Ego Deflation

"Mommy, I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Mommy, I love you."

"Aaawww, I love you, too."

"Potty seat, I love you."

Reasons to Celebrate

The little guy's first Christmas,

Well-loved gifts,

A *very* white Christmas,


And, most importantly . . .

Christmas Eve

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

 Come, thou long expected Jesus, 
 born to set thy people free; 
 from our fears and sins release us, 
 let us find our rest in thee.  
 Israel's strength and consolation, 
 hope of all the earth thou art; 
 dear desire of every nation, 
 joy of every longing heart.

 Born thy people to deliver, 
 born a child and yet a King, 
 born to reign in us forever, 
 now thy gracious kingdom bring. 
 By thine own eternal spirit 
 rule in all our hearts alone; 
 by thine all sufficient merit, 
 raise us to thy glorious throne.

Written by Charles WESLEY

Merry Christmas, everyone.

A Very Christmasy Day

Our day, in pictures:

Mom and Dad took us to Rice Park in Saint Paul to see the Christmas tree and decorations.

We ran around in order to keep ourselves from freezing.

Then we spent some time visiting our favorite Peanuts statues,

and took in the ice skaters at the outdoor rink.

Inspired by our outing in the snow, we came home and drew Frosty the Snowman,

and warmed up by reading a good story,

After lunch, we made some cookies with Daddy.

Frosting the cookies was fun.

Our brother decided to take a nap, since he's too little to bake.

After dinner and a bath, we donned our Christmas PJs for some jumping on the bed.

I love to jump.

I don't mind it, either.

Mom attempted to take our picture in front of the tree. It started like this . . .

And then turned into this . . .

And this.

We calmed down in time to put the star on the Advent Calendar.
Christmas will be here soon!

Favorite Phrases

My new favorite expressions, courtesy of the the littles:

From Master (usually said while scurrying up or down the stairs): Oh, oh, oh, here comes ME!

From Miss: I am very *fond* of . . . (cookies, coloring, etc., etc.)

From Baby Boy: Aaaaaah guh.

Lovin' the Little Guy

I have been amazed, lately, by how much Miss and Master adore their little brother. I expected them to like him, but I also expected them to be significantly annoyed by his interference in their daily lives. To my surprise, they have rarely been irritated by the attention he requires. Instead, they love to jump in and help with his needs. Master gets some kind of big thrill out of throwing away the little guy's diapers. Miss loves to hold him for me (though, she is starting to get tired of this because he squishes her with his tremendous girth). They both love to kiss him, hold his hands, and make him laugh.

Perhaps the love will fade when he becomes mobile and begins to threaten their toys. But, for now, all of the brotherly and sisterly affection around here is a sweet sight to see.