I'm dreaming of a White Christmas!

Christmas Day, 2012.  SNOW!  Lot's of it!  We were in Weatherford when it started.  I would say the kids went crazy with excitement, but truth be told, we ALL did.  It was unexpected, beautiful and magical.

Magical Holidays - Gabriel

My son likes surprises.  So it was no surprise to me that I didn't hear anything about his class singing in the school Christmas pageant until the week before it was supposed to occur.  Another entity that apparently likes surprises is his school.  They do not do a good job, in my opinion, of letting we parents (especially the ones new to the school) what is going on.  If they think that our Kindergartners are going to come home and remember to tell us stuff, they're a little crazy.  There had been a couple of handouts on the pageant mentioning rehearsal times and costumes in Gabriel's folder, but the youngest grade mentioned was 1st grade.  We were not even going to attend, but then Gabriel let it slip that they had been rehearsing (thank goodness!).  They were going to sing five songs, no less.  I made a mental note that we might want to tell grandparents about it.  Within the next few days, he mumbled something about his costume.  Me:  "What costume?"  G:  "Me and three other kids get to wear the special costumes."  My first thought was, "how much is this going to cost us?", but then Gabriel said that Ms. B had found the costumes for them out of stuff the school already had.  So after pondering all of this for awhile, I asked, "Gabriel, do you have any lines in this pageant?"  He just smiled really big and said it was a surprise.  Of course.

The day of the show, which was to begin at 7, he had a flyer in his folder that I luckily read before leaving the parking lot.  It said to bring the kids back up to school by 5:15 at the latest.  "Why so early?" I pumped Gabriel.  He had no idea.  I called the office, still sitting in the car in the parking lot, and asked when the start time was.  Ms. Hernandez, School Secretary, asked:  "How old is the student?"  Me:  "Kindergarten."  Mrs. H:  "Their pageant starts at 6 in the church.  The older kids go on in the gym at 7."  WHAT?????  Do ya think this information would've been helpful at some earlier point in the day, or perhaps week, or perhaps MONTH????????  They have a completely separate pageant?!?!?!?!?!   And it starts at SIX?!?!?!?!?   I started frantically calling Jav, told him to call his sister and mom, called my parents, then rushed home to give baths, snacks and get ready to go back.  ME:  "Gabriel, what do you need to wear back up there?"  G:  "I dunno.  I guess my school clothes?"  Sigh and double double sigh.  

We made it back on time, I remembered to bring the video camera, and Joel and I settled in to wait for other family members.  Jav almost didn't make it, wandering in to the church as the kids were lining up at the back for the procession in.  We saw our cute little brown donkey right away.  They marched in and began to tell the wonderful story of the Nativity, complete with narrators, angels and shepherds. Gabriel moved toward the center, where the microphone was, as they all started to sing, "The Friendly Beasts", a song I was not familiar with.  Jav was at the back taping, and I got my phone ready just in case.  Then something amazing happened.  My sweet 6-year-old, who had such stage fright two years ago that he refused to get up on stage and sing one song with his class, stepped up to the microphone.  By himself.  And started singing.  He sang a solo.  He sang with confidence, he sang on tune, but best of all he sang with joy.  He started off the four soloists of the song (and the only ones for the entire show, I might add).  I was so shocked/proud/happy/ecstatic that I really don't remember the rest of the show.  I remember my parents, and Jav's mom and sister just beaming.  My mom was practically laughing she was so proud of him.  

The kids returned to their classroom after the show to wait for us to pick them up.  I was in a daze as I agreed with other parents that they had all done such a good job.  After some other teachers came up and told me they couldn't believe what a great singer Gabriel is, I think I mumbled that I knew he could sing, but that I thought he had stage freight and therefore had no idea he was going to sing a solo.  Some parents heard me and said, "You mean he didn't practice?  Ours practiced over and over and over this weekend!"  "Nope, not one note".  When I picked him up, Mrs. B said, "Mom and Dad, I can't believe how musical he is!"  We praised him for days afterwards.  

