Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful white Christmas. Yes, it snowed for a bit on Christmas day, but for the first time in a week didn't amount to much. But there was plenty on the ground!

Dillon was at the perfect age to have a very fun Christmas. He didn't get crazy excited, yet he was pleasantly excited about everything. He had the best remarks and comments about everything. He didn't realize that there was a need to wake up at the awful hour of 5 AM. It will be interesting to see how he acts next year. I expect that by then the crazy excited will have set in.

We spent the morning at Gram and Papa's house opening stockings and presents, then went to our house for more stocking and presents (and a nap) and then back down to Gram and Papa's for dinner. It was a great day. I think Dillon was very wound up by the end of the day because he didn't fall asleep until after 10:30 PM, although he was put to bed at about 8:30.

Dillon had fun looking through his stocking. He received a little Lego set, which is a family tradition. Craig has always gotten one (and still does) and has to put it together before he can move on to anything else. Dillon wanted to put it together too when he saw it, but was easily persuaded to keep looking in his stocking....this year.


He really liked what other people received in their stockings too....a lettuce cutter and extension cord holder specifically.





Dillon passed out presents this year (with some help). He had fun and was very thorough, looking under the tree to make sure he got everything.




Very thorough!!


At one point he was just handing presents out to who ever so told him to read the tag. He paused to read the tag and then realized that he couldn't read and needed help. It was pretty funny.



Opening presents was very fun and Dillon loved everything he received. He always made sure all the paper was off of the present. He usually wanted it opened right away, but since it takes a while to untie all the twisty ties that hold toys in their boxes he quickly moved onto the next present.



Waiting patiently for Papa to open his new barn.


Finally!

For Dillon's birthday Uncle Craig bought Dillon a garbage truck but since it was very loved and used frequently it died. So Dillon received a bigger and better one for Christmas.



One very big and special present he received was a rocking horse that Papa made for him. It is very very nice and will last for many generations to come. Dillon quickly figured out how to make the horse rock back and forth.




After Gram and Papa's we went back to our house to open more presents! When we walked in the door Dillon went right up to presents and started opening! Good thing they happened to be his.


He was very excited for the new Nerf balls that Santa brought.


Opening his stocking. Santa brought a spiral notebook with Cars cars on the front. Turns out that was the present this year. He calls it his "handy dandy notebook" just like on Blues Clues. Since he pulled it out of his stocking he has pretty much gone everywhere with him. Guess we'll need to find some replacements since all the pages are almost filled up already. Who knew that the gift out of the dollar bin would be the gift he glommed onto.


Making sure we got everything...again.


Santa also brought Dillon his very own calculator; which Dillon instantly turned into a phone. Looks like a busy guy, doesn't he?


After some play time, lunch and a nap we went back over to Gram and Papa's for dinner. All the boys watched Ice Age, I thought it was funny that they ALL were tuned into the cartoon.


Dillon played with the toys that we hadn't brought back our house yet and we even managed to get a family picture...think Dillon is ready to be done for the day?



All in all it was a great Christmas and it was so much fun watching it through Dillon's eyes.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve we went over to Gram and Papa's to stay the night. Before we left we had to leave cookies and milk for Santa. Dillon wasn't too sure about having to leave some for Santa without him having some too. So he took a bite of a cookie and drink of milk, just to make sure it was safe for Santa.



While waiting for dinner Dillon and Uncle Craig drew pictures.


Patiently waiting for the next day.


The annual putting the star on Gram and Papa's tree. For the last almost 30 years Craig and I have taken turns putting the star on the top of the tree. Well this year it was the start of a new tradition, Dillon put the star on. He did it all by him self (with a little boost) and was very proud of himself.




By the way, yes it snowed again! We got about 3 more inches and had a very interesting drive, yes the whole 2 blocks, to Gram and Papa's. Never thought I'd say it, but I am ready for the snow to melt!!!

When Will It Stop?

That is what we kept asking ourselves about the snow. After it snowed on Thursday morning we had a bit of a reprieve on Friday and were able to get out to lunch and to the grocery story. But Saturday afternoon at about 2 PM the snow started and it didn't stop until sometime late Sunday night!! I like snow, but when it never stops and you start to worry about trees losing limbs and losing power or how much snow can our deck really hold it is time to stop snowing!

We watched the Christmas ships go by Saturday night. Pictures didn't really turn out as it was snowing (it was hard enough to see the ships in person). There were only 6 ships this year, in the past there have been as many a 30, but I am guessing most people just wanted to stay home for fear that they couldn't get back if they left. Dillon was very excited when he heard Santa and kept saying "hi" to him. Santa said "hi" to Dillon a bit before our house so we just barely got to hear him. At one point our neighbor, Bob, came outside and said "Hi, Dillon this is is Santa". Dillon saw right through it and excitedly said "Hi, Bob!" Can't fool him!!

