Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Lights, Lights and more Lights

Going out and looking at Christmas lights is a tradition in our little family. Brian and I have been doing this since we got married. We lived in a highly immigrant neighborhood back then, and very few people decorated their houses with lights. At the time we were in an apartment, and couldn't really do much with lights and decorations outside of our home. We drove down to the Willow Glen area to look at all the beautiful lights on all the beautiful houses. Now that we live in Colorado, which has a far more homogeneous population than California, we don't have to drive as far to see all the beautiful lights that people display on and around their houses.

We braved the dry, 25 degree weather tonight to go look at some impressive light displays. The kids didn't even put on sweatshirts, so they were a little cold. Luckily I had some extra clothing in the car for them to wear. We went to a beautifully decorated house whose owners had this type of display in mind when they designed and built the place. The kids were fascinated by the trains both inside and outside the house, and the fact that Santa (not real) was inside sitting at the table. The pictures are somewhat blurry, as I kept the flash off to see the effects of the lights, but are pretty nonetheless.




Tuesday, December 21, 2010

So, What About the Talking?

For a couple of years now, Brandon has been our bedtime talker. He'll be pretty quiet about the day's events, but suddenly opens up at night after reading and tells us all sorts of things. Sometimes they're worth hearing about, sometimes not. Either way, we try not to discourage him from telling us what's on his mind. Caitlin has recently picked up on this, and now wants to "talk" at night, too. The problem is, she has nothing left to talk about. Caitlin talks all day long, all the time. She talks to us, to herself, to her friends, and to anyone who will listen. In fact, one of things we ask her to do the most is to stop talking!

Last night, after I'd read to Brandon, he asked me a few questions about something. It was so random and mundane that a mere 12 hours later, I can't remember what it was. After I'd answered his questions and tucked him in, I headed next door to Caitlin's room. We talked for a few minutes. I changed her CD and tucked her in. Then she put her hands behind her head (elbows out), and said, "So, what about the talking?" When I asked her what she meant, she said it was now time to talk. No subject matter, mind you, just words. Let's just spew forth words. I had to laugh! She's such a girl! She wants to wear dresses even though she's the most unladylike thing you've ever seen. She likes play dates at friend's houses, and tells me that it was fun "because I've never seen the inside of her house before!" And now she wants to randomly talk right before bed, because it's what your suppose to do. I must say, it's a privilege to have a boy and a girl. It's so fun to see how they are wired. No boy ever says "So, let's just talk." But not Caitlin. No doubt about her girly wiring there.

Friday, December 17, 2010

About the Pageant

Caitlin's Christmas pageant was the other night. We were a little better prepared this year. The weather helped. It was a warm day that turned into a cold, but not frigid or icy, evening. I managed to get the kids fed and out the door on time. It didn't seem as crowded at the church for the Wednesday service as it had last year. Maybe because it wasn't as difficult to get to without the snow and ice.

Caitlin has been preparing for this big event for nearly a month now. She's mangled many a lyric, and yet somehow managed to get them all correct and even wrap her mouth around the word "triumph", which isn't an easy word for the preschool crowd. She was so proud as she walked up the aisle. The amount of time and energy she has put into her performance this year as opposed to last year, when she was just 3, was impressive. She cared so much more about getting all the hand motions correct, and really practiced all her songs. We didn't get a great seat for her performance (who knew the angels would be sequestered to one side?), but we did get a few good pictures.



Her halo fell down at the very end, right before exiting the stage. Somehow, I'm not surprised.
Practicing her Miss America wave to the fam

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Fireplace Reading


This is where I found Caitlin this morning. Should I tell her that it's suppose to be a record-breaking 70 degrees today, and not the cold, snowy December that we're use to?

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

AWANAS

We decided to put the kids in AWANA this year. So far so good. Sometimes I think I'm crazy, since it goes from 6:30 - 8:20 on Wednesday nights, and is in a neighboring town some 8 miles away, but the kids love it. It does make for late nights, though. Brian and I get a date night (provided he's in a town) for those two hours, which makes us feel like a young couple again, and not old, worn out parents. Here are the kids studying their verses for the Sparks class (Brandon) and the Cubbies class (Caitlin).