Gabriel got to do another really cool event at school this Christmas, and it turned into a truly magical event before it was all over. Mrs. B (who is raising the bar so high as a teacher that I wonder how any future ones will live up to our/Gabriel's expectations)  sent permission slips home for the kids to go back up to school the night of the 21st, just their class, to watch Polar Express in their jammies and sleeping bags.  I knew Ms. B would need someone to help her with all of that Christmasy, frenetic 6-year-old energy, but I never would have guessed it would be the principal!  Maybe she HAD to be there since it was an after-normal-school-hours event.  Either way, i thought it was great because it gave her a chance to get to know her Kindergartners and future school leaders a little better.  

They ate hot dogs and drank hot chocolate, and had cookies for dessert.  What a special thing to do that close to Christmas!  But that wasn't the end of the story.  Right before Gabriel went to sleep in his own bed that night, he found a SLEIGH BELL under his pillow!  Just like in the movie!  He figured out that it had to be from Santa, and was so excited he could barely go to sleep that night.  And then he got to school the next morning, and guess what?  ALL of them had found sleigh bells under their pillows!  Talk about lighting up the Christmas spirit in a bunch of little hearts.   

I just can't help myself.

So, I must admit I have cringed when seeing pics of clever places that Elves on the Shelves end up.  But I just have to brag about ours, because he proved to us this Christmas that he is the absolutely best elf we could ask for.   

Dipsy's been visiting us for three years now.  Gabriel has always been a little afraid of him, with good reason.  We never know where he'll pop up, and he seems to always be there, lurking in the shadows and watching for bad behavior.  At least that is what we thought.  This Christmas, Dipsy figured out a way to bust that myth and show us that he doesn't come on December 1st to start watching and reporting to Santa.  He comes to make our holiday more fun!  He hid in some really cool places this year, the first of which was in the kitchen the morning after Joel's birthday party, cleaning up the leftover cake and icing crumbs.  

One morning Jav and I found him in our room, lounging on our big comfy red chair and reading Gabriel's Rolling Stone issue of the 100 Greatest Guitarists.  Dipsy is apparently a Who fan, because when we found him he was reading the article on Pete Townsend.

We knew at this point that he loved music, just like our boys.  So it was no surprise to find him hanging on the Christmas piano music, waiting for someone to play We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

Then we found him on the radio in the kitchen, where he had been enjoying a Christmas music CD, and probably a tummy ache from eating all of that chocolate!

At this point, Gabriel realized that he was no longer afraid of Dipsy, and that he was a pretty cool elf.  I started calling him our House Elf, sort of like Dobby in the Harry Potter books, but with nicer clothes.  (ANY clothes would have been nicer than Dobby's!)
Imagine our delight when we found out Dipsy played guitar!  Our wish was that he could move so that we could have heard him play.  But we know that it's impossible.

 I was glad the morning we found him wrapped and tangled up in ribbon and bows, because it inspired me to start wrapping presents for the whole family.  

The last morning Dipsy graced us with his presence was the best of all.  Gabriel's godparents got him a Toy Story train and track one Christmas.  The engine puffs what looks like real smoke and it has sounds and is REALLY cool.  The last two Christmases we put it around the tree, and started calling it the Christmas Train.  But for some reason we just never got around to it this year, and seemed to be running out of time.  I promised Gabriel we would put it up next Christmas, but I know he was a little disappointed.  Imagine our shock and delight when we woke up to see the train, all put together and going around the tree on the morning of Christmas Eve.  Well played, Dipsy!!!!    

He truly made our Christmas magical.  And I cried, just a few little tears, Christmas morning after Santa took him back home.  I just hope he knows how much I appreciate him helping to make the boys realize that Christmas is not about being good for a few months before Christmas so that you can get more stuff.  It's not really about the stuff at all, is it?  It's the joy, the happiness, the time with your family, the making of memories, and the magic and mystery all rolled into one big package.  

