Twas the Night Before Christmas...(and the Sunday after)

In my previous post, I mentioned that, in addition to celebrating Eli's birthday on December 24th, we also tried to keep with a few Christmas Eve traditions.  Such as....

Cookies and milk (and carrots for the reindeer) by the fireplace at bedtime...

Sometimes, little brother tries to sneak a little something sweet...as if all that birthday cake wasn't enough!

Last year I told the kids about how Mommy, AA, and Uncle Johnny used to all sleep in one room on Christmas Eve, and they asked if they could do the same.  Much to my surprise, Norah remembered this year, and asked if we could do it again, so we hauled Eli's mattress into her room and tucked them...or should I say, "nestled" them all snug in their beds.  We read "The Night Before Christmas", and the "REAL" Christmas story, as Norah refers to it :) Then I told them "Lights out, and don't forget, Santa wont visit until everyone is asleep!"

 We didn't hear a peep out either of them, so I  thought I'd better check them about 30 minutes later.  Fast asleep...guess all the events of our busy day finally caught up with them!

This last photo was one I took of the kids the day after Christmas, after church.  Oh, how I love these sweet kiddos!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Eli!

For those who don't know, I am the proud mother of a Christmas Eve baby...and proud as I am, I'll be the first to admit that I am still working out the kinks in how to pull off making December 24th feel like a special birthday for Eli, while still keeping with the holiday traditions associated with Christmas eve. 

This year, however, I thought we made a pretty go run at it.  For starters, I awoke at 4am (going to sleep stressed about tomorrow's to-do list occasionally has this effect on me, and I truly believe it is a God-send).  First task at hand was to make a "Yellow cake with orange icing" per Eli's request (I know my Aggie friends are cringing...which is why I had to add some blue accents, in hopes of helping mellow the orange a bit) 

Next order of business: Birthday pancakes.  This year we went with snowmen.  Eli wanted green eyes, Norah requested blue (they have recently become very fascinated with their different eye colors, Norah always makes sure she colors them correctly in her drawings) 

We sang our first "Happy Birthday" of the day, and E blew out the candles on his whipped cream-drenched pancakes (a delicacy, I might add, we reserve only for birthdays).

After breakfast, we met up with our good buddies, The Hindmans, for Eli's (and Isaac's) first movie theater movie, "Tangled" (Disney's take on Rapunzel, which HIGHLY recommend.  Jason and I loved it, as did both kids, and it was squeaky clean). The Hindman's came prepared with blankets and candy to share.  We sandwiched the 4 kids in the middle, flanked by the parents on the outsides, and everyone was extremely well-behaved.  So. Much. Fun.

After the show, we let the kids hang out in the arcade (which, since it was Christmas Eve, was totally deserted) for a while. Eli and Isaac, who share a passion for "Cars" were basically glued to the racing games for the duration of our visit.

Norah and Helen, on the other hand, preferred the motorcycles.

Everyone posed for one last photo op in front of the movie poster, to commemorate the occasion.   We felt so blessed to have such sweet friends, who were willing to take some time out of their Christmas Eve day, to celebrate with Eli.

That night, we hosted all four grandparents, both sets of Great-grandparents, Aunt Paige & Uncle Grant, and the Davidson's (N&E's adoptive "extra" grandparents) for burgers and hot dogs.

Have  I mentioned that the weather had turned nasty?  Sweet Jason fired up his pit as the first drizzles started and managed to get everything into a holding pattern in the oven before the  massive downpour that followed. Everyone enjoyed a nice, dry, warm meal.

Finally, it was time to cut into that big, orange cake.

Happy 3rd Birthday, big boy!  You are a joy to your Daddy and me. You almost always wake up with a smile (and usually come climb in bed with us for your last hour of sleep to cuddle, which I love), and seldom complain the rest of the day.  You dress yourself most mornings (preferably in Cars apparel, which you have no qualms about retrieving from the dirty clothes hamper if Mommy has failed to wash it in what you deem a "timely" manner).   You absolutely LOVE your big sister, and would likely do anything she asked you to do, rational or not, and you pride yourself on being a "gentleman".

You  never cease to make us laugh with your made up words (ex: "Pockaticket", which we've determined is a noun, most commonly associated with someone who is  getting on your nerves), endless supply of Cars quotes, and original song lyrics (sure to be future chart toppers like "Chick's All Over the Place"--in reference to Chick Hicks from Cars, not girls, in case you were wondering, and  "I Don't Wanna Go to the Barbershop").

We love you, sweet, "Snazzy","Eli McElierton", "E-mac","E", Eli. 

Norah's Art

It's been so long since I've updated, and I have TONS of photos to blog, so I figured I'd just jump in with a collection of Norah's sketches from this fall.

