Oliver's Advent Garden Journey

{Reflections by Mormor; Daddy and I were unable to attend.}

Went to Oliver's school yesterday to watch his class go to the Advent Garden - a beautifully set up spiral or evergreen boughs, seashells, and stars. Before the kids came into the room, we were instructed to be quiet so the children could experience the ceremony in quiet reflection (keeping in mind that these are 3-6 year olds).

They came in (Ms. Eileen was singing about time of advent) as she led the kids in holding hands with each other. She led them to the chairs and had them sit down as music was played. Oliver glanced at me as he walked in and then once he was seated he kept glancing at Ms. Eileen and then at me. He waved at me as did the other kids to their parents.

First a woman came in dressed in special dress carrying a lit tealight. She walked in very slowly, walked the spiral, lit the center candle, and then walked back out. The entire time a liar was being played.

Then it was quiet for a few moments to set the tone for the kids and then Ms. Eileen handed the first candle * to the student and he walked the spiral and lit his candle placing it on the star on the floor and walked back out of the spiral, sitting back in his seat. He sat very quietly and watched very intently as the students in front of him walked the spiral, lit their candle and returned to their seats. I was very amazed and impressed that
all of these little ones sat very quietly and watched intently all that was going on. When it was Oliver's time, he got up from his chair and as Ms. Eileen handed him his candle she whispered something to him (I was unable to hear but he nodded in agreement with her). He walked briskly through the spiral and lit his candle (he struggled a little not sure where or how to light the candle but figured it out) turned and walked back through the spiral and placed his candle on a star along the path and then returned to his seat. There were only about 4 after him and by the time they finished all were beginning to get a little antsy but still sat very quiet.

After all students had walked the spiral and lit their candle the parents sang a song and during the last verse the kids walked back out being led by Ms. Eileen and holding hands. Oliver smiled and waved as he went past. I was super excited to have been invited to attend and was so proud of what a great job he did. He looked so grown up and like such a little gentleman.

--Thank you Mormor for being willing to ditch work to go. I'm sad I wasn't able to do the same, but I'm glad Oliver had someone their to watch and report back to us.

(*The Candles the kids carried were Hand dipped Beewax candles in a real apple as a holder.  The children helped make them in class)

Quotable

This morning Oliver was riding the tricycle around the house and I overheard this running commentary going all the while:

"First I stop at the truck store and they don't have any trucks, then I stopped at Margaret's house and they didn't have any Margarets, I'm going to stop at the Farmer's Market but they didn't have any Farmers. Now I'm going to stop at the drug store and they don't have any drugs." 

Apparently all the imaginary stores were cleaned out after their Black Friday sales!


Another fun random quote was a conversation Oliver and I had in the car after school last Tuesday.

O: "I don't know what Dana is... a girl or a kid. Is Dana a child?"
M: "She's your Auntie"
O: "My auntie?! Why is she my Auntie?
M: "She's your Aunt."
O: "Okay... Well... I'm going to call her Policeman."

Rice Park Lighting Celebration

I heard on the radio that Saturday they'd be flipping the switch and lighting the big Christmas tree at Rice Park, downtown. Since setting up our own tree on Friday, Oliver's been all about the christmas lights. It's so fun to experience the holidays through his excitement. So we packed into the car and drove downtown to see all the lights. Before walking to the park we stopped for a bite to eat. Apparently, the boys don't like their picture taken while eating (I guess who really does but I took one anyways).

Then all bundled up we walked over to Rice Park to get a good spot to see the lights. There was quite a crowd but we found an empty corner with a friendly policeman. Took a few more fun photos of the boys and then waited for half an hour in the cold.

Lucius kept running toward me so I couldn't get him in focus. Finally he decided to stand still and we asked for a smile... this is him "smiling"... nice thanks little man.

Around 5:30pm they turned on all the lights, including the big Christmas tree. But the boys both freaked out because there were fireworks too. Poor things, we should have remember that from the fourth of July, but eventually- with their ears plugged up tight they watched the beautiful lights.

I'm looking forward to a wonderful Christmas season with the little misters.

Grandpa's house

Thanksgiving morning we spend with Grandpa and Great Grandma Vi. After breakfast and a some games... Grandpa offered to take Oliver on a four wheel ride before we left. Oliver LOVES his Grandpa and really likes four wheel rides so away they went. How fun for them to share a fun holiday drive.

I wanted to make sure and get a quick photo with Grandpa, cause I don't think I have one with him and both the boys. Then we headed over to Oma and Opa's house for a big thanksgiving dinner. I didn't take any photos because I was too busy stuffing my face and enjoying the company.

Thanksgiving pies Prep

Today Daddy was getting ready Thanksgiving by making a few yummy pies. He made the apple pie while Oliver and I were out on an errand. But when it was time to make the triple berry pie Oliver requested to help make it. Daddy let him stir the berries and brush the egg yoke on the top of the pie crust. He's always so happy to help in the kitchen.

We're looking forward to taste testing them out tomorrow after Thanksgiving Dinner. Hope everyone else has have a very happy Thanksgiving and maybe even a little pie!!

First snow fall

Saturday was the first official snow fall this year. We picked up a small Oliver sized shovel when we were out a few weeks ago knowing that he was going to like helping us. He absolutely LOVED helping daddy plow through the snow on our walks even if is was only a few inches.

It's not Pink Eye

Lucius has had goopy gross eyes for about four days before I got him into to see the doctor. {actually daddy took him cause I myself was under the weather}. Anyways. Turns out it's not the pink eye we feared... it turned out he had a double ear infection. Besides the goopy eyes he was not showing any other ear infection symptoms... not that we really know what to look for since Oliver is almost four and still has never had one. Lucius 3, Oliver 0.

Hugs...