Sunday it just snowed and snowed and snowed. It snowed so hard that for the majority of the day we couldn't see across the water. We needed to get out of the house for a little bit so we walked down to Gram and Papas. Glad we finally had a use for the backpack carrier. I think Dillon enjoyed the ride. He definitely liked the change in scenery.

Sunday morning.
Rocky Point Road - looks a bit like Minnesota doesn't it?!
Sunday night, poor birdies aren't getting any food. But don't worry mom and dad have practically a buffet set up for them.


We ended up losing power for about 45 minutes Sunday evening but luckily it wasn't out for long. Just when I was about to cook some soup on the fireplace the power came back on and never went out again.

Monday morning when we woke up there was a total of 9 inches on the ground!!! Art unburied our cars today before anymore snow has a chance to pile up on what is already there. He even went out shopping for a while today and said it wasn't too bad. I think having the temperature actually above freezing (35 degrees!), sun out and clear skies today really helped to start melting some of the snow, but by evening we were back the 20s and everything was frozen once again.






Look what he drove out of!!!
Dillon had a hard time walking in the snow as it came half way up his legs. But he had fun for a little bit. He wanted to help wipe snow off the cars.



But what he really wanted to do was ride his tricycle, sorry no where to go buddy.

Snow Round Two

Yesterday (Wednesday) they kept talking about how we were supposed to get a lot of snow. Parts of Western Washington got snow to the north and south of Seattle/Tacoma area but not where we were. We were in a snow shadow of sorts. I was really bummed, as I just wanted a little bit more snow because what we did have had basically melted by the end of the day Wednesday. I went to bed resigned to the fact that we weren't going to get any snow.

Well I was wrong! We woke up a little before 7 this morning and it was SNOWING and snowing hard. I was excited, Art went back to sleep. Dillon got up shortly thereafter and was excited for the snow; at least I have someone to share the excitement with. Today was supposed to be Dillon's last day of school until after the New Year, but instead he had his first snow day. After the day was done we had about 3 inches. It snowed pretty much all day until about 3p.m. It was sure pretty to watch come down.

This is what we saw once it was light enough to really see outside.
Of course after breakfast we bundled up and went outside to play for a bit. We couldn't stay out too long as it was only 26 degrees and a little breezy! Definitely not what we are used to around here. I told Dillon we could catch snowflakes on our tongues so he tried.
Then he tried the snow off the car. Probably not the best tasting and it was really cold.
Dillon helped daddy carry more wood in for the fire.
We have a bird bath in the back yard that has been frozen solid for several days now. So why not sit and slide on it?
Having more fun with daddy. As you can see it was still snowing.
I love the look on his face, you know he is having fun!
Look at the rosey cheeks! Time to go inside.
I promised I'd post pictures of the house with our Christmas lights up. So much prettier in the snow.
Our neighbor decorated one of the trees in his yard. I thought it was very pretty with all the snow on it.
And last but not least Dillon learned how to take his shirt off today. I wouldn't say it was the best day to learn how to do this but I guess it happens when it happens. At least he put on his hat to keep warm (I did not suggest it, he was cold!).

Field Trip

Today Dillon's preschool class took a field trip to My Gym. It is a "gym" designed for little kids. There is so much for them to do they have free reign to play with what they want. Dillon really liked climbing up the ladder to go down the slide into the bin of balls. He did that over and over again.




He also liked playing basketball.

Towards the end of their time there the staff got out the zip swing and each child got a chance to ride on it (if they wanted). At first Dillon didn't want to go, but then he changed his mind. Each child was pushed twice on the swing and the second time he said he wanted to go faster! Can you see the big smile on his face?!

After the Snow

This is what Monday morning looked like. Beautiful.

It was very windy this day and I tried to get a picture of the snow blowing off the roof the house.

Let it Snow!!!!

It snowed last night!! It started snowing about 7:30 p.m. and snowed off and on until 10ish and then really started coming down. If you know me at all you know I LOVE it when it snows. It was hard to go to bed last night, I wanted to stay up and watch it come down.

When we got up in the morning we had about an inch of snow. Not as much as I was hopping for, but I'll take it. Dillon was excited for the snow. As you know, he has been wearing his snow boots around the house since I bought them just waiting to be able to use them in the snow. Well today they got broken in. After breakfast we told him that we'd get ready to go outside. He ran off and got his boots on and his gloves on...he was ready! Of course I didn't think he was bundled up enough so we put enough clothes on him so he could barely walk. Its a right of passage right?


Standing in the doorway waiting to go out. Doesn't he look so old in this picture?
It was cold outside, but beautiful. Dillon loved the snow and wanted to make a snowball, but the snow was too dry.
Had to try and see what it tasted like...he said snow.
The past three years we've been able to get a family picture in the snow. Here is this year's.
Making snow angles.
Daddy throwing snow at Dillon.
What a cutie!!
He even got snow on his eyelashes!
My silly garden, things are still blooming. These are snapdragons.

Here is video of Dillon playing in the snow.