My proof that LOTS of people in this country have lost their minds.

This joker has hundreds of thousands of listeners (he even claims millions in this clip).  He's from Texas (big surprise).  And apparently a stark-raving lunatic.  How can those of us who want to have rational discourse about gun control compete against this kind of person, and all those who follow and agree with him?  Scary stuff.  And he is SO part of what's wrong with this country right now.









I promise I will stop talking about guns now.

Big guns and little guns

The tragic shooting in Newtown, CT has spurned some passionate gun debate in the last few weeks.  I have read many articles and pondered the issue until my head starts spinning.  Here are some random thoughts on gun control, or the lack thereof, in this country:

I don't think anyone needs to own an assault weapon unless he or she is in the military.  I also don't think anyone needs to be buying ammunition that kills multiple people at a time.  If the sale of these things cannot be banned altogether, then at least some MUCH tougher restrictions should be placed on the purchase of them.  The problem still exists, however, that it has been legal to purchase these things for some time now.  They are out there, and I have no idea how to lessen the number.  A buy-back program?  I just don't know.

The violent gun culture that has risen up (or has it always been here?), where guns and killing people are glorified in movies, TV and video games are a problem.  Maybe there should be a stricter ratings system in place.  But the bigger problem is parents who don't care if there kids see these things or not.  Parents who do not take the time to explain reality, and the difference between right and wrong.  On a side note regarding this issue, for months I was getting more and more angry at WalMart, who puts their "high and mighty" hat on when it comes to vulgar lyrics in CDs, but doesn't blink an eye when it comes to displaying cardboard cutouts advertising violent movies.  These can be found right by the front door, so that everyone and their kids can see them.  They were offensive to me, and I haven't seen one since the shooting.  I hope they decide to keep that policy going as time goes on.

The media needs to stop turning these killers into glorified antiheroes by giving so much air time to them.  The victims should be the focus, but only if it's alright with their families.  The media should not be allowed to show anything from the actual site of the tragedies, because once again, many parents don't have enough sense to not let their kids see something so horrific.  Maybe it's time for the media moguls to step up and take responsibility for what they report, and how appropriate it is for the general masses.

There should be stricter and more punitive charges assigned to sellers of guns who skimp on the background checks, and especially if they sell to a person with a history or record of criminal or even unstable behavior.  The tougher question comes up when dealing with a seemingly stable person (one with no record to track).  How do you train gun sellers to watch for signs that a person has psychological problems?  Seems like it could lead to profiling, so I'm not sure how to tackle that problem.  The public as a whole needs to be made more aware of signs to watch for in our fellow humans that life (or something) is getting to them and they are about to go off the deep end.  And something must be done about state budgets for mental health costs, especially state-run mental hospitals, being slashed to nothing.  One of the biggest problems I see, though, is the stigma that getting therapy from a psychologist or psychiatrist means you are a looney or weak.  This came up with someone really close to us that truly needed some therapy to get through a horrible situation, but refused because of that stigma.  And once again, the problem seems too large to solve.

I DO NOT agree with the NRA's suggestion that teachers should become trained and licensed to carry guns in the classrooms.  Let's tackle the gun problem with MORE guns!!!   No.  I do think added security, like metal detectors and on-site trained police or national guardsmen, would not be a bad thing for schools.

So that's my thoughts these days about big guns.  And if you think these ideas are confused and convoluted, wait until you start reading about the next topic:  Little guns.

When I became a parent, I vowed to not let my kids play with toy guns.  We don't have guns in the house, and in the past you could even say I hated guns.  My thoughts about things are very confused now.  A while back I posted about this - HERE it is.  Maybe it's a bit paranoid to think that one day the boys would possibly have to know how to hunt to survive.  Those were my worries then, but now there are other motives for my changing opinion.

