Advent Calendar - Week 2

Here's this week's recap:

Day 4 - Make Christmas Goodies with Mom

I forgot to take a picture of him helping me, but I chose a simple one - Pretzel Hugs.  He did okay, but the only part he really enjoyed was setting the hugs on the pretzels, and once I put them in the oven he disappeared.

Day 5 - Buy a Gift to Give Away

We went and bought our Angel Tree gifts, and today we brought them back to church so they could be delivered.  No picture of that, but here's some colored ice he made with Grandma:

Day 6 - Visit Great-Grandpa DG and Great-Grandpa VV

 

Both Henry and Great-Grandpa were impressed by the three Hubers Lumber hats.

Day 7: Have Grandpa & Grandma H and Grandpa & Grandma VM Over for Supper

This was one of the highlights last year, and this year was no different.  I had Henry make the phone calls to invite them over when we got home at noon (I had arranged the date in advance!), and the calls were short and to the point. :)

 He got to lick out the bowl of whipped cream, which is never disappointing.

And Henry made sure they played down stairs with him after supper.

Day 8: Visit the Nursing Home and Hand out Treats

We had made extra candy cane reindeer and went to pass them out.  Henry did pretty good - only two really wanted us to stay and sit down (which wasn't an option with Henry!).  One guy was pretty interesting, but the last one we stopped by was where we ran into problems.  Henry was ready to go, and I had said this was our last one, but the poor lady was confused and thought we were someone she knew and REALLY wanted Henry to come say hi and sit by her.  Not much I could do about that, though.

Day 9: Make a Snowman Ornament

We actually did this the next day, because Friday we went shopping with Rachel.

This was kind of fun - because I gave up my plan!  I enjoy crafts, but I want them to turn out and therefore have a hard time letting Henry do his own thing.  So instead of making an ornament where I would want them to look "just right," I got out the construction paper and let him paint however he wanted.  He thought it was hilarious that I painted his hand.

Day 10: Make Treats for Friends

We skipped this - we did the snowman painting instead, and we have the candy cane reindeer done.  I had an idea to go with it, but it just wasn't necessary and didn't sound fun at the time.

While we were shopping with Rachel, we drove through Falls Park to look at the lights before heading home.  Henry saw a "raining tree" and we had to park the car so he could get out and look at it closer.  We ended up running all over and he had to touch some lights, and he wanted to roll down a big hill - I was freezing and it was pretty close to the water so I put a nix on that idea.

Advent Calendar, Year 2

I'll never be a dependable blogger - sometimes it just doesn't fit in my life.  So you'll just have to bear with me on the random posts and unannounced breaks.

Henry and I really enjoyed our Advent Calendar and all the activities last year, so I think it will always be one of our traditions.  The activities will change from year to year as I figure out what some favorites are and what isn't that enjoyable.  And while I think something like this would be fun for every family, some of our activities may be "way over the top" for others.  But I have the time and the enjoyment for baking and crafting.

One thing I learned last year was to be flexible.  If Henry wasn't in the mood to do something, trying to convince him it would be fun was never successful.  And that defeats the reason I wanted to do this - to make this a season of fun and serving others so it doesn't become a season wrapped around one day of presents.

On to the calendar.  Here is this year's version:

While I found tons of cute ideas, I needed something simple so that I would actually get it made before December 1.  I had squares of cardstock that I folded over a little to make a pocket in the back, and stuck a piece of paper in it with our activity on it (which makes it easy to switch activities if something unexpected comes up one day).  Then I printed numbers on paper, cut them out and glued them on the fronts of the cards.  Then I taped a piece of twine onto our mantel and used mini clothespins to hang the cards up.  A little effort, but pretty simple (and reusable next year).


Day 1: Put up the Christmas Tree and Decorate:

This went about the same as last year, but I planned for him to have some hot chocolate while I "un-smooshed" the branches (which is where he lost interest last year.  He also decided that he wanted a popcorn string on the tree because of the book, If You Take a Mouse to the Movies. 

