December was a really fun month, magnified 1000 times with Luke's early arrival. This was the first Christmas season that Mitchell "got" the whole Santa Claus thing. He also learned the Nativity story backwards and forwards (thank you Joy School!) but unfortunately wasn't as interested in the Jesus part of Christmas. That's okay. I have no problem with letting my 3-year old be captivated by the magic of Santa. We'll keep focusing on the real meaning of Christmas as well, and I trust he'll learn the value of it someday. For now, the Santa thing makes life with a 3-year old a whole lot of fun.
Mitchell is super into dressing up in costumes. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of all the December costumes, but Mitchell spent most of the month either dressed up as Joseph (Todd's old sweater, a belt, and a beanie) or as Santa (mom's red jacket, a belt, and a Santa hat). And when he was at friend's houses he also dressed up as an angel (a frilly white dress accented by a white feathery boa as a halo- yikes!)
We got together with his other Joy School buddies and their families one evening to let the kids act out the Nativity that they had been practicing for a couple weeks. It was quite the event! The lesson suggested we perform for a nursing home- I am soooo glad we did not do that. What a disaster! It was a fun evening, especially watching the train wreck that was our kids acting out the Nativity.
What made December a lot of fun as well was letting Mitchell open an advent each day (supposedly til Christmas, but more like til Luke was born and then we just let him eat the rest of the candy whenever). Advent was my favorite Christmas tradition growing up. Each day you get a piece of candy and a Christmas-related activity of some sort. Mitchell's advent activities ranged from making a gingerbread house, writing a letter to Santa Claus, to having hot chocolate, to meeting Santa, to decorating for Christmas, making Christmas cards, or singing Christmas songs. This tradition makes December a lot of fun for a little kid!
Mitchell also enjoyed many Christmas-themed movies and books for the first time this year. He loves "Frosty the Snowman," "The Polar Express" (both the book and the movie), and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (again, both the book and the movie). He also learned Christmas songs, mostly the ones on the Joy School CD. If I listen to "I have the perfect present" or "The very best part of Christmas time" or "In a little stable" one more time, I'll probably throw something! Every time we got in the car the first thing he would say was "can I listen to my music?"
Having Luke come in time for Christmas was a lot of fun! We traveled to Livermore to visit my Aunt Kristin, Uncle Doug, and cousin Hunter for a couple days. They thought it was pretty awesome to enjoy a 3-year old on Christmas morning, not to mention having a brand-new baby around! Thank you Kris for taking care of us for Christmas, it was a ton of fun to be at your home! Some people thought I was crazy to travel for Christmas...but let's keep in mind that Livermore is only an hour-and-a-half away, and I took it easy there just like I would've at home. It was perfect.
I can't forget to mention that on Christmas Eve we took Mitchell to see this amazing decked-out house with Christmas lights in Livermore. He loved it, but what he loved even more was looking out his window and proclaiming with complete confidence and excitement that he saw Santa Claus, reindeer, and elves flying in the sky! It was so cute to see him so excited about what that night was to bring.
A couple days after Christmas, my mom was able to come out for a few days. Her visit was much too short, but I was really happy she could come and help a ton, especially keeping Mitchell entertained! Mitchell really loved having Grandma here and has since said many times, "Grandma is in Utah now." We mostly hung out around here, but one day, we did take Mitchell to a local Children's Museum that was complete with a police car, fire truck, and helicopter. H-E-A-V-E-N for a 3-year old boy. It was a lot of fun to watch movies, play games, and eat a lot of take-out when she was here!
Now for the pictures...
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| Fireman, Santa, and a little stocking action. Not sure who he was trying to imitate? |
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| First letter to Santa Claus! We mailed it and everything! |
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| Mitchell's second meeting with Santa this year. The first was the night before at the mall...but I forgot the camera. |
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| Notice the adorable for a girl angel costume. Yeah, Mitch wore that a lot too! |
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| Super happy Joseph. |
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| Pensive wiseman. |
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| Singing Jingle Bells...maybe? Or pretending to. |
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| Having a great time making a mess! |
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| Bringing Luke home from the hospital! Look at that Christmas beanie! The volunteers at the hospital made that! |
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| Do you see that cake? Chocolate Almond Coconut cake. I made this for Todd's 30th Birthday. You know- the day my water broke. I got to enjoy part of this slice after I got home from the hospital. Todd got one slice too. We gave the rest to the staff at the hospital. They better have loved it. |
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| Mitchell was just a little excited about the Buzz and Woody jammies that grandma gave him for Christmas Eve. I've never seen clothes come off that kids body so fast! |
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| Just a bit happy about his new pirate costume! |
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| Aunt Kris and Jabba the Hut- I mean, Luke! Look at those cheeks! |
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| Umm, cutest picture ever! |
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| Best picture ever. |
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| A bit dozy, but still adorable! |
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| Of the three hours we were at the museum, I think he spent at least half that time in this police car! |
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| And the other half on the fire truck! |
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| Grandma and the boys! |
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| A little shout out to Dr. Sogocio. We weren't always on the same page, but when it all mattered, she was a champ and I couldn't have been happier with the care she gave me and Luke. |