Going to see Santa

Dillon was very excited to see Santa this year. We've been talking about him and seen him on TV and in books. The day we sent to the mall Dillon was excited and kept talking about how we were going to see Santa. We got to Santa's village, no line (good to go mid-week and middle of the day!), Dillon walked right up towards Santa....but he stopped dead about a foot away and turned to run into my legs. Guess Santa wasn't as exciting after all.

We tried to get him to sit on his lap, not happening;

tried to have him sit next to Santa, also not happening. Finally I gave him his candy cane and asked him to stand in front of Santa. He stood long enough for a picture to be taken. No smiles, but at least there were no tears.

Trying to coax him onto Santa's lap.
What he really wanted to do was to walk in the "snow".

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

We went out last weekend and got our Christmas Tree. Like always we cut it down ourselves. This year we went to the place that I went every year growing up and Gram and Papa went with us. Dillon had lots of fun walking around in the "forest".

Little boys always find the sticks!

We found the perfect tree - an 11 foot tree!!! I have always wanted a tall tree and now that we have tall ceilings we decided to get one.
Making sure daddy is cutting everything just right.
Dillon helped carry the tree up the hill.
After we carried the tree up the hill it was time for some hot cider and to warm up.
Since we have a much bigger tree than we've had in years past we needed to get a larger tree stand. Like our tree?
Dillon helped daddy put the holders in the stand.
Then it was time to decorate. Dillon is helping mommy put up lights.
Dillon putting the first ornament on the tree.
The tree was way too tall for Dillon to put the star on top so he handed it to daddy on the ladder.
Ta-Da - the finished tree.
Isn't Dillon cute in his Christmas jammies? (The shirt says "what Santa doesn't bring me Grandma will".
After all that decorating it was time for hot cocoa. I think we've started a new tradition! Dillon really loved the hot cocoa and has been making pretend cocoa a lot since then.

You always have to have lots of whipped cream on top!!

It's Begining to Look A Lot.....

Like Christmas!!!

We have definitely been getting into the holiday spirit over the last few weeks and Dillon is excited! He seems to understand what is going on and loves all the decorations, Christmas day should be very fun this year!

Art hung lights outside along the house. It was a very Chevy Chase - Christmas Vacation, moment precariously balancing the the ladder the staple the lights to the house. Doesn't the expression on his face say it all?


I keep forgetting to take a picture of what the house looks like at night, but once I do I'll post it. We do know that it is very bright. We still don't have curtains on our bedroom windows (don't ask) and when we turned the lights out the first night we'd put the lights up out side we couldn't stop laughing....it was bright as daylight in our room! Dillon pulled his chair out of the garage to oversee Art's work.


Downtown Bremerton has a tree lighting and this year we went to check it out. It was a very cold night, but at least it was dry. All Dillon really cared about was seeing the drums (the high school band and drill team were there performing) and the fire truck that brought Santa in. He didn't understand why he couldn't get into the truck.

Dillon did end up seeing Santa right before he got back on the fire truck to leave. Almost everyone had left by then and Dillon kept saying he wanted to say Hi. I was very surprised, since his reaction to Santa a few days before was very different. (I'll post about that later). He did say Hi to Santa but mostly he laughed and kept his eyes closed. Everyone thought he was hilarious. I guess he figured it he couldn't see Santa, that Santa couldn't see him. I really wish we'd gotten some pictures of this but they didn't turn out.

After Santa left we walked down to the waterfront park. It was all light up and Dillon likes to watch the fountains and play on the rocks. I wish this photo did justice to how pretty is is down there.

Going Camping

Dillon has been "going camping" a lot lately. I am assuming that he saw someone go camping on TV and thought it looked like fun. He gets his backpack out and fills it up. Sometimes he puts his winter hat and snow boots on too - then he's ready to go. Although sometimes with the exact same get up he says he's going to work. Either way he ready to go......somewhere.


A basket (or purse) is also good for carrying stuff in.

Here are some funny pictures of Dillon. I wanted to take his picture in the funny bib. He let me take one but the second one he decided he was shy. What a silly boy!

Dillon Update

Good news, Dillon is finally keeping his clothes on at nap time and bed time. Guess he decided that it wasn't really all that fun to be cold while sleeping after all.

I think Dillon must be focusing on fine motor skills right now. He is wanting to "write" a lot and does so with great focus. He has even been eating using utensils in both hands. Must be nice to be ambidextrous.

Dillon's writings:


Helping daddy put a cabinet together.

Dillon is talking all the time, I almost think he doesn't stop!! It definitely drives me a little crazy -- which he knows because he's asked me "I driving mommy nuts?"

He is also really into pretending and is really quite imaginative. The other day he emptied my Tupperware drawer and "set" the table for lunch for Art and I. Then he "went" to Old MacDonald's (McDonald's) and brought us home lunch. It was a delicious (and calorie free) meal.

He is so smart - it really amazes us what he picks up on and knows.