Jav thinks that the boys' attitudes about drinking alcohol could be somehow influenced by our attitude about it.  If we are laid back about letting them have some wine or beer at family events, when they are older and more curious about it, then perhaps they would be less likely to go out and get hammered because it wouldn't be a forbidden thing.   I'm not sure I agree with this theory, (it damn sure didn't work for me, but that's a whole 'nuther story), but the thought process started me thinking about guns.  If we tell the boys that guns are horrible and never to be touched, and don't allow them in the house, maybe the mystique about them would be so appealing they might seek them out due to curiosity.  If nothing else, it would definitely not work in their favor if they were to ever come across a gun at a friend's house.  In this case, what you don't know COULD hurt you, and possibly even kill you.   I have been feeling a little jealous of friends who have kids that have been raised around real guns and learned how to be safe around them from a very early age.  Once again, good parenting was involved.  These kids have no question about the difference between toy and real guns, and know how to respect the power a real gun can have.

So gun knowledge and safety is one issue I've been thinking about.  The other is back to paranoia.  We live in an area where there are more Tea Party loyalists than in any other part of our state.  Many of these people live and die by their rights under the Second Amendment, own a gun, or many guns, or a store of guns.  I know that the majority of these people are responsible gun owners and law abiding citizens.  But there are extremists in every group, and that's who scares me.  Who knows - something could happen in this country to cause complete anarchy and chaos, where those few gun owners who believe in the lawlessness of the Wild West could become gun-toting vigilantes, roaming around looking for helpless and gunless victims to push around or worse.  It just seems like owning a gun, having at least a basic knowledge of how guns work and learning how to fire them at a target has become a necessary evil in this crazy state we find ourselves living in today.

So to make a long story short (too late!), I have definitely changed my opinion on having toy guns in the house.  The Nerf pellet-shooting guns pictured above were gifts to the boys from Gabriel's godparents, and we'll be opening them up soon to let them shoot away.  As long as they follow OUR toy gun safety rules, like never shoot at someone who isn't playing and don't shoot anyone in the face.  I am even pondering letting them get BB guns when they are a little older, (if they seem interested in such things), so they can learn how to keep them clean and safely unloaded when not in use.

And, ever so slowly, my opinion on real guns is changing.  I still don't want a hand gun in the house.  But a rifle or shotgun?  I'm not so sure now.  Maybe.  I'm starting to feel like having a zero-tolerance of guns is a bit like an ostrich sticking its head under the ground.  I would love to learn how to hit a target with a gun.  I want to go to a shooting range or go skeet shooting.  I don't believe in hunting.  I love animals and could never kill anything unless it was about to harm someone I loved.  So having a gun would be more about learning safety and being able to use it properly, which seems right now like a good enough reason to have one.  Like it or not, this is our reality right now.

Julie this is for you.

When I saw the pic of your new boots (which are way cool, by the way), this song jumped into my head and has not left.  I don't normally  get into the Rockabilly thang, but I absolutely love this song.  It makes me want to jitterbug.




Chorus:

"She done traded in her Doc's for kicker bootsSafety-pinned tee shirts for Manuel SuitsHer hair's grown out and it's piled up highShe only shows her tattoos one at a timeShe ain't ashamed of the way she wasShe hears old Hank, she can't get enoughHer punk rock records are gathering dust'Cos little Ramona's gone hillbilly nuts."

Best Christmas present... ever!

It's funny how sometimes the most important life events can start with just an idea and some hope.

Sometime in October, I mentioned to Jav that I would really love a trip to Fredericksburg to visit my two great aunts and one great uncle.  He agreed because it had been about a year since we'd seen them.  When I told him I thought it would be really cool if we could go during December sometime, his face confirmed his next words: he was worried I had lost my mind.  Yes, it is the busiest time of year.  But I knew how magical Fredericksburg could look at Christmas time.  And as I get older, I find myself shirking more away from all the shopping, materialism and commercialism of the holidays.  I wanted to STOP the insanity, and remember what Christmas should really be about:  giving of yourself to others and spending time with family.  After explaining all of this, he began to see the light.