A few differences I've noticed in her artwork of late is that she has started thinking more about setting of the pictures (hence the grass under the princesses feet) 

This one is a "ballerina and her teacher" (this one was done after reading a few "Angelina Ballerina" books from the library--Angelina's ballet teacher always wears dresses with tiered ruffles, so I'm guessing the "teacher" in Norah's picture is the one in yellow on the right).  The faint square around them is the "stage".

 Two more ballerinas, again, on-stage.

Jesus on the cross (with Mary, his mother, below)

Norah and Eli playing catch (he's been wearing his hair "spiky" a lot lately, so she made sure to give him a few in her drawing)

This is one of my all-time favorites.  It is a jockey and a horse.  I love her attention to details (like the button on the top of the jockey's hat, and the bridle/reins on the horse...granted he's a little stocky, but still...)

She was very proud of this one.  If you can't tell, it is most of the cast from Toy Story 3.  L-R: Jesse, Woody, Bullseye, Barbie, Ken, and Buzz (Again, note the detail--Jesse's cow-print chaps, all of the colored lights and buttons on the front of Buzz's spacesuit, etc).  She worked on it for quite a while, finally dedicating her masterpiece to her Daddy (as you can see in the upper left corner).   As soon as he came home from work, she presented him with her art, and of course he praised it highly, immediately recognizing what/who it was a depiction of.  Not long after that, N was sent to her room (if memory serves, for having a bad attitude at the dinner table.  

After some time passed, I went in to check on her, to find her hard at work on this... While I knew it was done in total defiance, I was slightly amused at the facts that 1) She spelled everything right all by herself, 2) The worst possible "retaliation" she could think of for Jason's sending her to her room was to stop drawing pictures for him.  So funny.  And yet, the parent in me had to focus on the heart of the matter...or should I say the attitude behind it.  The same bad attitude that had gotten her in trouble at the dinner table.  We had a good talk.  And she quickly admitted that she liked drawing pictures for us and didn't really want to stop, and believe me, she hasn't!  

It's Bacon!

So, I had one of my less proud parenting moments today, but it was too hilarious not to chronicle for the purpose of looking back someday.  I doubt it will be nearly as comical to those reading who weren't present...but I hope you'll still enjoy reading it.

For lunch today, I put potatoes in the oven to bake while we were at church.  When we returned home, Jason and I started preparing the "fixings" to trim our potatoes...including Jason's personal favorite, a plate of super thick-sliced bacon (I didn't make that up, that's literally what it said on the package. And, in case you're wondering, it was purchased in response to a certain member of our household's previous complaints that he was dissatisfied with the "flimsy" bacon the fridge had been stocked with).

Half-way through lunch, we realized that Jason's precious bacon had never made it out of the microwave (it seems that thick-sliced bacon takes TRIPLE the time to cook, and after the third re-heat, we forgot all about it).  So, Jason retrieves the bacon and doles out a slice each to his two offspring (both of which have inherited their father's love for fatty, fried pork) who quickly consume their rations.  After a couple more moments, J returns from a second trip to the kitchen with a slice of his own.  Eli (who, you'll recall had already scarfed his bacon down) immediately zeroes in on the Daddy's bacon, and asks Jason for more.  To which Jason (jokingly) replies that he can't have any more, that all of the rest is for Daddy.

At this point, Eli (who took Jason's response quite literally) completely wigs out.  He starts whining in a high pitch voice and crying (real tears) that he "just wants s'more bacon".  If you know Eli, you know he is a happy-go-lucky, laid back kid, who seldom whines...so our response to this uncharacteristic behavior was more amusement (Did he really save up to have a tantrum over a bacon shortage?) than anger/frustration/disappointment.  Then, he abruptly stopped the waterworks, assumed a determined look in his eye,  climbed down from his chair, climbed up into the empty chair beside Jason, stood up, took the bacon out of Jason's hand, smiled a triumphant smile, looked Jason in the eye and literally giggled, "hee-hee", and went back to his chair to enjoy the spoils of his victory.

Like I said, you might have had to be there to fully appreciate it, but we were all in tears from the laughter.

My Daughter, the Flutist

 For dinner Wednesday night, I had planned to make one of the kids favorites (which is why it's a good go-to Wednesday night meal...no time wasted on fussy eaters when we have to rush to get ready for church), "Eggy Pie", aka quiche.

Norah asked if she could help cook, as usual.  But this time, she requested to flute the crust.  I thought to myself, "Sure, why not. It's just for us.  What does it matter if it looks a little funny?"

 Little did I know, my N has been watching very closely all these times we've made eggy pie together...I didn't even have to show her what to do...and she had perfect fluting technique!

 

Her crust edges looked better than mine usually do.  No wonder she was beaming with pride when she finished!  That'll teach me to doubt my four year-old's culinary skills!  Hmmm...I wonder if she would be interested in taking on the turkey this Thanksgiving...

