Be vewy, vewy quiet, we're hunting Chwistmas Twees

Yes, we went Christmas tree hunting today.  It was a much colder field trip than in previous years, but we bundled up with the appropriate clothing, including reindeer antlers, and drove a half hour into the country in search of the perfect tree.  Calvin was far more impressed with the hay ride from the parking lot to the tree patch than he was with the car ride from the breakfast restaurant to the tree farm.  The farm had a lot of beautiful trees and it didn't take long to find the one we wanted to bring home, and that's when Calvin really started to enjoy himself.  He thought it was pretty funny that his grandpa was crawling around underneath this tree, and that it was down right hilarious when the tree fell.  We cut two trees, one for us and one for grandma and grandpa, and both times Calvin just laughed and kept saying "boom, boom, boom" over and over again (his new found voice has been a great source of comedy for us).  he thought it was just as funny that when we got home we brought the tree in the house, and who can blame him?  After spending hours trying to get our old lights working to no avail, we wondered the same ourselves.  So the decorating will have to wait another day, but our house is already filled with the wonderful, Christmassy smell that is the fresh cut pine tree in our great room, and we know the season of advent has begun.

More hunting pictures are in the Dec 1-7 photo album. 

The wonders of the season.

Be it the strange decorations  that have come out of the basement or the sudden change in the weather, the crowds of people or simply a spirit in the air, the wonder of this season is more than just a commercial phrase coined by companies such as Coca Cola and Hallmark.  we know this to be true because we have already seen the look of wonder spread across our son's guileless face.  On Friday morning he stood agape, staring at our singing and dancing animatronic snowmen when first they appeared (and performed).  Saturday afternoon he traipsed through stores with a cheerfulness that can only belong to one who has never been responsible for holiday meals, deals, or clean-up.  Then tonight, as we enjoyed our first real snow of the season, he stood wide-eyed on our deck, face turned up to the heavens, a look of fascination on his face that clearly knew no cold.  Though last year may have been his first Christmas, we are ever more aware that this one will hold a place in our memories that is so much more special.

 "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science."
-Albert Einstein

The food we celebrate

What is Thanksgiving if not a holiday about food?  Sure, we know it's about giving thanks for those things which we cherish in our lives, but food on the table and good company is a really good place to start.  In our house Thanksgiving is also a sort of kick-off day of preparing our home and our lives for the upcoming season of advent.  So first thing in the morning, while enjoying a yummy family breakfast, we bring all the Christmas decorations out of storage and begin the job of dressing the house for the season.  It's a tad early this year (we won't have a tree until next weekend) but Calvin greatly enjoyed removing each and every seasonal trimming, twice finding himself stuck head first in one Christmas bin or another (be sure to note the santa hat).  Which brings us to the great food and company that we celebrated later in the day, where Calvin enjoyed being the center of a universe that consisted entirely of his devoted followers:  two grandmothers, two grandfathers, an aunt, and an uncle.  Oh, and two parents, too, of course.  Calvin took this celebration of food and thanks to a whole new level with his grandmothers:  he continually conned his gram into giving him snacks from the kitchen, and his grandma brought him the most brilliant set of wooden food we've ever seen, complete with stylish cutting board and knife (it's needed to cut apart the slices of healthy food that are velcroed together), which kept the entire household entertained the whole evening (whether because of the toy or the Calvin, we can't say). 

Pictures, for which are thankful, are in the Nov 17-23 album.

Happy Thanksgiving

We give thanks for our home.  We give thanks for the food we are able to decorate our table with at every meal.  We are thankful for Jon's job, and for the little terror that gives Cortney a job, and Calvin is thankful for the pets and the toys that keep him equally as busy.  We are thankful for our health, and the health of our little boy.  We are thankful for each other, and for our families who will be gathering tonight for a thanks giving dinner.

We wish all of you a beautiful Thanksgiving filled with many things for which to be thankful. 

Learning a new trick.

This may not have been Calvin's first Halloween, but it was his first attempt at trick-or-treating, and he took well to the new skill.  Before we could get out of the house our bell rang and we found ourselves giving candy to a frog about the same age as Calvin.  After that flurry of activity Calvin remained glued to the screen door, and his excitement grew exponentially as he watched other kids moving up and down the sidewalk just outside.  It was great fun for us to see him really take interest in the holiday, understanding at least that something was special about the day.  We had some difficulty trying to get him to move at a decent pace because he was too busy looking around, taking everything in.  It only took two houses for Calvin to catch on to the game:  he would toddle up the driveway in his puffy pumpkin costume, sign please to whatever person or creature met him at the door, and then took the candy and added it to his bag.  He was very good at taking only one piece, but wasn't very good at leaving once the transaction was over, especially if there was music.  We visited most of the houses on our block, complete with masked werewolves, spooky lighting and sounds, and seemingly still figures coming to life.  Surprisingly, only his parents seemed slightly spooked while Calvin laughed at every fright.  We ended our evening by handing out candy from our own driveway (including the pieces Calvin had brought home), then reading through our Halloween library books one last time before returning to the shelf until next year.

Just for kicks, does anybody remember this little giraffe from last year?