Decorating the Tree

I didn't have time earlier this month to post pics of decorating the tree, so here we are...







It is tradition to pull all the decorations down from the attic the Friday after Thanksgiving and decorate. I have to praise Josh here because he always does this without complaint though I know it is not his favorite tradition. It is something I've look forward to every year since I was little and now we get to share that tradition with Jase. Of course, I realize that in a few years he is not going to be interested, but this year he definitely was and we had a lot of fun. We put the tree in the front bedroom, so that we wouldn't have to battle with him over the the ornaments. Wouldn't you know that one of the first things he did was pitch an ornament down the hallway!

My mom bought us an ornament every year (and to her credit, still does) while I was growing up, so our tree is a hodge podge of ornaments collected over the years.

The beads are just great fun! We've had many battles with him over these beads since letting him play with them that night.

Scary Santa

We took Jase to the mall a couple of weeks ago for his first picture with Santa. Of course, he was fine as we stood in line for an hour, but when it was finally his turn he completely panicked!

"How could you leave me with this scary old man?"

Last weekend my mom and dad came into town to celebrate Christmas. Daddy started a new tradition last year of dressing up as Santa for his grandkids. It is hilarious! I think my dad will always be a kid at heart and we are so grateful for that! Having lost my granddad a couple of weeks ago, I am so glad that Jase will have memories like this to cherish of his own grandparents. I am not sure how many more years dad is going to be able to pull it off as both of my nieces are very bright little girls and they are getting old enough to figure it out. He managed to repeat "Ho, Ho, Ho", but he gets little else out because he is afraid they are going to recognize his voice. Of course, noone ever questions where Poppa is when Santa "happens" to drop by either. So, we thought in the comfort of Uncle Lonny's house Jase might do a little better, but no such luck!

GRRRR!!!

I know Halloween was over a month ago, but I have to share pictures of Jase in his costume. Yes, I do believe he is the scariest dragon ever! He hates wearing hats, so as you can imagine getting him to leave the dragon's mouth alone was a bit of a challenge. Once we got him outside he was distracted enough to leave it alone though.

Josh took the day off to spend with Jase and I think he was more excited to go trick or treating than Jase was, but we had a really good time anyway. Our friends Justin and Melissa brought baby Kate by and we managed to get some pics of them together. Kate and Jase are in daycare together and I work with Justin. Baby Kate was a very cute monkey.

After Justin and Melissa left, we walked up and down our block in search of people who were actually at home that night. We managed to find a few homes who weren't off doing there own trick or treating. When we got home Jase dumped his candy out and admired it at least ten times. It reminded me a bit of myself. My parents can attest to the fact that I counted my candy every year and kept record of each piece that was eaten. I guess I was always destined to be an accountant.

I think Jase had an "a ha" moment that night, like "all I have to do is get dressed up to get candy?" Totally worth it!

Dots?! Blek!


What else is in here?

Mmm, tootsie roll. Much Better!