From the Mouthes of Babes

After teaching the story of "Jacob and Esau" in Children's Bible Hour tonight, I decided to quiz Norah to see how well she was paying attention.

A: Norah, which of the twins was Rebekah's favorite?

N: Jacob.

A: Good.  And which one was Isaac's favorite?

N: Esau.

A: That's right.  And which one was red and hairy?

N: Esau.

A: Uh-huh.  And which one was a good cook?

N: Jacob. He made some stew and he made Esau give him his birthmark.

A: (laughs hysterically and debates over whether to correct this misunderstanding, or let it ride in hopes of equally amusing future Bible story teachers)

Recently overheard while eavesdropping in the car...

N: Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be a queen.

E: Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be LIGHTENING McQueen.

(Another day..it seems that Eli frequently dreams of what he'll be when he grows up while riding in the car)

E: When I grow up, I want to be a dinosaur.

N: Eli, you can't be a dinosaur when you grow up.  You have to stay a human.  You can't be an animal if you are a boy.

E: (with a little more edge to his voice) But I want to be a dinosaur when I grow up!

N: Eli, you can't be a dinosaur because dinosaurs are extinct.  So, if you are a dinosaur, you will ex-STINK!  Just pick something else.

Finally, this one made me choke up a little...it's not funny, but it's so sweet,  I definitely don't want to forget it.  Saturday was a really full day for me.  I had errands to run all over town (on a home game weekend, which meant they took far longer than if I would've gone any, other day), then came home to an empty house (my wonderful Mom R and Grandmother had N&E ALL day, God bless them!) and cleaned what looked like the wreckage of a natural disaster, in effect, restoring peace, calm, and cleanliness to our house, then finished up some overdue sewing projects.  By the time Jason got home with the kids, we were all worn out from a fun (and/or uber-productive) day.  We fed and bathed the kids, Jason was getting Eli ready for bed, and I was doing the same with Norah.  It was at this point that Eli came up to me, gave me a big, calf-high bear hug, and said the words that I know I will treasure for years to come,

E: "Thanks for all of the wonderful things you do for us, mom."  

I was completely floored.  Well, to be honest, I thought he had to have been delivering a message from Jason.  So, I asked Daddy if he had prompted the sweet boy, and he declined the opportunity to take credit, saying that he wasn't even sure what Eli had told me, but that whatever it was, was straight from Eli's own heart.  I stooped down and gave E another, big hug and told him thank you...he probably had no idea how much his simple statement meant to his haggard, old mother, but I can guarantee you I'll be holding onto it for a while!

The Big Reveal 2010

Step 1: Get a couple of cardboard boxes. Cut out some "windows" and glue on the "engine".

Step 2: cut out some "wheels" and give them a good painting.  Cut out and paint a "slow moving vehicle" sign while you're at it.

Step 3: Acquire some John Deere green paint.  Helpful hint: Lowe's can color-match your son's prized toy tractor.  (Don't disclose how ridiculously overpriced said paint was)

Step 4: Add a bright yellow pinstripe, a John Deere logo, set of straps, black-painted paper towel roll smoke stack, a couple of dollar store tap (head) lights.  Glue on the aforementioned wheels and slow-moving vehicle sign...

Step 5: Insert one very happy little boy, and you just might have the cutest little tractor driver in the state of Texas.

When Eli started (at random) telling people that he wanted to be a "tractor driver" for Halloween a couple months back, my wheels started spinning.  If you know me well, then you know I LOVE coming up with fun, creative costumes for my kids, so deep down, I'll admit, I was stoked at him for thinking outside of the box (little did he know the box would BE the costume)

Truth be told, the REAL step one of this operation was "Get husband on board with the idea".  Jason procured the boxes and did most of the work for Eli's costume.  He even cut a hole in the top of the engine, just under the smoke stack so that people could drop candy down it, and it would fill up the box below.  Eli LOVED showing that feature off at our church's Trunk or Treat! His cute smile and unique costume got him tractor loads of attention (and photo ops).

Norah, on the other hand, went with a more cliche costume request.  And, if I'm still being honest, I cringed when (after flip-flopping between a good 15 ideas) she finally landed on "Tinkerbell".  I decided if I didn't want her to get lost in the sea of other Tinkerbells out there, I'd just have to do my best to make her stand out :)

 I couldn't find any Tinkerbell patterns that I liked, so Gramps and I found a shirt pattern that fit her, and made the rest up as we went along.  (Although I will admit, I nearly pulled out my hair figuring out how to make her shoes!)

Still, I think it turned out pretty great, and Norah made a particularly pretty pixie.  And most importantly, she LOVES her costume.  She has worn it some nearly every day since I finished it a couple of weeks ago.  (I had to wash it TWICE before she even wore it to Trunk or Treat!)

