Daniel turns two!

On Saturday, we celebrated Daniel's second birthday. It was a perfect celebration. The guests were all merry, the food and drinks were plentiful and tasty, and the birthday boy was well-rested and wide open. Daniel received so many gifts that will provide hours of toddler entertainment, of which Joe and me are very grateful :) Daniel also had a terrific time playing with his first cousin who has taken to calling Daniel various names such as "Little D", "Dear Little Daniel", and "Little Nugget" (well, I'm not too sure that Daniel's first cousin called him that last nickname, although I know it would have tickled my sister if he had).

Here are some pictures pre-party. Because of hosting responsibilities, I didn't get to take any pictures during the party. :( But my sister took some pictures with my Grandma's camera, so maybe I could get some copies (hint, hint, Grandma.)

Christmas Morning

Santa Claus is coming to town!

On Thanksgiving Day, Daniel’s Granny gave Daniel an adorable Santa Claus music box. Although Joe and I had taken Daniel to see Santa Claus on his first Christmas (which he obviously doesn’t remember), we had not really discussed much about Santa Claus yet this year with Daniel. But being the teachers we are, we viewed the gift as a “teachable moment” (gotta love the teacher terminology, but what else would you expect from not one, but TWO teachers?!?). We taught him that the music box was a figure of Santa Claus and that on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus would come visit our house and bring him toys and goodies.

Upon returning home that evening, we placed the music box on the mantel so that Daniel would not be able to reach it without our supervision (it is porcelain). However, that particular evening, the music box didn’t spend much time on the mantel, as Daniel was constantly pointing up to the mantel saying, ‘un clau’(his version of ‘Santa Claus’). He loved opening the music box and hearing the music while watching the little figurines in the belly of Santa Claus dancing around the Christmas tree.

Since that day, there have been tons of opportunities for Daniel to see and hear about Santa Claus. And being the observant little boy he is, Daniel has taken every opportunity to let us know when he has spotted ‘un clau’. Today, we felt the time was right for Daniel to meet once again with Santa Claus since he has shown such a fascination with everything Santa Claus-related. This afternoon, Joe and I took Daniel to a Christmas party hosted by the realty group with which we worked to purchase our home. At the party, we waited in line to have Daniel sit upon Santa’s lap to tell Santa what is on his Christmas list. As we waited in line, we pointed out Santa to Daniel and tried to make Daniel as comfortable with the environment so that when his time with Santa arrived, Daniel would be as at-ease and receptive as possible. Finally, it was Daniel’s turn to visit with Santa. I placed Daniel onto Santa’s lap, and Daniel immediately began laughing/crying very nervously. His reaction to Santa was quite similar to the girls you see in the footage from the old Beatles performances who are laughing and crying in nervousness and delight. I told Daniel to tell Santa what he wanted, a ‘melmo’ (Elmo), and directly after saying this, Daniel was reaching for me. I picked him up off of Santa’s lap, and still laughing/crying, Daniel meekly said ‘thank you’ three times in a row to Santa. It was so cute! Here are some pics from today’s visit with Saint Nicholas.

Post-Bath Frolicking

As he is always in search of a new adventure, there is never a dull moment in Daniel's world.

Blast from the Past

So, I arrived home today to find a package on my doorstep. Upon opening the package, I realized that Santa must have started delivering some of his goodies early this year. Inside the box was the most adorable little bus that instantly brought me back to my own childhood. Yes, Santa was perusing ebay last week for the Little People Bus that "he"remembered playing with when "he" was little. After finding that exact model at a reasonable "buy now" price, Santa excitedly ordered the bus. And I'm ever-so-pleased that it arrived so quickly to my home, considering that Santa just ordered it at the end of last week.

So, here it is--a little retro Little People Bus made in 1969 (and Daniel is going to be so thrilled on Christmas morning to zoom it around all across the floor of the house!).

BTW--Although this bus was created in 1969, Santa is NOT that old...Santa was born in 1978, really.

The Sweetest Cutest Lion I Ever Did See

Crazy Weather!

Here in NC, the weather has been from one extreme to the other. Last week, we had our air conditioning on because of the warmer temperatures and humidity. Fast forward to yesterday when a cold front pushed through the area bringing a sharp drop in temperatures...and this week, it appears that we are in for some bone-chilling cold weather. Last night, the cold front also brought rain and strong winds which made for a yucky cold night.
Luckily, Joe, Daniel, and I spent a good portion of Sunday afternoon into Sunday evening getting yardwork done while the temperature was more moderate in nature. We even put out a couple of fall decorations. Here is a picture of Joe and Daniel getting ready to light the jack-o-lantern outside on our front porch this evening.
Hope this message finds you staying warm and comfy in this fall season!