Happy Birthday Keeley

The day after Christmas we drove up to see our Georgia family. It was awesome to get there in time to celebrate Keeley's 6th birthday!

I love these crazy people. There is something special about cousins, they're almost better than siblings because they're nicer to you. We picked up right where we left off, like long lost best friends.

The theme was waffles and pigs- her Mom is a Pinterest All Star.

And very photogenic.

Merry Christmas

 

We had a merry Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! After going to 6 weeks of church pageant rehearsals, we had to miss the service because poor Ryan woke up Christmas Eve morning with strep throat. He felt really yucky all day with fever and vomiting. 

With dress rehearsal before the service, Mom and I would have been away from our favorite boys for 4 hours on Christmas Eve. It just didn't seem right, so we stayed home to give Buddy antibiotics, Motrin, and cuddles. We made the best of the opportunity to set up our own Nativity Scene, putting baby Jesus in the manger, because this is his birthday, after all. And we did our annual gingerbread house decorations.

Christmas morning was awesome- Mom and Dad were thrilled that we slept until 6:30am, and we were thrilled to get the amazing Santa gifts of a digital piano and bikes!

I already know how to play the intro to Let It Go. Dad and I looked it up on You Tube. Mom says I can start piano lessons this year.

We feel like two very lucky kids!

Polar Express

This year we drove down to the train museum for a ride on the Polar Express with some friends from Mom's work. That's where I met my new adopted little brother, MJ. He is 2 years old and LOVES older women. He took one look at me, smiled, and grabbed my hand.  

The affection was mutual. He is a charming little mayor, calling people out by name, working the room like a mini boss. 

We got to ride in the caboose to a giant field, aka. The North Pole. It was too dark to get any good pictures, but it was a fun place. Except when they told me there were coyotes in adjacent fields, and a nearby big cat rescue where panthers occasionally escape. Those info bits kind of ruined the night for me.

There were some super fun, extremely dangerous fire pits organized for roasting smores in the field. It was exciting for the parents to sit on dry bales of hay while the kids waved around sharp flaming sticks of melting marshmallows wildly in the air. Then there was that one time when Ryan crossed into spaz-out mode and almost fell backward into the low fire pit. We didn't last very long in that area.

At the end, we all got to see Santa. I knew he wasn't the REAL Santa. Real Santa is at the mall. But I didn't tell the little kids that.

I think we are going to ask MJ's parents if we can take him home with us forever.

The Nice List

Last week at school Ryan's frenemy randomly declared that Ryan was on the Naughty List. My shock and despair at those words was palpable.  

Sure, Ryan can be annoying when he drops a diving elbow on my face when I'm laying in the floor watching a movie. Yes, sometimes he throws heavy objects at the French door windows. And, of course nobody likes it when he spits in our face in a fit of rage. But do those warrant The Naughty List? No way.

He is genuinely trying to improve his self control, and is doing the best he can with the connections between his 3 year old lizard brain and executive function centers. He deserves credit for having a good heart.  But, for the record, I am definitely on the Nice List. I live and breathe the Nice List.

 I've been playing teacher every day, quizzing Ryan on math problems and giving him tips on reading strategies. And, I'm the model student in my first grade class. So far, so good, on the firstborn obedient child path! 

Mom even took me to Target to do Christmas shopping because I am such a great kid.

 

Santa

 

We went to see Second-String Santa this year, because the wait for Frozen Santa and Olaf was 2 hours.  

It was exciting anyway, and we did our Superhero Shuffle all the way to the Food Court North Pole. That's right, Ryan is wearing shorts. It's 80 degrees here. 

I asked for a Big-Eyed Seahorse doll, bike, and piano.

Ryan asked for Silly Puddy, lightsaber, and a bunny.

Mom and Ryan are both campaigning pretty intensely for a bunny. I think they are trying to plant the seed to convince Dad to get a bunny in the future since he shut down all hope for a kitten or Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. You can train bunnies to live inside just like a cat. They are cuddly. And they are adorable.

Christmas Spirit

 We picked out our North Carolina fir tree and pulled the box of ornaments out of storage to officially get into the spirit of the season. 

It's fun to pick through the ornaments, seeing the pasta frame I made in Kindergarten, the annual family ornaments from Nana, and the old Disney characters that we discard because they are for babies. And for the record, NO, we did not buy Frozen ornaments this year, because $9.00 for Elsa is ridiculous.

It's a tricky thing to celebrate Christmas in Florida, since it has been 80 degrees and sunny. But when we put out cinnamon pine cones, pipe in classic Christmas songs, and see our neighbors wrap strings of lights around their palm trees, it feels right.

We try to avoid the frenzied excess side of the holiday season (Mom vowed to go to Walmart only once). Instead we try to focus on being grateful for important things. Keep Calm and Remember It's Jesus's Birthday. 

Murmel

So, this is the only picture we have of Thanksgiving. Good job, blogger Mom. We did our annual Turkey Trot on Bayshore, followed by turkey and Dad's apple pie with our great aunt Doe, who was visiting from Georgia. It was a great day and I can't believe we didn't take any pictures of it. The next day our Elf on The Shelf, Murmel, arrived from the North Pole to kick off the Christmas season!

This year Murmel got his big boy body, so we can't touch him or he'll lose his magic. He flies to the North Pole every night to report our good (or bad) behavior to Santa. Then he comes back and does crazy things. Like this year, he left us a candy cane garden kit and played on a zip line with the penguins.  

Except one night he didn't move from his spot and we were really worried. Dad said there was a bad blizzard at the North Pole, and probably it was too dangerous for him to fly through it. I secretly wrote a letter to Santa about it, sealed it in an envelope, and left it with Murmel the next night.

He has been having tons of fun with our toys while we sleep at night.

Our favorite was the acrobat stunt.

We love that Elf. But I must admit, his watchful eye and direct line to Santa doesn't instill fear in Ryan the way we would hope. When Mom uses the warning "Murmel will tell Santa" to change my behavior, I snap back into sweet Kelsey. Not so much with the second child. Maybe Murmel should read some child development articles on "Time Ins" and positive reinforcement techniques, because threats and promises that SANTA WILL NOT BRING YOU ANY TOYS elicit only a shoulder shrug and "Meh" from the spirited one.

Christmas Card

These pictures from the Disney World Pirate Experience were so close to being our choice for the annual family Christmas card. There has never been a better representation of our starkly different personalities.

In one child: serene, introspective mermaid. In the other: zombie pirate.

  Even the makeup artist was cracking up at how happy Ryan was through the process. Ryan literally smiled at himself in the mirror the whole time.

The three year old boy who has nightmares about bad guys was suddenly empowered as an evil zombie.

Meanwhile, it was spa day for me. I could totally do painted nails and beautiful makeup every day.

 

The best part was walking around Magic Kingdom and meeting up with our parents' old friends from Austin.

They got to be pirates, too. I think we are all going to be good friends in the future. Mom didn't get good pictures because her battery died after taking so many of Ryan inhabiting his zombie character. 

So Dad captured It's A Small World, pirate style.

And the angry biscuit dinner at Cracker Barrel.

Show some class, people.

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!