Early December

This December was such a fun-filled and action-packed month, that I think I need to post about it in "chunks"...so here's what happened in early December...

The boys walked down to the park with their respective classes (on different days) to decorate the designated Christmas tree for their grade-a fun annual tradition. They make ornaments in class, then walk down as group and place them on their tree.
This year Josh's class made cups of cocoa for their ornaments-a neat idea...they simply put brown paint on the outside of a plastic cup, then made a handle from a pipe cleaner....all as a nod to the Polar Express theme. They had taken a field trip down to the IMAX in Syracuse to see the movie the week prior-how fun!

Here is Josh and his buddies...



Pretending to "drink" his hot cocoa...
Josh and the girls


Josh's turn...

Then, after the tree was decorated, they mailed their letters to Santa...Just look at the chaos...Since the boys have reached school-age, I have a new-found and immense respect for teachers...

And here is Ben, the next day, with his best buddy, Daniel, lining up to decorate the third grade tree...







These guys made bagel ornaments, which they covered with peanut butter and sprinkled with birdseed. How green are they?! ;)
Then, when they were finished, they went up into the gazebo to sing a bunch of Christmas carols. Here is Ben with his goofball friends. I remember a friend of mine once referred to a nine year old we knew as being in the 'goofy stage'. I think I'm beginning to understand what she meant, now that I have one!Here is the third grade tree, all decorated...



And, unfortunately I forgot to take a picture on the first grade tree on the previous day, right after it was decorated, because that night the heavy rain and high winds washed all the hot cocoa away! Here it is the next day...:( Note the empty cups...


And I just love this series for a few reasons...Gracie marvelling at her first Christmas tree, the light in the sunroom, the scale of my baby girl in front of the great big tree, and the sweet big brother who's doting on her...oh, and who can resist the stylish plastic gate around the whole thing?






And here is Gracie on one of her first sled rides around the yard. We got this adorable sled at a great garage sale last Spring. She enjoyed being pulled around for awhile, until she discovered how much she enjoyed EATING the snow....




So this is how I found her every time I turned my back for a split second...face-down in the snow, intentionally, trying to eat as much as she can...What a little nut! Oh, and her word for snow is brrrrrr, brrrrrrrrrrrrr, because when I took her out to see her first snow, I told her, "It's cold, brr, brr!"
She never ceases to make me smile! :) And neither do the boys, for that matter!