'm not quite sure we're getting a good return on investment there, but the kids have so much fun. Of course, once we come inside from a good snow session, hot cocoa must be made and consumed. Max remembered that marshmallows in hot chocolate are a must and whipped cream is also a nice touch. Molly was delighted by the whole hot chocolate ritual, since she was too little to really partake last year.

It was nice to have a little snow day of my own and now we have a whole weekend of snow fun ahead of us. Max and Molly are already asking to go outside and play in the snow again!

Deck the Halls

As promised, we actually managed to get our Christmas tree, set it up, AND decorate it with more than a few days to spare before Christmas. In preparation for the tree decorating event, Dad and I took all of the kids to the local Hallmark store to pick out new ornaments for the tree. Max and Molly were fascinated by all the ornaments and had trouble making their selection. This was actually the first year that Molly went along for the ride -- in previous years she was too little (and usually already in bed) and stayed home with Dad.

I had been getting both Max and Molly "age" ornaments from a certain Hallmark ornament series. I didn't realize that they were discontinuing the series last year, so I'll have to cruise around the net if I want to complete their sets (grumble). So, they had free rein this year -- Max ended up picking out a Buzz Lightyear ornament (which had a button and made noise -- his favorite!), while Molly picked out a Tinkerbell ornament. Big Brother went for a Pirates of the Caribbean piece, while Big Sister went off the beaten path and picked a pretty glass ornament. I found a Max the Wild Thing ornament and tried to nudge Max into picking that one, but when he opted for Buzz I bought it for myself.

Although we weren't decorating the tree until the following Sunday, Max and Molly HAD to open their ornaments and hang them on the tree. They love to look at them and talk about them and I think I've heard Buzz Lightyear's sound effects about a million times already. Molly loves her Tinkerbell -- the other day she pointed to it and said, "Look, Mama. It's like me. It's Tinkerbell!" After her Halloween costume, she obviously identifies with the saucy little fairy. On Max's last day of school, he brought home a Christmas gift for Mama and Daddy -- a little angel ornament that he'd made at school(with a little help from his teachers). We have another one just like it that Big Brother made when he was three!

On Sunday, Max "helped" me put the lights on the tree while Molly was napping. He had a blast, even though it probably took me twice as long to get them on the tree! This was also the first year that Molly was able to help decorate the tree and she LOVED it. Max liked hanging the ornaments on the tree himself, but Molly preferred to pick them out, hand them to a bigger person, and instruct them where to hang it on the tree. The little kids were bummed when there weren't any ornaments left to put on the tree. We played our usual Christmas mix CD while we trimmed the tree (and discovered that Molly LOVES "Jingle Bells") and then made the traditional hot cocoa. Max and Molly loved their "coffee," especially the whipped cream.

To round out the Christmas festivities, Max and Big Brother performed in the Children's Service at church/school tonight. Max and his preschool class have been practicing "Away in a Manger" for the past couple of months -- Max and I had been singing it every night before bed, so he knew it pretty well. We play a lot of games where we make up songs, so Max was more than able to make up any words he might forget! We took him to school, dropped him off at his classroom, and went into the chapel to wait for the start of the service. It was fun to watch him walk in with all the other preschoolers and line up at the front of the church. He looked so small standing up there with the other kids! He did well and behaved himself, but was delighted/relieved when Big Sister fetched him back to our seats when his song was over.

The rest of the service was a bit of a fiasco -- it had the misfortune of beginning when Max and Molly usually go to bed. So, both kids were really overtired and ornery (especially Molly) and it was a bit of a challenge to keep them under wraps for the rest of the hour and a half service. Dad and I were foolish enough not to bring any snacks or activities and to forgot Molly's "bubbie" lovey in the car. So, Molly spent half of the service mournfully telling me that she wanted to go home. Max amused himself by "reading" all the notes in the hymnal, when he wasn't being a total wiggle butt. Dad and I had originally hoped to take in the county light show on the way home, but we were all so tired and burnt out that we went right home and put everyone right to bed. Maybe we'll make it next year. ;)