It may not have been my best decision, but I agreed and even thought, "Hey, I have a bag of cranberries still setting in the fridge.  And I'm stubborn enough to finish what I started even though I keep wondering why I'm doing it.  So we have cranberry and popcorn garlands on our tree.  For about the only time in my life.

Day 2: Make Candy Cane Reindeer for Great-Grandparents

I thought this would be something he had fun doing.  I thought the eyes, and the noses, and the bells would be fun for him to put on.

He only wanted to be in charge of the glue, which was fine.  I just had to remind myself it was better if I didn't watch.

Day 3: Decorate Wrapping Paper with Finger Paint.

This hasn't happened, maybe in part because I don't want paint all over clothes and he refuses to wear one of Doug's old shirts.  Oh well. 

Instead we played in the fresh-fallen snow and Doug hooked the sled up to the back of the 4-wheeler and we were the crazy neighbors going up and down our road.  We had fun, and thankfully we were about done when the sled broke in half.  It wasn't quite made for that!

Not sure if I'll try to update daily, otherwise I'll have a weekly summary next Saturday.

Do you have any special Christmas traditions?

While Mom Mowed...

I seriously should have a separate folder for pictures of things that went on while I was busy mowing.

Henry usually hangs out by me, riding bike while I mow the front or in the sandbox while I mow the back.  He'll disappear sometimes, but since he's good about not playing out front by the sidewalk without me, I usually don't worry and just go check on him a few times. 

Because he's almost always just playing in the car and loading it up with tools and the scraps of wood we keep for the fireplace.

Except sometimes he's not.

Sometimes he's enjoying unsupervised time in the house.

This is what I found last week after mowing, and I did have to laugh because I didn't find either of the messes until several hours later.

His bedroom:

He helped himself to about half a block of cheese.  And ate off of every edge.

The office:

My stack of post its was in about a hundred pieces, papers had random "H"s on them, and several post its were stapled.

He also emptied out some of my hanging folders so his toolbox would fit in the drawer.  Because every toolbox needs a drawer, you know.

I Love Photoshop

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(He wasn't too sure about the ferris wheel at first)

And some of the other highlights from our visit to the Tulip Festival:

Sitting with Grandpa and Grandma after we all got covered in powdered sugar from our funnel cakes.

He saw some kids across the street hugging the other cup, and he wanted in on the action.

Watching Dad drive our town's float, and catching a golf ball (with Mom's help) from him.

Cozumel, Mexico

Earlier this year Doug and I got to get away on a peaceful, relaxing vacation that involved a lot of sitting.

And I got to use my 7-year-old passport for the very first time.  :)  Although we had to renew Doug's since it expired 2 months before our trip (at least his had been used a few times!).

And this is where we spent almost every day.

I didn't take enough books along - apparently I'm not used to having that much uninterrupted time to read!

We saw some Mayan Ruins.

Lots of iguanas.

A few crocodiles.

And even some dolphins, crabs and pelicans.

Around 5:00 we'd be sitting at the snack bar,

watching the sun set as we waited for the dining area to open for supper.

We had a good time, relaxed, and had some time to sit and talk.

I have no desire to be one of those couples who go every year, where 10 days still isn't long enough for them.

But then again, we were the ones sitting in the shade without our own insulated mugs for beer.

How uncool of us.

Hard Work

Medicine is not fun.

Sometimes you put it off so long you fall asleep...

Birthday Party

This year's birthday party was a big change from last year.

Last year we couldn't even have it at our house!

Henry got to help me - I decorated the cake and he decorated a piece of wax paper.  If only the camera could have captured how hard he was working to squeeze out the icing, because his little arms would start shaking as he tried to squirt it out.

I can bake a cake just fine, but I'm not going to pretend I'm awesome at decorating.  I had lofty ideas, but common sense dominated and I am very thankful for the internet and contact paper so we could have our Dinosaur Train cake.

We squeezed all the cousins in at our wrap-around counter top.

And it's a little hard to see, but we had cool curly candles from aunt "Joni in Nicu-agua."

Thank you to our wonderful families who love to come celebrate with us!  (And those who celebrated with us even though you couldn't be there)