O, Christmas Tree

We went out early this morning searching for the perfect Christmas Tree. We walked over to the OSU Forestry Department's annual sale that's only a block away and we asked for the "skinniest, shortest, cheapest" tree they had and they did a great job meeting our requirements. Dennis carried the tree home and Eli still thought it was silly that we were going to put a big tree in our house. However, the first thing he said when he saw the tree set up was, "cool!" which is the first time that I've ever heard him say that before!

Sadie and I strung the lights while Eli was napping. Sadie is a great helper!

My tradition with the kids is to buy them each a new ornament each year that represents who they are or what they liked that particular year. I write their name and the year on the bottom of the ornament. So, when they grow up and leave home they can have a few ornaments to take with them to put on their tree. And I'm hoping that eventually they start looking forward to the ornament and reminisce about the ornaments as they put them on the tree. The each have a "Baby's first Christmas" ornament, and last year Eli got a train ornament. This year, I found a man selling these at the OSU football game and I thought that Eli and Sadie should have a Brutus Buckeye ornament to represent their time in OSU Family Housing. It's quite tacky, but they love it.

Eli was very into hanging the ornaments.

He was on a mission. No time to play, he just hung ornament after ornament.

Unlike her brother, Sadie played the whole time. She loved the balls.


After we told her "No!" for the fiftieth time, she tried to hide behind the tree to play with the balls.

Our very first real Christmas Tree. Isn't it pretty? Don't ask about Eli and the goggles. He just really wanted to wear them.

It's A Blurry Picture...

...Of Sadie in a Santa hat.

PS Only one more day of this blogging everyday business. Whew.

The Wreath That Wasn't

It's not a wreath, it's a necklace:


It's a hat...

I Totally Forgot To Mention...

...That Sadie is completely in love with animals. This is our friends' dog, Gavin. He's a rescued greyhound and as gentle as a lamb. Sadie totally digs him and he does pretty well tolerating her. Mostly he knows that she'll give him food.

Oh, I'm So Excited

One of the kids' Christmas presents came today and now I'm trying to figure out where to hide the huge box for a month. And the truth is, I just want to break into it and play with it myself. Argh! December 25 will not be here fast enough. (If you can't tell. I've run out of things to blog about. Luckily this whole post everyday thing will be over soon.)

Exactly One Year Ago

We were taking pictures for our Christmas cards. Remember this one? Just cropped a bit:

Today we got out all of our Christmas decorations so we could decide what we need to buy to make our house look festive yet not crowded as we already don't have enough room for our stuff for the holidays. Usually we're not around for the holidays so we don't bother with too much decorating. This year, however, is the first year that we will not be going to ND since Dennis and I were married. (I'm actually looking forward to this. Yes, we'll miss our families greatly, but traveling with two little ones it just plain ol' stressful. So, I'm excited to start some new family traditions and have two well-rested and happy kids, which in turn makes for two happy and well-rested parents.) So, we're going to buy a real-live Christmas tree and go crazy with the tree decorations. It turns out that we have a lot of really old decorations that came from my mom that were old when I was little, five strings of lights, but only one that works, lots of breakable stuff and 4 stockings. It looks like I need to hit some sales before we buy our tree next weekend.

Like Mother Like Daughter

"This place is a mess," so says Dusty the Vacuum. Thanks Dusty, but I don't need your criticism. I already know this place is a mess.

As Promised, Date Pictures

On Wednesday night, Eli and I attended Sesame Street Live! Eli was so excited to see Elmo, Big Bird and Cookie Monster, but once we got there and the show started, Eli sat and watched in his normal sit-very-still-and-just-take-it-all-in-and-just-stay-calm manor that I'm pretty sure he gets from his dad because I was crazy with excitement. He clapped a few times and made a few comments, but otherwise just sat wide-eyed without moving an inch. When the show was finished, I asked him if he had a good time and he replied, "YESSSSSSS!!!!!!".

Eli before the show started (that's a gummy bear in his mouth).


I must admit that it's weird to see your favorite monsters walking around on legs.

Gobble, Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Eli and I Went Out On A Date...

I took pictures. I'll write more about it later. Now, I'm going to bed. Good night.

And Then You Do This Mom, It's Easy!

Before long, she really will be showing me how all of this technology works.

Dennis Is Doing Such A Good Job Posting...

...that he should take over for the rest of November. My husband, seriously, isn't he just the best? Sorry you can't have him, there is no polygamy allowed in my marriage. (I just read a book called Shattered Dreams about a polygamist wife. Yaozers, I do NOT recommend marrying a man who intends on marrying 8 other women. Did this guy ever meet a cheerleading squad? Problems were bound to happen.) I wasn't feeling that great last night and was awfully tired so I was in bed sleeping while he was posting away. Once again, **swoon**

So, what are you doing for Thanksgiving? We are going to our friend's the Ponesses. We were there last year and they cooked up a mean Thanksgiving dinner so when we were invited back we couldn't refuse.

Here's one from last Thanksgiving. Luke and Eli were reaaly into eating the cars:

"Go Bucks!" clothes

After losing last week, the Buckeyes are back in the running for the National Championship. (OK so they are a long-shot.) Anyway, we haven't lost faith and are still wearing our scarlet and gray. We were actually dressed up for a hockey game this afternoon, which OSU lost. That makes it a 8 game winless streak for OSU hockey, but Eli and Sadie don't care. They still love the band, the action, and the zamboni!

See what a great team we are...

I can be so miserably sick that the furthest thing from my mind is posting on the kids' blog and my husband pulls through for me without even me asking him to. Man, you just can't help but love the guy. He called in sick to work and everything for me. **swoon**

Back to the kids. Sadie is ready to move on to a bigger and better bike and I think Eli is ready to hand it down to her. When you ask him what he wants Santa to bring him for Christmas he says, "Trucks. And a big boy bike like daddy's." Hmmm... We'll have to see about that.

Mom's Sick...

...so we're living off of olives. Please send help!

The Problem With Posting Everyday...

...is that you run out of things to say even about your kids. Actually, in my case, I ran out of new pictures. Today I took a few so if you see Eli and Sadie in the same outfit over the next few days it's because I'm getting lazy.

Looking Out the Window

The kids can waste a lot of time looking out the window. And what do they see? Squirrels, garbage trucks, kitty cats, kids playing, daddy going bye-bye, and all sorts of really exciting things.

Flashback

Me and my brother, Darren, in the 1978 Thompson Kiddie Parade. I want Eli and Sadie to have those shoes, and pants and hats and bikes. My brother and I were sooooooo cool.

Sadie's New Bed?

Sadie's babydoll got a new wooden cradle. However, Sadie's in the cradle more than her baby.

Sadie's A Girly-Girl?

As it turns out, I'm loving having a girl for all of the girly-girl stuff. I love the dolls, the pretty flowers on dresses, cute purses, ruffly skirts everything that a little girl is supposedly supposed to love. I'm not sure if Sadie buys into it all or not but until she tells me otherwise, I will continue to encourage the girly-girl persona.

I got her this purse for her birthday. It's orange, it has a flower, it's handmade and I got it from Etsy. I love it. I think Sadie wishes it were a bit bigger because her doll doesn't fit into it! Look at her posing.


But, it would be great if she asked me "Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?" as I hope she loves hiking and camping as much as Dennis and I do. I mean, even girly-girls can be eco-friendly, love the great outdoors and get their nails dirty.