Then one day while I was at work, and daydreaming about how fun this so far unplanned trip would be, I had an epiphany.  I picked up my phone and called my brother.  My mom had told me awhile back that my Uncle Robert had mentioned how much he would love to see Philip and his family, and maybe that's when the seed was planted without me even realizing it.  I told my brother about what we wanted to do, and asked if by chance he and April and the kids might want to make the trip too and all of us stay together somewhere.  He surprised me a little by sounding REALLY interested.  The trip morphed from going for one night and staying in a motel, to two nights in a Bed & Breakfast.  Could we all get off work that Friday?  Would it be ok to take the kids out of school for a day, or at least a 1/2 day?  Would my husband be ok with the fact that I just invited them without asking him first?  Yes, yes, YES!!!

They were supposed to pick a place to stay, and after they dragged their feet and hemmed and hawed about it for a couple of weeks, I went online late on night and found what looked to be a really nice 3 bedroom, 3 bath house in town, away from Main Street traffic, and across the street from a ranch.  I texted the link to Philip and he said to go for it.  We booked it that night.  The reservation service in Fredericksburg, Gasthaus Schmidt, has a crazy cancellation policy - two weeks notice.  I started to panic a little because we had just finished a round of pneumonia and I did not want to end up paying for a weekend when we had to stay at home in bed the whole weekend!!!  But my sister-in-law, who has booked trips using the service since she was a teenage in Austin, pointed out that we could reschedule, and that we would not be out our share of the payment.

Breath.  It's going to be ok.

I was still skeptical that it would happen, especially when I found out that April had a minor car accident the Wednesday before that messed up her ankle and foot, but she said she was still game to go.  Then my brother called the Friday morning we were supposed to leave to say that Macy had a stomach virus during the night, but seemed to feel up to going.  Did we still want to try to go?  I talked to Jav and we agreed that we were going to act like we knew nothing about it, and promised we wouldn't get mad at them if we all (or part of us) got sick.

We left for Weatherford about 12 pm.  Of course later than we intended.  It was one of the first rainy days we've had in a LONG time during this dry Autumn.  We met up with them and headed out around 1 pm.  It was about that time that we first found out about the horrible elementary school shooting in Newtown, CT.  I don't want to post about that here, other than to say it was in the back of all of the grownups' minds the whole trip, but not enough to let this sad news ruin our trip.  We didn't turn on the TV the entire trip, other than to watch movies together.  I will say that we ALL hugged each and every one of those kids over, and over, and over that weekend.

Our B&B ended up being PERFECT.  We panicked at first, though, because we could only find two bedrooms.  It turns out they lock the third bedroom and bath, which they call The Cabin and is in the back of the house.  Cade figured out where the key was hidden, smart little cookie that he is.  The cousins are seen frolicking in The Cabin in the picture above, which was a perfect room to send them to play and yell as loud as they wanted to.   And was also a perfect room for me or Jav to sleep with Joel, since he wakes up and starts yelling during the night sometimes.

April and all the kids.  She is good at managing the chaos!  For the most part I thought the kids all were really good on the trip.  It was definitely a family bonding experience - and something I've been wanting to do for a LONG time.

Joel spent alot of time in The Cabin with our portable DVD player, which he thought was the coolest invention since sliced bread.

The outside of the house was even better than the inside, with two porches to sit or play on, a totally fenced  in yard, trees to climb in and a beautiful ranch across the street to watch wildlife.