Little Man O said "Next time I see Great Aunt Mary Nechodom I'm going to put one arm on the left and one arm on the right and then I'm going to squeze in the middle" 

He remembers! Great Aunt Mary always says that to the kids when she sees them and I love it!

Lucius first big fat lip

Today was a rough morning for Lucius. He was hanging over the arm of the couch and went head first over the edge. Basically face planted into the hard wood floor... ouch. Poor guy. He had/ has a big fat lip, a huge goose egg in the middle of his forehead.

He seems to be doing okay, although his parents were a bit worried. As I was taking a few photos he started talking animatedly about something- don't attribute his jibber jabber to the head injury. That's just what his words sound like. Daddy and I can understand a handful of his words and have even started hearing him string three or four words into sentences. But I have no idea what this long speech is all about.

Energy to burn

We spent two hours at an indoor playground yesterday and the little misters still had energy coming out their ears. A huge thanks to Auntie Em for coming along and climbing through all the tunnels and stuff with Brianna, Lucius and Oliver. I sat in the corner and held my little nephew Carl while he slept. Not been feeling the greatest the last couple of days.

Here we come winter- hope we find other indoor activities that burn off the energy an almost 2 and 4 year old have. Some days I think "who put a quarter in you guys... next time lets put it in the piggy bank instead!"

Simple Pleasures: Glow Balloons

Quotable

Oliver told us this at dinner tonight after Lucius was crying about not getting extra bread:

"Sometimes when I cry my tears fall into my milk and make it spicy"

Who am I to say no?

We have three pairs of baby leg warmers from when the boys were baby's. Oliver wants to wear the leg warmers on cold mornings. Who am I to say no? Although quite well associated as a female accessory, they
do serve a purpose. I think boys want warm legs too, so I let him wear them under his pants.
Oliver told me he wanted to be a girl so he could grow his hair out. I am learning to let go and let him make his own decisions. Today we went to my friend Jill's house to get my hair cut and Oliver decided to get his cut too (completely his choice- I actually reminded him that he wanted to grow it out). There were other kids there and the little girls were all getting a colored hair extension (just a clip on). Who am I to tell him he can't have one? So Jill gave him an orange hair clip and he was in heaven. Here's my tough guy sporting his new haircut and orange hair:

I'm raising two boys, and I attempt to let them make their own choices. Yes I want them to be boys, but some things aren't really that important in the grand scheme of things.

Halloween... part 4

We stretched out Halloween a bit. We went up to visit Oma's work a couple of weeks ago and brought her a few treats. And then a couple days after Halloween the boys and I went reverse trick or treating at Mormor's work. We brought in a bag of candy and Oliver handed out a piece to anyone he could find. He was quite clear with people that they only got ONE piece. It was pretty cute.

And that concludes all of our Halloween Adventures. 

Halloween... part 3

Okay- so we left Uncle Jon's work and jetted off to Auntie Mick's house. Cause two Halloween's just wasn't enough. We made it back in time for a super yummy ham dinner (thank you so much Mick!). Then it was time for a little treat sorting... The boys got quite the haul and it needed to be thinned out a bit.

With the boy's treat bags emptied out- it was time to head out door to door with Casen. Lucius was more excited about holding onto Uncle Hung's hand while we walked. He was also nervous about going up to the first house, but once he saw that they were giving his brother candy- he was right up there with the rest. Oliver was being Oliver asked a hundred questions of the people who were passing out candy: "do you have kit kat's?" "how many children do you have?" "what's your dogs name?" blah, blah, blah. I finally had to tell him he was only allowed to say "Trick or treat, thank you and Happy Halloween. If you feel like throwing in a please that's okay too."

We made it around one block, which in Auntie Mick's Neighborhood is like three city blocks. One little old lady was even handing out can's of soda. The boys came back with even more sugary goodness that we looked through. Wow, what a fun night- and that's not all of our adventure... I've got more to share... stay tuned. To be continued {again!}

Halloween... part 2

About four in the afternoon we arrived at Uncle Jon's work to go Trick or Treating. It's actually quite wonderful to be indoors, with little to no scare factor. All we had to do was look for a piece of paper with a smiling pumpkin on it to know where to find candy. Employee's at Uncle Jon's office put the signs up letting kids know they had bowls and bowls of candy to hand out. Oliver was on the hunt and probably enjoyed finding the pumpkin signs more than getting all the sweets. (Thankfully Auntie Em made Popcorn the night before and let the Little's eat as much as they wanted on the car ride over. She's so smart!)

Toward the end Lucius was really taking in quite the candy load at each stop. I would tell him "just one piece" and whoever was handing out the candy would say "no that's okay he can have more". So he'd reach in with his monster grab and get like 5 or 6 pieces.

I got a few shots of our woodland creatures scavenging for food, and even attempted getting the wild animals to sit still for a group photo. Auntie Em and I even had a handmade felt leaves on so that our "costume" were a couple of trees in the forest. It was subtle and no one really noticed, oh well. What a great afternoon and the day was not over yet... to be continued...

Halloween... part 1

This year the costumes actually had a theme. I really wanted to make Oliver a Fox costume and I saw a cool tutorial on how to make fun bird wings. I told Auntie Em about the wings and she decided to make Brianna an Owl costume. With two costumes thought out, we decided to go with a woodland creature costume theme. Lucius turned into a skunk and Carl became a little raccoon. Auntie Mick made Squirrel costume for Casen. FUN!

Monday the boys spent the morning at Auntie Em's house to play with their cousins. After naps we headed out to take our woodland creatures for a wild adventure. First we stopped at Marmee's work to show off.

After about 45 minutes walking around we packed everyone back into Eme's car and headed over to Uncle Jon's work to trick or treat. To be continued...