Joke of the Day

Toe only lets me sing to him before bedtime. The rest of the time he says, "Don't sing. It's dangerous to sing and (Insert phrase here. Today it was "sing and hold the telephone." The telephone was nowhere nearby). But that's not the joke. I've been singing Christmas carols to him for a couple of weeks now and as I sing, he comments on them. "Sleighbells? Like on Santa's sleigh?" "That's like the birth story of the baby Jesus!"

Last night I was singing "The First Noel." I got to "... shining in the east, which was so far..." and Toe said,  "Oh yeah! Like the stuff we put in pizza!"

Shining in the yeast.

It's actually a great image. Stars, singing, yeast, pizza.

Sweet

As I understand it, our friend Marie started hosting an annual gingerbread house decorating party a few years ago when her kids decided they were too old to decorate any more. All I know is Marie invites us over and we have a great time. This was our second year. Last year was the first time Toe had ever tasted candy.  

This year, it was a race. I tried to get the candy on the house before Toe shoved all of it in his mouth. We had talked ever so carefully before-hand about how he was going to only eat SOME candy and most of it would go on the house. But when confronted with a bowl of sweet-tarts and gumdrops, the kid caved. All sense went out the window and we could barely convince him to put a single candy anywhere but his mouth. As you can see, I did my part, but the kid still experienced a pretty severe sugar rush.

Toe's friend Miss "M" was there. She is three and a half years older than Toe and she shepherds him around and plays with him at family gatherings. He worships the ground she walks on. I do too. She has been a fantastic playmate for Toe - part friend, part ???babysitter? mentor? caregiver? older sister?

Marie's daughter, who decided a few years ago that she was too old to decorate any more was there babysitting another friend's niece. It was really great to see her there in the mentor capacity. 

After a great time at Marie's, we all evacuated to the playground to burn off some steam.

Cold, Wet, Sandy, and Blissful

Some great low tides this weekend, coupled with PERFECT weather yesterday coaxed us down to the beach for some tidepooling. We took it at a two-year-old's pace. He was more interested in splashing in the puddles than finding live animals, but he did like looking at the "wall of animals" on the rock (mussels, barnacles, snails, sea stars).  I don't have more photos close to the tidepools because I was pretty busy helping him stay upright. Walking along tidepools and rocks is precarious work, especially with such short legs and boots!  As we walked along the rocks, Toe carried his Lightning McQueen car very carefully. He said, "I wish I could have my other cars here too, so they could see this!"

We ran into Mom and Ron who were also enjoying the low tide and we all watched the sunset together.

The kid slept REALLY well after that!

Clark Kent/ Superman

For the past three? two? Christmases, "Papa" comes over for a quick visit as Father Christmas. He delivers a present and then leaves (talking as little as possible). Papa does a quick change and then joins us as himself. Toe still buys it completely. It was made very apparent to us this year by the different reception "Father Christmas" and Papa received.

Toe was very polite, but stuck close to Nana.

 Wouldn't sit in Father Christmas's lap, but would sit in a chair next to him. Love the look on Toe's face here.

 When Father Christmas left and Papa arrived, Toe ran straight to give him a hug and let him pick him up. They opened the first day of the advent calendar together.

Makes me think about what features we use to identify people, especially when we are little. Of course, Papa is an actor, so he does put some oomph into it (gotta give him credit for finding the balance and making a VERY tall, VERY hairy guy not seem TOO terribly scary to a two year old).

Thanksgiving

He's making pie. He is actually quite good at helping with crusts. He also loved eating them. We have been gorging on pie for almost two weeks now (I keep making 'em, he keeps eating 'em. Ok, J and I do our fair share. This is a pie-loving household)

We spent Thanksgiving with Ana and Rob. Very low key. Very nice.

Give My Love to Everybody

My friend, Jen Weaver-Neist has written and published a book that collects letters from her great-uncle who died in World War II. It is really interesting in that it is mostly just everyday letters about training and homesickness, not a "Saving Private Ryan" type story. Jen's great-uncle Bud died a few weeks into heavy combat. The story is about this one real guy with a great sense of humor who was drafted and went to war. And the people he left behind and how they handled his death. 

J and I had the priviledge of reading from the book at a book signing in Portland. Jen's husband Tylor read Bud's letters and J and I filled in the other parts. Jen narrated to tie the story together. There was an honor guard to open and close the evening and Jen shared audio clips of interviews with other WWII soldiers who were also Timberwolves (Bud's ?batallion?). It was a moving evening and we felt honored to be a part of it.

We dressed the part. I have to say it, I was particularly proud of my hair.  The look of discomfort on my face is because I was holding my breath. Loved, loved the dress. It was at least a size too tight but was so perfect, I couldn't pass it up.Thanks to the Coaster for helping us assemble costumes on such short notice.

If you are interested in the book, it is "Give My Love to Everybody: Letters from a World War II Soldier" edited by Jen Weaver-Neist and published by Dame Rocket Press.