The main reason for our trip was to visit with these sweet people.  My Uncle Robert and Aunt Lou (my grandmother's youngest and only remaining brother and his wife), still live in the same house they lived in when we used to spend a week there every summer.  Aunt Lou is 88 and Uncle Robert will turn 90 in January.  They are both remarkably well, considering their ages.  The lower picture is my Aunt Gina (short for Eugenia), who was the wife of another of my grandmother's brothers, Uncle Jack.  He passed away 13 years ago.  I stayed at Aunt Gina's house the night before Jav and I got married, and we became so much closer because of that.  My love for these people goes very deep.  I worry that a big part of our German heritage will be gone once they are gone.  Uncle Robert has an accent when he speaks, as did all of my great aunts and uncles had on my mom's side.  Philip had not seen them since a brief meeting at our wedding, and I really wanted this trip to come together so he wouldn't have regrets when they pass away.

Uncle Robert began to tell us FUNNY stories about our grandfather, including one about late night fishing in the Pedernales River.  They had left the poles and were just sitting up on the shore, talking and drinking beer, when they realized they had a bite.  My grandfather yelled, "Wait, let me get my hat!"  And Uncle Robert couldn't move he was laughing so hard, saying, "Harmon, I don't really think that fish cares if you have your hat on or not!"  When my brother was telling my mom about our trip later, he said he could have stayed and listened to Uncle Robert tell stories all day and then some.

Jav and Philip took turns taking the kids outside when they got restless, but the kids had a good visit with them too.  We stayed for much longer than I thought we'd be able to.  It was just wonderful.  A week after we got home I got their Christmas card, in which Aunt Lou normally writes a small message.  Uncle Robert had written in it too this year, saying that our visit was an early Christmas present and he was glad to see us all so happy.

We had lunch at the Altdorf, outside on the patio and with a pitcher of beer, as lunch is to be enjoyed in Fredericksburg.  One thing I learned about my sister-in-law is that she KNOWS how to enjoy Fredericksburg.   After lunch we walked around downtown and window shopped.  Joel, a.k.a. El Torrito (the Bull), does not do well when mixed with expensive glass bric-a-brac.  Jav kept him outside while we ventured into one store that was full of nutcrackers (seen below).  They even had a set of Wizard of Oz nutcrackers, priced around $400 each.  Who on earth would buy such a thing?  All I knew is that I didn't want to buy such a thing!

We all went into Dooley's, the 5 and Dime, to let the kids pick out one thing each.  This was pretty fun.  When we had our Girls Trip in Fredericksburg we had so much fun in Dooley's just looking at some of the more unusual inventory mix and taking funny pictures.  By then, the kids were getting punchy, so we decided to head back to the house to regroup and recuperate from the day's activities.  

It was during this resting time that I had one of the happiest moments on the trip.  I was reading in the living by myself.  I could hear Cade and Macy playing together in the front bedroom, and knew Jav and Joel were trying to nap in The Cabin.  I didn't realize that April had taken Gabriel out to the porch to show him how to make a slinky (his Dooley purchase) go down stairs.  Phil was reading with them on the porch.  After a few minutes, we all ended up outside, the grownups rocking and chatting and watching the kids chase each other around the yard while the sun was going down.  It's one of those moments in time that you wish you could freeze and call forth in your brain, during a time of stress or sadness.  I think we all were just so happy to be there and be together.  

Cade and Macy and I walked a couple of blocks over to the Herb Farm, where Jav and I had gotten married.  I wanted to show it to them, even though the last time Jav and I had visited I was reduced to tears at what the new owners had done to the place.  But I'm so glad we went, because the place where Jav and I were married is still there!  We had thought it had been covered up by tiny B&B cabins, but there it was behind all of them.  The only difference is a fountain and stream they built right down the middle of the courtyard.  

We ventured into town to walk around the square, eat dinner and drive around and look at lights.  There was so much to see at the town square that the kids went into Sensory Overload mode and everyone seemed to be arguing for a little while.  There was a lighted outdoor open air ice rink, a big working water wheel, the city Christmas tree, and a very tall wooden structure with hand made figures going around in circles, each level going opoosite directions  It was kind of what you would see coming out of a cuckoo clock, but much larger.    

