Christmas

"I didn't ask for that, Annie," Christian told my sister when he opened the V-Smile Game. Little booger. Five-year-olds are honest, sometimes too honest. My sister took it in stride and told him to live with it. He ended up playing it and Tori really likes hers. The kids seemed to enjoy Christmas, going to bed tired and cranky from too much play. Tori threw a fit, and Christian had nice red ears. Even Eli has rosy red cheeks. Anyway, as soon as I get off work today, we're off to the hotel in St. Louis.

The Countdown Has Begun

Christian has been counting the days until Christmas, and he refuses to count the day we are in, so two days left in his book. He continues to ask me to add to his list, though we are done shopping and wrapping. I hope he isn't too disappointed that he won't get everything he has asked for. He will probably just tell me that he wants it for Easter. He went to the babysitter's today and was all excited about that. Tori seemed happy he was going too. Tonight is haircuts and an hour at McDonalds afterwards. We all need a haircut, especially Christian and Tori.

Being Good

Christian's behavior has improved at after-care, but he still cannot keep his hands to himself, as proven by his scuffle with Tori last night. She asked him repeatedly to leave her alone, and he didn't of course. He got into trouble and almost got sent to his room. We have to keep reminding him that Santa is watching. He is excited about the fact that Christmas is only eight days away and got a real kick out of the story in which Uncle Frankie received a Barbie doll one year and ran over it with his remote-controlled truck. He thinks that is the funniest thing ever and liked to tell the story over and over.

Counting the Days

Christian only has six days of school left until vacation, and he cannot wait. He is looking forward to returning to Sharon's, which means he won't be staying home on the couple of days that Huts and I each have off. He misses his friends, Nathan and Hunter, and even the girls. Kylie and Maya. Tori misses him too.

Scuffle

Christian and Owen wrestled a little too hard yesterday, and Owen went home from after-care with some scratches and a red eye. Christian was told to keep his hands to himself and wrestle with Owen no more. Little booger!

It continued into the afternoon after-care. He got written up for pulling another kid by the ankle and play fighting with Owen. If he gets written up twice more, he'll be suspended from the program. Looks like we are in for fun with discipline.

Loved It

The kids loved church, so we're going back again. Christian went to his own class and came out smiling. Tori too. She was very disappointed on Monday morning when she discovered that we weren't going to church. Good thing the sitter got another puppy. Christian has requested snow boots so he can go outside with the other kids at school so we are headed after work to get those. I hope we find some he can get on and off himself.

Baby Jesus

The creche is up, and Christian and Tori are fascinated with it and the story surrounding it. They want to know who baby Jesus is, who his mom is, who his dad is, and so forth. They are ready to go to church, so I am taking them this Saturday night. They are going to a class that my friend teaches, while Eli goes to the nursery. Huts and I are going upstairs to listen to the sermon.

We Did It!

Tori, Eli and I took our picture with Santa. It's not a very good picture--Eli was too busy looking at Mom, but we did it. We also rode on the train and did some window shopping. Our Christmas lists are growing each day. I found all kinds of things I wanted this weekend. I found a spaceship at Sam's, a Rubik's cube at the mall, and a gum ball machine at Linens and Things, which I cannot have according to Mom, so don't buy me one. I can't wait for Christmas! Oh yeah, I watched The Wizard of Oz last night, and guess what, the witch was the woman riding the bike in the beginning. Awesome!

Santa

Christian now knows that there is more than one Santa, but the real Santa lives at the North Pole, while the helpers are at malls and such. We didn't tell him this, so he must have been discussing the matter with his friends. Speaking of his friends, another one of them came up and hugged him last night before we went home. Everyone sure does like him.

Is

Christian needs to learn to recognize a whole list of words, and "is" is the first one that has gotten his attention. He found the word in a book several times and is hooked on it. Now, if he would just find another word to learn, we might made some headway on this list.