Fa la la la

I'm sorry that we couldn't get a good picture of this momentous event. This is as good as it gets.

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Joe had his first ever Christmas Concert at school. He sang beautifully (we think) and was very animated with all of the motions to the song "Ring a Little Bell." He will treat any of you to a mini concert if we see you over Christmas. He was a little distracted by his teacher playing the violin off to the left. Joe is in the front row with the vest with the light blue shirt underneath.
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After they sang once, they changed into their costumes for the Nativity play. His class dressed up as the animals. We got some more use out of his Halloween costume - he was the horse. The costume got some giggles and I was introduced more than once that night as "the horse's mom."

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One of the middle school kids played the bagpipes at the end and did a beautiful job. However, if you've ever heard a bagpipe, especially indoors, you know that they are VERY loud. All of the little ones covered their ears for the song. My favorite is the little sheep next to Joe who is covering his costume ears!
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Finally, to end the concert, Daddy was standing near the door trying to video tape. Luke was standing nearby and apparently got a little bored. He found the light switch and flipped it. All of the overhead lights went off and only the Christmas tree and classroom lights were on. It was kind of pretty and some people thought it was part of the program since it happened at the very end of the last song. I was mortified, especially when we realized that they’re the kind of lights that need 5 minutes to “warm up.”
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Totally unrelated to Christmas:
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Andrew loves his sink baths. "Ohhh! I love bathtime!"
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Ha ha! Can't get enough of being naked!
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No!! Put that plug back in!

Stocking Stuffer

I’m not very crafty. I tried to put together a stocking for Joseph for his first Christmas. That pile of string, sequins and fabric is still in a cute snowman box buried in the basement. By the time the twins came along, there was no more pretending that it would ever get done, let alone two more. This year, we took the plunge and invested in some stockings for the kids. When they arrived, Patrick immediately put them to good use.
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Andrew has been refusing to eat solids (so to speak – I think it’s funny that “solids” is what they call pureed peas, squished bananas and runny baby cereal) Every time I offer, this is what I get. It’s not rude, like if he were to spit it back to me or scream and shake his head, it’s just a polite little refusal to part his lips.
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"No, thank you. I'm on a liquid diet."
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The fireman’s hat resurfaces in our house every few weeks as the favorite toy. Here it is again, along with Scott’s lunch box and a pair of chopsticks. Patrick is our very own little drummer boy.

Just not sure...

Andrew meets Santa for the first time.

St. Nick and Other Seasonal Staples

Every year, our line of shoes grows longer and longer. Even baby Andrew got in on the fun with his tiny shoes. Joe got up about 20 times that evening to "go to the bathroom" and take a peek at the shoes.
. Instead of cookies, we left good St. Nick some banana bread and some carrots for his horse. Patrick insisted that we leave him some water, too.

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Good morning! What a pile of treats!! Candy, nuts, oranges, books, Sprecher Orange Dream for Daddy (he helped himself to one before the kids got up) and new binkies for Andrew.
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Patrick checks out his new book.

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Luke starts in on the candy canes. Thanks, St. Nick!!

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Pretty safe to say that Scott had one of the worst days of his life on Sunday. I had to work up at church all day. Having the four boys is tough enough, but when something is wrong, things go from bad to unbearable very quickly. Since Thanksgiving, Andrew has not been napping at all. He is a grouchy mess all day and wakes up frequently at night. This was no different yesterday. In the midst of the crying, poor Patrick threw up all over - the living room, hall and bathroom. It also seems that his diaper was pretty useless with his intestinal issues. I came home to a nasty mess and an exausted and grossed-out husband. Patrick is feeling all better now, and thank goodness for Resolve carpet cleaner. Andrew's napping schedule is my number one concern this week. Christmas cards might not get out, but I want my happy baby back.

Preparing

We pulled out our ornaments and the tiny Charlie Brown tree, turned on the Christmas music and enjoyed decorating. Patrick was especially fascinated with the lights and ornaments. He was also very adamant about wearing his scarf. Very festive, don't you think?

The boys couldn't keep their little paws off of the delicate ornaments at first. They're a little better now, so maybe next year, we'll graduate to a real tree. It was so fun to see the boys' "Baby's first Christmas" ornaments with their pictures in them. They already have their own favorites. All of a sudden, it feels like we're making special family memories.

Scott and I are also trying very hard to celebrate Advent with the children. We have an advent wreath, but saying prayers is hard since they can't read yet. I love nativity sets. Some of them the boys know not to touch, but two sets are only for playing. Joe was taking a baby Jesus around to his brothers the other day and having them give the baby a kiss. I had to stop the exercise in piety when poor Jesus ended up in Andrew's mouth. Can you just imagine the headline if he had choked to death!

St. Nick is scheduled to arrive at our house this evening. We've set out some banana bread for him and some carrots for his horse Amerigo. Patrick really wanted to make sure we left him some water, too. I'm sure we'll post pictures, like we do every year. Is this blog starting to be a little redundant?