We went to a catfish restaurant for dinner, and the craziest thing happened.  Our second cousin and her husband and part of their family came in and sat at the table right behind us!  We hadn't talked to them since our wedding, so it was good to see everyone.  And even though we managed to have a nice dinner, the kids were D-O-N-E by then.  Joel was too tired to even yell or throw things when he found out they didn't have milk to drink.  He just sort of pitifully colored with his crayons and grumbled every few minutes.  Macy had her head on the table at one point.  It had been a long, long day.  We decided to skip any further Christmas lights and headed to the house.  

The house below was way up on the hill above our house.

This is the flock of wild turkeys that visited across the way the next morning.  The kids were so excited to see so much wildlife practically at their doorstep!

Philip and April cooked breakfast for us both mornings.  Why does food always taste better when a) someone else is making it for you, and b) you are on a trip?  

The kids got to play in the yard one last time while we all packed everything up and loaded the cars.  

I figured out the camera timer, and was able to get some pics of all of us in front of our wonderful house.  We hope to go back someday. As we listened to the kids chattering away about Santa coming, we wondered how we could explain to them that we had already given them the best Christmas present they could ask for:  happy memories!!!  

Two funny stories...

...about language.

#1:  We have been listening to Christmas music for weeks now.  Gabriel has started to enjoy my Annie Lennox Christmas CD, which is a bit out there.  There is a French carol on it called "Il Est Ne, Le Divine Enfant", that she sings entirely in French.  For some reason Gabriel has started requesting it every time we get in the car, "Mommy, can I hear the French song?"  And I love it, so I play it.  Joel quietly listens but hasn't said much while we are trying to sing along.

So tonight Jav was giving them a bath and letting them listen to one of the Pandora kid songs station.  The original version of "Ma Na Ma Na" was playing when Joel came out of the bathroom, hair wet and smelling so sweet, and looked for me as he always does.  When I saw him I said, "Is that Ma Na Ma Na?"  And after saying, "Yeth",  he looked at me very knowingly and said, "It's French."



#2:  I always think to myself (or maybe I've even told people out loud), that I fell in love with my husband years ago while watching, "I Love Lucy".  Jav IS Ricky Ricardo.  Not the boozing, cigar-smoking, skirt-chaser Desi Arnaz, thank the Lord.  The charming, smiling, sexy, adoring husband of Lucy.  Jav even has the hot temper, he just saves it for only truly necessary situations.  I also always found the English language confusion such a charming characteristic of Ricky.  And my husband, despite living in this country all of his life, still gets a tad bit confused every once in awhile.

We were out on a much needed date night a week ago Saturday.  We had seen Skyfall, and were giddy with the pleasure of just seeing a really good movie and were sitting down enjoying a nice, long dinner.  We were still discussing how good the movie was, and how wonderful it was that the climactic ending was in Scotland, where we spent our honeymoon and want to visit again some day.  I was saying that I would love to take the boys, and he thought that even though it would be fun to show them where we spent our favorite parts of our trip, that it could never be the same or as special as our honeymoon was.  He announced that he would rather go to France, because neither of us have been there.  I said I would love to see the French countryside, but I wasn't sure about Paris.  I've heard good and bad things about it.  His reply was, "Oh, but we HAVE to go to Paris, because I want to do the luge!!!!"

Really?!?!?  I never saw him as the Olympic Winter Sports-type.

To Jojo

My baby is three years old today!  He has changed so much, just in the last three months or so.  I had written some cute things he was saying a while back, and now his speech is coming out so clearly that they are obsolete.  But here they are, so that I will remember:

"Os dat?"  (what's that?)

"Hep Mama Hep!!!"

"Good monig!"

"Wook mama, a caxi cab!"

And a game he started playing just before bedtime:  "Where's Jojo toes?  Where toes?  Ack - Der dey are!!!!"  All this while we make a big production of saying "Stinky toes!!!"

