Merry Christmas!

Woody Wagon Make Over

I've been collecting all kinds of things for Rylin's Christmas presents (trying not to go overboard) for several months. He recently discovered a Tiny Tikes Cozy Coupe at Attie's house and was all over it. I couldn't help but think I had to get him his own. I scoured Craig's List and found a rare edition woody wagon for a good bargain, though it was in need of some work.

I should tell you that this was a special find because growing up we had a brown woody station wagon that embarrassed the crap out of me. I remember sitting in the front seat on the "hump" (the middle armrest) so I could see out the window. I remember my brothers fighting and farting in the back seat. I remember the little flower my mom painted on the front seat to disguise a tiny spot one of us left in the vinyl. I was never so happy to see that thing go, though my parents replaced it with an almost equally embarrassing silver Buick station wagon. So when I saw the tiny wagon online, it brought all those memories back. And I laughed. I was determined to make Rylin's woody wagon a lot cooler!

A few cans of plastic spray paint, my own homemade stickers, Jordan's handy work repairing the faux wood panels, and I thought twice about taking it for a spin down the block myself!

I know Rylin will be excited when he sees it under the tree tomorrow morning...though he could probably care less about our little restoration job!

Santa:Take 2

You might remember Rylin's first trip to Santa that I blogged about here. Well, gone are the days of sleepy smiles! Last week, Bethany and I took Rylin and Attie to see the Santa in the mall. Atticus loves everyone, so he had no problem smiling on his lap. Rylin was another story. He puckered his bottom lip and the tears began to flow! Luckily the photographer was taking some time to get set up so I had a chance to calm him down and wipe his face. After a little poking with a hand puppet, we managed to get a cute shot.

He refused to look the bearded man in the face, but he kept a death grip on his finger. It cracks me up every time I look at it cause I can totally hear Santa saying "hey, pull my finger". Ha Ha! Can you tell I grew up with brothers?!

Getting Ready for Christmas

I know I've been slacking lately in updating the blog, but it is for good reason. (Don't I always say that?!) December always seems to be crazy filled with parties, traveling, and holiday events. This year is no exception, but we have been careful not to overload our schedule too much and miss the important things. We are excited about making new holiday traditions with our family and teaching Rylin about why we celebrate this season to begin with. As I've mentioned in the past, Christmas was a big deal in my family, and it began with setting the mood early in December. A couple of weeks ago, Jordan, Rylin and I did just that. I had hoped to visit a tree farm to cut our own down, but after a busy weekend, opted to visit our trusty Home Depot instead.

Rylin quickly learned to say "tree" and probably pointed and repeated that word over a thousand times...and who knows how many times since that night! We picked a nice fat one for our living room, and Rylin helped me put on a few of his ornaments from last year. Notice the stockings are hanging higher this year!

Now a gate safely keeps our tree from some tiny fingers who would like to disassemble it one needle at a time! He still gets excited every time I plug in the lights and I love seeing his big cheesy grin.