Her favorite features were her shoes (whew!  It was worth it!) and her wings (which she LOVED pointing out to everyone, were painted with glitter glue, so they would sparkle)

Thanks to a donation of left-over fabric from a friend (who was Tinkerbell last year), her costume was almost completely free.  (Briarcrest Cleaners donated the hangers for her wings...I didn't have any wire ones on-hand) and I had to buy a pair of .50 knee-highs, also for the wings, so thankfully, that helped balance our Halloween budget after Eli's green paint almost broke the bank.

One other fun surprise for Norah, was when she reached Trunk or Treat, one of her favorite friends, "Mr. Foree" (our preacher) was dressed as Captain Hook. She was so proud to take her picture with him in their "coordinating costumes".  It was a fun year.  And, believe it or not, Norah has already decided what she AND Eli will be next year--and I LOVE her idea...and Eli even says he's gung-ho!  (I'm still trying to decide if I should go ahead and get started now while the fabric is all clearanced out, after Halloween, or if it's too much of a gamble to think that they'd not change their minds 20 times by this time next year!) Time will tell!

Our Little Gymnast(s)

 Jason and I decided that since 1) this is Norah's last year at home (prior to kindergarten...we aren't literally kicking her out of the house next year), and 2)she spends 90% of her time in my hip pocket, it would be a healthy thing for her to have some instruction from some people other than us prior to taking the plunge into public school next fall.

We laid out all of the viable options on multiple occasions, in various settings and company, and her answer was "gymnastics", every time, so we signed up.

She is LOVING it so far, and her biggest goal going into her first class was "to learn how to do a cartwheel".  Much to her delight, they did work on them.  The instructor had a special mat with hand and footprints to help guide the kids through the motions.  I had to refrain from audibly laughing when I watched my "rule follower" daughter attempt to place both her hands and feet on the corresponding pictures, all at the same time her first time up.

 By her second try, however, she was starting to get the hang of it!

The trampoline, however, is another story.  Poor, sheltered child.  She looks like a wayward ping pong ball every time she jumps.  (Jason and I decided after her most recent class that she must think the object of the trampoline is to cover as much ground as possible because she is ALL over that trampoline!)












The trampoline is Eli's favorite part...or should I say, WAS Eli's favorite part, until Norah's gym moved to a new location and built a gate around the floor, to keep meandering brothers from playing on the equipment!  Don't fret, Eli...your time will come and I have no doubt that whether it's in the gym, on a court, or on a field, you sir,  will be a force to be reckoned with!

Sugar and Spice (and Reptiles are Nice)

 I walked into Norah's room one afternoon to discover all of her Disney Princesses sitting demurely in a row.  It made me giggle to see such order,  in a room, which more often than not, can be described as "lived in" at best.

I was quickly informed by the head-mistress that the princesses were attending "Manners Lessons", which would account for their orderly conduct.

 

 Lest my readers get the wrong impression that sweet Norah is all "sugar and spice", I had to post some photos that can attest to her inner-tomboy.  

Jason caught a tiny, baby frog one evening while watering the vines in the backyard (which, I'm pleased to report are still alive, and growing!) 

This was as close as she cared to get to holding it that night.  However, she caught him, and a couple of his  baby brothers, unassisted in the back yard a few nights later (Yes, I washed her hands when she came in.  No, she hasn't developed any warts)

But that was just the beginning.  About a month later, she caught THIS! And she even managed to keep from breaking it's tail.  Would I touch it?  Um....no. 

I thought the photo really captured her essence: a perfect balance of femininity and a sense of adventure.  (Please note the dainty grip her nail-polished, bracelet-adorned hand has on the ferocious reptile)

I suppose this balance was attained through the influences of a great daddy, and a sweet brother who love to embark on adventures together, and don't mind if the girls tag along.

Of course...the door swings both ways.  Eli has recently acquired some fantastic ballet partnering skills!  (I need to get this on video to post, because when they "dance ballet" together, it is hilarious.  Norah always requests "classical music", and Eli basically just follows her around with his hands lightly cupped around her waist, while Norah leads him into a series of pirouettes and leaps.)

Snug as a Cuddle Bear/Bug in a Rug

 This morning was one of the few times that my investigation of "too quiet" yielded a favorable return.  I walked into Eli's room (which, at the time was pitch dark, in spite of the fact that it was around 8am...gotta love those black out shades!) to discover N&E snuggling in the glider.

 I told them not to move, and dashed off to get my camera.  (Sibling rivalry has been one of the themes of the month, so I wanted to have photo documented proof that they aren't always at each other)

 When I asked N what they were doing, she said, "Well, Eli said he was cold.  And I said I was cold too, so we decided to snuggle.  He's my cuddle bug, and I'm his cuddle bear.  We're BEST buddies!"

Be still, my beating heart.  (And no, you may not see the photos that I didn't take of them fighting over the green car behind the chair just moments later...you'll just have to take my word for it that these were much sweeter!)