Advent Calendar + An Early Gift!

I've wanted to get the boys a "formal" Advent calendar.  Last year, I was a little behind.  This year... I got ahead of the game and purchased a LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar from Amazon.

Ramsey was happy to open up the first day (I let him do it a few days early).  Day 1 was a Star Wars Lego land speeder.

Later, Daddy couldn't resist and wanted Ramsey to open up his "big" present (he'd been wanting to give it to Ramsey since the day it arrived).

Ramsey had been desperately asking for a very specific Star Wars light saber; Ahsoka Tano's Fulcrum saber.  As it is only available as a custom "real" movie-quality piece (not something you can go to a big box store and purchase), he special-ordered it very early.

Ramsey was a very happy camper and the boys had a LOT of fun playing!  It's a bit heavy (it's metal), but Eric says that will help beef up his muscles.  :-)

Decorating for Christmas!

One of my most favorite days (er... weekends) of the year immediately follows Thanksgiving; Christmas decorating!!!!    It can be described with a myriad adjectives; FUN, festive, exciting... exhausting!  :-)   Nonetheless, it is so worth it!

Eric lugged up most of the boxes and Christmas tree from storage.  Ramsey was a good helper, acting as a go-between Eric and me (Eric "fluffed" the tree branches as I put them on the tree stand).

While inquisitive and playing with many of the dazzlingly shiny objects, Ramsey did feel compelled to let me know that he wasn't pleased with the tornado-like appearance of the entire top main floor of our house.   I promised him that it wouldn't be that way for tooooooo long!

EVERYTHING got some red, green, gold, or sparkles, to include the plants!

Eric wasn't too sure about the craziness of the Christmas tree toppers this year, but he's rolling with it.  :-)

 I had some garland left over, so of course I had to find a home for it.  It is now surrounding the Mistletoe on the entry into the kitchen.

 Furniture was relocated in the process too, to make room.  (I hope I can remember where I had everything before - if not, oh well, I guess!)

About the only things that went untouched were the fish on the walls.

I can't wait to have a nice cozy fire soon!

I love this time of year; so festive and beautiful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a rather nice day for Thanksgiving dinner.  Nana, Bumpa, Uncle Cory, and the puppies came down.  And, Nana Karen drove in from town.   Connor was at his Mom's place this year.

We had TONS of food to ensure we all had full bellies (plus leftovers).

Ramsey made sure to get lap/cuddle time in with everyone.

 And, he made sure to show Nana Vicki how well he is reading now.

 He also got a lot of play time in with Uncle Cory.  

It turns out they BOTH really like playing light sabers!

Houseful of Boys

We had a special overnight guest the other evening; Connor's brother Bridger.   We were pleased to see him.  Ramsey was over-the-MOON to see him!

Bridger and Ramsey played with Star Wars Legos guys for a long time, with light sabers, Hide & Seek, and "Chase-Until-Totally-Out-of-Breath".

Later on, to "settle down", the boys went downstairs into Connor's room (we temporarily have the X Box set up there).  All of the boys (to include one large yellow pupster who doesn't like being left out) climbed onto Connor's bed to hang out and game with their various devices.    Yup, they were in Boy Heaven!    Love these little guys!

Dance Lessons - "Flossing"

So as I've learned the past few months from my "cool" high-schooler and junior high aged nephew, there's a new dance the kids do that's called "flossing".    Connor's constantly doing this around the house when he's standing around, goofing off.   He tried teaching me.  I think I got it about half right.

One night, Connor gave Ramsey a dance lesson:

I think Ramsey would have done very well with a lesson for "The Twist". 

Connor was toning it down.  He can floss faster than you can imagine!  (I guess that's the point of it.)

When Connor was gone to school (and Ramsey and Dad were both home sick), Ramsey put on his own little show:

Quirky Idea and a Reading Lesson

One thing parents know is that small children have crazy notions... quite often.  :-) 

While Ramsey was home sick with pneumonia (he missed two weeks of preschool!),  we spent time together and I made him lunch every day.   One day, he stuck up his pointer finger and excitedly said, "I have an idea!  How about a peanut butter and CHEESE sandwich?!?"    In my mind, I was gagging, but he's learning... and he can learn which odd combinations work... and which ones don't.

"YUM!" he said after the first two bites.

After that, he didn't seem to want to eat anymore.   So, I pulled off the cheese, fed it to Riggs, and he finished up his plain ol' peanut butter sandwich.  :-)     Lesson learned.

Sidenote: Another one of his "great ideas" was to make an ice cream sandwich.... made with Chicken in a Biscuit crackers and Oreo ice cream.   Thus far, I have refused to let him try that one.   Bleh!

As a treat to make up for all of his miserable days and nights from being sick, I'd ordered him some more bath bombs for nighttime tub-fests.   Since he's learning to read, he grabbed each new bomb and read [most] of them.   I only caught a few on camera.   I'm a proud Momma; actually reading at age 4 is a tall task.

[Not A Very] Happy Halloween

Well.... Halloween wasn't exactly a super duper fun holiday this year at our house.  Poor Ramsey had been very sick since the previous Friday night and was finally diagnosed with pneumonia on Tuesday, the 30th (after a super fun up-all-night-then-rush-to-the-ER-only-to-wait-an-hour-and-a-half-to-be-seen time).  He'd been running a temp for days and was up many nights unable to stop coughing.

We weren't able to go to the Trunk or Treat event at our church, the local Fall Harvest (fun games, bouncy castles, and family activities) at another church, or just plain ol' standard trick-or-treating. 

So.... here's how our Halloween was spent:

It was a total bummer.

More fun facts:
* On Monday, the 29th, the pediatrician tested Ramsey for Whooping Cough and sent him home (after a super fun time getting two large swaps poked up into his nose until he bled), without antibiotics, only a nebulizer regimen.   Sorry, graphic, but it was terrible!  Being a parent is so hard when you're holding your child down for things like that.
* On Tuesday night, the 30th, while washing hoards of laundry (poor kid had either thrown up on, urinated on - while sleeping, or accidentally had diarrhea on darn near every blanket, towel, and pillow we have in the house), a water pipe broke to our washing machine, causing a huge flood on our main floor.  Our hardwood floors buckled and, directly below, Ramsey's bedroom recessed ceiling lights leaked water like shower heads.   An electrician and insurance adjuster are coming to check things out from a safety perspective and insurance perspective. 
* Nana Karen was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon.  She'd been sick with strep throat and her torn rotator cuff was causing her ridiculous amounts of pain.
* Eric and I are sick.   After the notion of potential Whooping Cough, we were told to advise Connor to stay away and stay well!

The upside (cuz we're totally staying positive): 
Eric had a really sweet idea for Ramsey.  He asked his co-workers to stash some candy at their desks to give to Ramsey next week.  I will bring Ramsey in to the police department wearing his costume and grab goodies.   That should bring a smile to his face!   Gold star, Daddy!