I Want a Snow White Dress. mmmmhmmmmm.

I Want a Snow White Dress. mmmmhmmmmm., originally uploaded by DerekandRebecca.

I told Greta to just tell Santa what she wanted to find under the tree. She does as she is told! He didn't ask her but she let him know!

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies

When Santa is mentioned, Greta twirls. The excitement for what will happen on Christmas Eve is mounting and Christmas morning can not come soon enough.

What is Lovely

Just out of his bath, Derek always brings Jack to me for a cuddle. He is warm and soft and smells like buttermilk baby bee lotion. His hair is damp and his eyelashes still have splashes of water in them. He always lays his head on my heart and snuggles in close. No more peek a boo. Time for sleep and dreams.

Our days are full of romping around the house and playing chase with sister. Jack squeals with delight at almost everything. He is a baby of few words at this point, but he has no issues communicating with us. Jack understands much of what we say and he reacts. I always ask, "Jack, do you want to go up to the kitchen and get a banana?" He responds by a vigorous head shake and, "Neh". "Jack, do you want to go up the kitchen and have some milk?" And he is on his way. Bath time is his favorite. Stairs are a joy. It tickles me to laugh every single time he goes down the stairs he lays down on his tummy at least 10 feet away from the stairs, and sometimes even in a different room and slides backwards to the stairs until down them he goes. He has moments to himself between the curtain and the window as he gazes out at the yard. LIfe is beautiful.

the diva sings before noon...

the diva sings before noon..., originally uploaded by DerekandRebecca.

You are going to want to turn up your speakers for this number...

She's Goofy, Let's Party!

Greta had a Goofy party to celebrate turning 3. It was quite fitting! We kept it very intimate and even got to invite our cousin, Chase. Just weeks ago he had a very important surgery to remove his trach and widen his sinuses and shorten a muscle in his eye. It was so exciting to see him playing with Greta and Jack. Jack took to crawling and was by his side for the duration. Chase is a miracle and is so loved by Greta. She kisses his cheeks and talks lovingly to him. I think he is very special to her.

And, once again, Greta chose a party theme with elements hard to come by. Mickey Mouse and Minnie are easy, Goofy is hard. I made green Goofy party hats with long Goofy ears. I made fondant Goofy hats to top the double chocolate cupcakes. We decorated in Goofy colors, orange, green, blue and black. We had hot dogs and macaroni and cheese straight from the oven. With the cake, I served daisies potted in chocolate chip ice cream and cookie crumb dirt, and sparkling juices in fun bottles with silly straws to sip. We made the parents nuts with Goofy videos on the flat screen and "Goofy sings the hits". We gave Goofy goodie bags with Tootsie Pops, wooden kazoos, and a Goofy magic wash cloth to wipe off the sticky.

We ate and drank and opened presents. The first gift Greta opened was from her great friend, Evie. It was a Cinderella dress and Greta exclaimed, "OH, Is it my size????" She put it on immediately and we let her party until midnight (7:00) when we all turned into pumpkins. I hope her wish comes true...

Tootsie Pop, I Think I'm in Love With You

Greta and Jack are sharing a seat to have their Tootsie Pop treats.

Greta is 3

Make a wish sweet little girl!

Highlights

We experienced unseasonably warm weather the day and night after Thanksgiving this year. The four of us were home that day resting, decorating the Christmas tree, and renovating one of our bathrooms. (I am so excited about this! That bathroom was hideous and we were all tired of avoiding it.) The sun set and, behold, our neighbors had put Christmas lights up on their houses. It was beautiful and inspiring. Our inspiration was to book it to Home Depot, buy lights, book it to Sonic, buy hamburgers and shakes, book it home, eat, and put lights up on our house, too!

We did it.

So, there we were in the living room with the tree and the Christmas music still playing, having a picnic around the coffee table. It was kind of fun , and actually I wanted to write the memory down because Jack made me laugh so hard. Right...So, there we were, each of us with a burger and tater tots, and Jack would take a bite and walk around the table nodding his head to the beat of the music. This is normal for him. Then I noticed that he was doing something else. Here is the funny part. He would pick up a tot, and touch it to the discarded tomato laying on Derek's burger wrapper, and then he would walk around the table nodding his head to the beat. He did this every time he took a tot. Derek and I locked eyes and started laughing. He thought the tomato laying there was ketchup. Round and red. Ketchup. Dip. And the squeal of delight when I actually gave him a squirt of ketchup was heard across the state line! I bet he'll be that person that likes ketchup on his scrambled eggs.

Then we all ran outside and lined our house with lights while Jack and Greta took turns sliding down their slide in the dark. It was quite a sight. And the house looks lovely, too. This was the first time Derek and I put lights up. We are all grown up, now!