He's been waking up early most mornings since the time change, and instead of crying out until we come in there (what Gabriel did at that age), he just gets up and climbs into bed with us.  Some mornings he dozes a little more, but most he keeps fidgeting until one of us gives up (or in?) and gets up with him, then whispers, "Good monig".  

He talks really fast, so sometimes it's hard to catch everything.  Then I found out this week that he never speaks at school.  They have been a little frustrated because he just clams up and won't talk to them, even when something has made him upset.  This is so funny, because I never pegged him as The Shy Kid AT ALL!!!  He's always been outgoing and fearless.  Maybe it's just a phase of growing up and realizing how the world works, which he is figuring out every minute of every day.

He helps me cook by getting out every piece of tupperware and every wooden spoon in the kitchen.  He helps me get ready in the morning by getting out every toiletry from our cabinets.  He pulls out at least 30 books a day, most of which he at least looks through.  I don't read to him as much as I did Gabriel, but he seems to have picked up on just about everything just as well.  Gabriel reads to him some, too.  He has two constant requests:  "Can I watch TV?" and "Can I listen to music?"  Constant.

He's a fantastic dancer, and figured out how to incorporated his shoulders into his moves not long ago.  He obviously inherited this talent from Mommy, and has brought up the age old question in our family:  Do we have a distant cousin who was famous as a Soul Train dancer?  Watching this kid, I say YES!!!  He is still a World Champion Hugger, and gets so intense about it that he sometimes hurts us.  He's starting to pretend, and uses different hilarious voices while moving his little cars around.  He is very funny already, and I attribute  this, at least partly, to my mother-in-law, with whom he spends almost as much time as me.  She is sweet, has a smart sense of humor and is basically a big kid most of the time.

He is smart, smart, smart.  I'll hear him pretending to read a book, and expect to find him reading "Go Dog, Go!" or something.  But no, he's sprawled out on the floor reading one of our big books, like the one about Scotland or the history of Mexico!  Who needs Dr. Seuss?

We are going to start him in gymnastics in January, and I can't wait.  The kid has been doing hand stands, sometimes one-handed, for months.  He loves to put his hands on a chair or the bed and propel his feet up and land, perfectly, every time.  He wanted to show me one day that he had learned to balance his whole body on the arm of the recliner in his room.  A few months ago we heard a ruckus in his room and when we asked what was going on, Gabriel yelled, "We're tackling each other!"  When we got to the room we saw Joel tackling Gabriel, over and over again, and both of them belly laughing about it.  He loves to shoot baskets in our toy hoop stand in the back yard.  Because he has found his sweet spot, and can make it over and over again, I am trying to get him to shoot from farther away.  He and Gabriel race each other by sliding down the slide on our swing set and then running top speed to the fence on the other side of the yard, over and over again.

We still continually confuse Joel and Tucker.  I say "Joel" when I mean "Tucker", and vice versa, at least three times a day.  They are such twins.  They are adorable, too smart for their own good and constantly getting into trouble.

 He still worships his brother and wants to do everything Gabriel does, including play the drums.  He's amazingly good for a three year old.  He's started playing the keyboard while Gabriel practices.  We decided that with his karate-kicking, high-jumping and loud personality, he is lead singer material (think David Lee Roth, before he lost his voice and tried to be a paramedic), so we're hoping for a microphone stand for Christmas.  A match made in heaven!!!

His diet has shrunk.  The only things he really LOVES to eat are waffles, bananas with peanut butter spread on top of every bite, oatmeal with dried fruit and almonds stirred in, graham crackers, and Cheese Rollups from Taco Bell.  He's turned on virtually everything else he was eating, which really was a list of only about 15 things, but still.  He would eat sweets constantly if I let him.

He still does not really resemble anyone in our family, until he laughs and looks exactly like Jav's mom.  Except with green eyes and light brown hair.

I love this boy so, so much.  Happy 3rd birthday, my little Jojo