Button, Button

Ellie got dressed this morning in a dress that buttons up the back (she loves wearing dresses and I am always happy for her to wear one since it solves the perpetual-plumber-problem we have with pants) and she couldn't get it buttoned herself. So, she came to me and said, "Mom, will you please button me . . . but don't button my skin. That's not what I meant. That would be way too silly. I guess I should have said 'will you please button the buttons on my dress.' Yes, that would have been a much better thing to ask."


We went up to my grandpa's house last night, and Ellie was on one there, too. Greg was helping Grandpa fix his computer, and so Glennis (his new wife) and I took the girls downstairs. Glennis flipped off a light by accident, and said she was still learning where all the switches were, then she couldn't find the outlet for the Christmas tree lights and train. When she apologized for not knowing where the switch was, Ellie said, "It's OK. You are my new grandma, and you just don't know the way we do things around here, yet. Don't worry, you'll figure it out."
A little while later, I showed the girls an Aztec calendar Grandpa has above the fireplace. I asked Becca if she had ever seen something like that before, and she said, "nope, it doesn't look familiar." Then I asked Ellie, and she said, "Yep. It's like the one in Daddy's office, but his is smaller and it's green, not brown."

Bye, Bye (big) Birdie

...and Elmo. Yes, Sarah came into the kitchen as I was unloading the dishwasher to tell me that "Elmo went bye-bye when it started raining." I didn't quite understand, so she said, "The T.V. turned off when it was raining." I told her I would come see what was the matter, and when I went in the family room, I found an empty spray bottle and a VERY wet TV that would not turn on. So, if anyone is wondering what happens to Elmo in the rain, the answer is, "He goes bye-bye."

The Real Santa!

I am happy to report that Ellie got to meet the real Santa on Saturday. Greg took Ellie and Sarah to the grocery store in the morning and Santa happened to be in the Deli. Well, according to Ellie, he was the real thing because 1. he had a real beard 2. his boots were real, not some funny black plastic things, and 3. Santa knew her name (thanks to the magic wipe board his elves had). So it looks like we are in business for at least a year; however we'll have to see if we can track down the real Santa next year, too!

Ho! Ho! Ho! Who wouldn't go?

Well, all four girls made it onto Santa's lap. Santa and Mrs. Claus made a guest appearance at our ward party, much to the excitement of all. They were actually there at the very beginning of the party making it much less intimidating than the whole entrance Santa often makes. Before we went to the church Ellie was nervous. She told me she would sit on Santa's lap if he was just one of Santa's helpers, but if it was the real Santa she would be too scared.

When all was said and done, I asked each of the girls quietly if they thought that the Santa who came to the party was in fact the real Santa, and not surprisingly, Becca thought it was and Ellie was quite sure he was just someone dressed like Santa. At age 2, Ellie identified Greg when he dressed up like Santa, and she recognized my dad's voice when he tried to impersonate an elf on the phone. Let's just say her little logical brain is not easily deceived.

The twelve days of Christmas

We have more Christmas books than I would care to admit, but I love them all, so I just keep collecting them. However, we have more books than days in December, so wrapping one up to read each day doesn't really work. So instead, I have modified the idea by choosing 12 to read and do an activity with for the 12 days before Christmas. Some of these are my very favorites, and some just lend themselves to an easy activity, but here is this year's list for anyone looking to do something a little bit different:

1. Mr. Willoby’s Christmas tree—Sub for Santa

2. If you take a mouse to the movies—Watch a Movie with Popcorn

3. The Night Tree—Make Pinecone Bird Feeders

4. Snowmen at Night—Have a paper Snowball fight

5. Snowmen at Christmas—play freeze tag

6. The Polar Express—Make Lifesaver Trains

7. Christmas Oranges—Share a Chocolate Orange as a Family

8. Russell’s Christmas Magic—make candy cane sleds

9. A Snowman named just Bob—build a snowman (either from snow or popcorn balls depending on the weather

10. Gingerbread Baby—Decorate Gingerbread men or a gingerbread house

11. How the Grinch Stole Christmas—Watch "The Grinch"

12. When Jesus was Born in Bethlehem—Act out the nativity

Movin' and a Groovin'

Greg purchased a bunch of 8oz giant Hershey Kisses to hand out to his co-workers, and bribed our children that if they all finished their dinner we could open one up and share it. My girls had never seen one so big so naturally their curiosity won out and dinner was well received. Greg carefully selected a pinkish colored one from the box and began to slowly open it asking the girls what they thought would be inside. Once the wrapper was off and Ellie saw that it was solid chocolate she raised her hands above her head and said "Chocolate makes me go a Movin' and a Groovin'!" while shaking her hips back and forth.

Australia, Anyone?

Yesterday was an "Alexander Day" for me. Granted, I didn't go to bed with gum in my mouth and there isn't gum in my hair, and I never buy cereal that has a prize inside, so I wasn't too disappointed when there wasn't one, but I think I might have taken that flight to Australia if it had been offered.
Rachel has not slept at all for the last two nights. She has woken up at about 2:00 a.m. and gone back to sleep between 6:30 and 7:00-right when I need to get up to get Becca off to school. So, needless to say, I wasn't exactly starting out on the right foot yesterday, and somehow my kids know just what not to do when I am not at my best.
They started the morning out right by pulling the mattress off Becca's bed, the books off of the shelves, and dumping their cereal and milk all over the floor. Then, when I was putting Rachel back to sleep (they woke her up when they were jumping on the mattress) they pulled all the laundry out of the dryer and on to the floor (yes, that would be the floor that comes in out of the garage that isn't exactly the cleanest floor in the house). Then, when I tried to get some of that picked up, they went upstairs and took Rachel's pacifier, trading her for a dinner roll. I tried to put Rachel back to sleep, but she was so ornery it was evident that she wanted nothing to do with her crib.
So, I decided to forget about the house for a little while and just do something fun with the kids. We colored pictures, danced to some Christmas music and played out in the snow. Then, when our tootsies were about frozen, we came in to watch a movie and relax. I gave Rachel some Benadryl and put her to bed, when I got a phone call. When I got off the phone, I came downstairs, and discovered that my little darlings had: clogged the toilet, taken another roll of toilet paper out of the bathroom and turned it into confetti, transformed carrot cake into cheesecake by dumping a bag of shredded cheese on it and squishing it into the carpet, and played Hansel and Gretel with yet another of the dinner rolls I had planned on using that night.
Well, I had just started cleaning up the carrot/cheese cake mess, when I heard the tortured cry of a baby who had once again been prematurely awakened. I went upstairs and found Rachel once again binky-less, but this time with my eyeliner, which she used to color on her sheets and her face.
So, when Greg called just then to tell me that he was going to be home from work late, I probably wasn't the best wife, but at least when he got home dinner was on the table and I had remembered that "Some days are like that...even in Australia!"

All I want for Christmas is my one front tooth!

Becca finally lost her first tooth! It is a very exciting event around here, let me tell you! Sarah keeps asking Becca to show her the loose tooth, then reminds us all that "Ope- It's not there, 'cause Mom pulled it right out of your mouth!" She couples this statement with actions that resemble trying to pull a difficult weed out of the ground. And Ellie and Sarah have helped her devour the package of gum that the tooth fairy left. But Becca wasn't as keen to share her "gold" dollar.