Getting in the holiday spirit

Since this is the first year we're staying at home for Christmas, we thought we'd get a little more in the holiday spirit. Thanks to my labmate Didem for the reminder about elfyourself.com!

Two Little Monkeys...

I know I'm establishing a bad trend with the monkey references, but this is interesting and I think they'll forgive me for it later. Much later.

I've known about Joshua's "I'm scared" habit for some time where he covers his ears, but now Daniel has recently begun his "I'm scared" habit, which is to cover his mouth. It just makes me insanely curious to know if, when we have one, our third child will cover their eyes when they're scared.

Wouldn't you be interested in knowing you did this when you were a kid?

For those of you who are wondering, they're watching Over the Hedge. The bear was done just right - scary enough to be a bad guy, but not scary enough to give them nightmares.

They grow up so fast

I didn't think I'd be hearing this from Joshua for at least 10 more years: "Daddy, I don't need you anymore!"

And does anyone else think it's embarrassing when a two-year-old can correct your grammar?
Me: "Can I have some soup?"
Daniel: "You MAY have some soup." (emphasis his)

Viv's Ornaments!

My sister Vivian makes the most adorable Christmas ornaments! I love them so much and one of the reasons I was so excited to set up the tree this year was so that I would have a chance to display them. I have accumulated a nice collection over the years and thought this would be a good place to show them off. Prepare to ooh and ahh!

Finding Your Audience

You know those Hallmark commercials advertising their holiday gizmos? That's right, the ones where someone gets one, triggers it, and laughs and laughs when they see it move and sing. I have the feeling I'm not the only one who thinks that reaction is a little overdone, and I'm probably not the only person to think "that has a limited lifetime for being interesting." The problem may actually be that Hallmark is marketing to the wrong demographic -- I think I found the perfect target for these things:



The penguin shakes, the snowman bobs from side to side, and the dog barks and twitches while they sing. 15 minutes later, Daniel's still triggering it:



Joshua was just as interested in it, and they've set it off enough that it's now on its second set of batteries. It was a thoughtful gift from a friend, and the boys have played with it more than some of the toys we've gotten them!