Christmas 2009

My favorite time of Christmas is after the children have gone to bed on Christmas Eve. The house is quiet, the lights are glowing, and everything is at peace. Matthew told me he wasn't going to sleep, because he wanted to hear the reindeer bells on Santa's sleigh. It took a long, long time before the bedroom upstairs was silent and two little boys were fast asleep.

First thing in the morning, the distinctive squeak of the baby gate let us know that Matthew was awake. He trotted downstairs, and before I could open my eyes, he was at the side of the bed. Nose pressed against mine, he whispered, "Mommy, Santa comed!"



We quickly got down to the business of opening presents



After opening presents and having our traditional breakfast of french toast and orange juice, the boys tried out a new racetrack and played with some of their toys.



I decided to take a picture of the boys' preschool artwork for the season and of our Christmas cards.

Christmas cards and preschool art.

We were very lucky to have the boys' grandparents here for Christmas, which made the day all the more fun.


We wrapped up the day with a dinner of turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes- replete with Christmas crackers, of course! No Christmas dinner is complete without silly paper hats, bad jokes, and little toys.

The Christmas decorations are now put away, and we are getting out the "winter" decorations to replace all the nativities and advent calendars. January, here we come!

Skiing

The day after Matt turned four, we took him skiing at Holiday Valley in Ellicottville. He was able to enter the regular 4-6 year old program rather than the special one-on-one three year old lessons, though the "magic carpet" lift was broken for the ski school kids. He had just as much fun learning on a slope nearby, even if there was no lift.

I thought he did pretty well for a barely-turned four year old!

Happy Fourth Birthday, Matt!

The cake

A very hungry four year old boy.

Matt on his fourth birthday

Playing with a present

Christmas Preschool Program

Matt's preschool held a Christmas program for parents on December 21. The kids were nearly impossible to see, but I did manage to snap a picture or two of Matt in the procession.






I finally realized that I could watch the program by holding the video camera over my head, so I did get some video of the little guy at his program:

Birthday Boy: Preschool Edition

Matthew will turn four on Tuesday the 22nd, and was able to celebrate his birthday at preschool this past Friday. He was so excited to bring snacks to school and blow out the candle on the classroom "cake" (they use a pretend birthday cake).

He came out of school quite excited, wearing his crown and holding the last of the pretzel-snowmen.

I still can't believe my baby boy is going to be four years old in a few days. Time goes by far too quickly.

Too Much Snow

I want to go outside!

Can I take my sled?

There is too much snow- my sled won't slide!

I'll just play on the deck instead.

I love the snow, mom!

Brigiotta's Christmas Festival: 2009

A certain four year old boy desperately needed to see Santa, to make sure Santa knew what he wanted for Christmas. For the past few months, he has been requesting a blue jet. He talks about getting a blue jet, flying a blue jet, being a blue jet. Also, he didn't want a toy. He wanted a real blue jet.

We went to Brigiotta's Christmas Fest because their Santa is free patient and kind. Matthew hopped on his lap, excited to divulge his Christmas wish to the big guy in red.



"Well, little boy, what would you like for Christmas?"

"A hot wheels car."

Well, not the "blue jet" we were expecting, but it will be easier for Santa to bring a hot wheels car in his bag than a blue 747.

Nolan wanted nothing to do with the Jolly Old Elf, though he did venture close enough to snag a candy cane.

We wandered around the displays, bought some popcorn, and enjoyed our visit. The boys were very excited to get little light-up toys and to wander around the "North Pole" set-up. Thank you, Brigiotta's, for giving us something fun to do on a rainy Sunday!

Sledding Fun

The snow was piled deep, the sun was shining, and it was the perfect day to head to the sledding hill. We had an absolute blast!

Nolan playing with Mommy's hat in the car

The Lefler Family

Nolan traipsing through the snow

Matt whizzing by on his sled

Nolan and Daddy taking a ride

The entire afternoon was spent rushing down the sledding hill at the community college. Everyone had a great time, though Matt was a little upset that we wouldn't let him go off the jump. I have a feeling Matt is going to love skiing this year!

Snowbox

We had a decent lake-effect snow storm come through the area last night, and the boys were eager to get out in the snow. Unfortunately, we live on a hill and had a lot of high winds with a windchill of 4 degrees, so I really wanted to keep the boys inside. I didn't want them to miss out on the snow, though, so I loaded up a plastic bin and brought the snow inside.

They've been playing with the snow in the bathtub all morning, and as it melts it just goes down the drain. The only thing better than a sandbox is a snowbox!

Christmas Tree, 2009

Choosing the Tree

We headed out for our annual pilgrimage to find a Christmas tree. We thought about going to a cut-your-own place, but didn't have any information on local places. We ended up going down the road to our usual spot (Brigiotta's) and checking out the Frasier Pines.

The kids love looking at the Christmas trees, though Matt was far more interested in eating snow from the parking lot. We had a discussion on "dirty snow" vs. "clean snow," so hopefully he'll only eat clean, white snow from the backyard from now on. Of course, judging from this picture, I don't think our talk was very effective.

We wandered the aisles, trying to find a tree that seemed "big enough." We do this every year, worried that the tree will look tiny in the living room. And every year, we end up with a tree a tad bigger than we expected. This year, we had to cut a bit off the tree to get it to stand upright in the room. It must have been nine feet tall! We took the net off the tree, and it began expanding to mammoth proportions. The thing must have a six foot diameter at the base.


Next year, we will remember that a six-foot tall tree is big enough!