A Visit to the North Pole

Although Max and Molly had an impromptu visit with Santa at the tree nursery, we still wanted to take them on an official visit to the North Pole. Last year, on a friend's recommendation, we took them to an area farm that puts on a great Christmas show. And, unlike having to face the horrors of THE MALL, this place is clean and fun, the decorations are great, and it isn't overcrowded. The staff is exceptionally nice and the whole trip just gives you a warm, fuzzy, Christmas-y feeling. So, this year we decided to head back there for our visit with Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

We told Max and Molly that we were going to visit Santa and they were both really excited. Max is now at the age where he can really enjoy and appreciate holidays, which makes it all the more fun for Mama and Daddy. He also apparently remembers our visit last year, because he was talking about what we did, what we saw, and especially remembered that he got a candy cane from Santa (and this was before we spotted Santa at the nursery). Needless to say, on a 15-minute drive, Max reminded us that he wanted to see Santa about 1,303 times.

When we got there, we had to keep Max from running across the parking lot. The building was all decorated for Christmas and they had a whole bunch of animated/singing/musical animals and decorations inside, which both the kids thought were a little strange at first, but then thought were totally entertaining. We went upstairs to see Santa, ogled at all the music and lights and noise, and stood in the queue to see St. Nick. There was one little boy ahead of us, so we pretty much walked in and walked right up to see Santa and Mrs. Claus (after physically restraining Max from running up to Santa during the other little boy's visit). Molly was a little apprehensive, but content to sit on Mrs. Claus' lap. Max was busy chatting with Santa, checking out the decorations, and doing everything but looking at the photographer (or Mama, who also brought her camera). Of course, once Santa brought out the candy canes, even Molly was all smiles.

After our visit with Santa, we headed downstairs to get some fresh doughnuts and cider (in spite of Max's protests that he wanted to see Santa again). This was apparently the highlight of the trip for Molly, who inhaled her doughnut and was soon asking for another. We walked around a bit and checked out the Christmas trees and decorations, then headed back home because it was COLD. Max and Molly have been talking about their visit all evening, so I think it was a success (especially the candy canes, which they devoured as soon as we got home).

A Little Star

Do to some recent furniture rearranging in the living room (to accommodate the Christmas tree), Max and Molly have been enjoying sitting and looking out our front window. Tonight before bed, Max was sitting there gazing outside, and I asked him what he was doing.

"I'm wishing," he answered.

"Oh? What are you wishing on?"

"Just a little star."

For some reason, that just made me tear up -- I don't even know what put that into his head. Little does he know that he's a wish come true all by himself ...

In Search of a Tree

Since we've resolved to actually get our Christmas stuff done early (or earlier) this year, we took Max and Molly out to find a Christmas tree yesterday. I think this makes the first time we've had a tree more than a week before Christmas ... yay, us! It was really cold (low 20s), so I bundled up the kids like Randy in A Christmas Story. They might have been wider than they were tall, but at least they were warm! Happily, it has snowed the night before, so we had just enough snow on the ground to make everything extra Christmas-y.

The nursery had some pygmy goats and a calf that the kids could visit with -- Max and Molly were thrilled to say the least. Max stared chatting the baby cow up ("Hi buddy! How are you?"), while Molly started singing the Wiggles "I'm a Cow" song to it (complete with the appropriate hand movements). The calf much have enjoyed our company, because he started lowing when we left, to the kids' great delight.

As we made our way over to the tree lot, we quickly discovered that the selection of trees is much better if you start looking more than three days before Christmas. No Charlie Brown tree for us this year! The kids were fascinated by all the Christmas trees and it didn't take us long to find the perfect one. While Dad staked out the tree and later helped tie it to the car, Max, Molly, and I ran around the nursery and oohed and aahed at all the Christmas decorations (and I think I said, "Just look, don't TOUCH" about 2,384 times ;).

The highlight of the trip was that Santa Claus was also at the nursery! The kids spotted him from across the room, shrieked "Santa!!!," and ran to him with open arms. Max chatted Santa up, as per usual, while Molly just kind of sat there and stared (I promise they aren't as traumatized as they look). Of course, the fact that Santa gave them each a candy cane as they were leaving endeared him to them forever.

We set the tree up in the living room and Max immediately wanted to know where the tree lights and the "Christmas tree toys" (ornaments) were. He even remember which light switch we used last year to turn the tree on and off. Hopefully he can wait a couple of days, because we're not planning to trim the tree until Sunday.