Santa, Baby

"Who is this scary dude?"

I recently found this picture of EB, taken when she was just a year old. At this young age, eight out of ten Santa photo shoots end disastrously: screaming baby, cajoling parents, and a resigned Santa. In our case, Santa had visited her daycare for the photo opp, and needless to say, EB was terrified. As for Santa…just look at this poor devil. He’s ready for his next shot of Jack Daniels.

Fast forward to three years later, and EB is at an age where Santa Claus is THE MAN. During the few months leading up to Christmas, she talked about him non-stop, planning Santa's Christmas treats and “writing” him letters. While K had believed in Santa when he was a child, I was never taught to believe in Santa—and let’s face it, it’s the parents that are responsible for fueling the Santa make-believe fire. So I admit, teaching EB about Santa is probably more for me than it is for her.


Here is a picture of EB’s letter that she typed--strings of random letters and numbers that she typed into the keyboard. However, she made sure Santa saw all of her “good job” stickers she had collected in the past few months. It's a documented confirmation that she was, indeed, a good girl this year. The girl knows how to make her case--a future lawyer perhaps?

Proof's in the good job stickers

K and I pulled out the Santa Card too often this Christmas season, telling EB that Santa expected a final progress report from us before he determined whether or not she was gift-worthy. Once, during a particularly terrible bout of temper tantrum (legs and arms flailing, rolling around on the floor), K threatened to call Santa to report her behavior. EB shot straight up, eyes popping out, and charged K with such force that she almost knocked him over: “NOOOOOO…..DON’T CALL SANTA!!!! I’ll stop!”


EB was rest assured on Christmas Day, when she woke up with stocking full of treats that she had asked for (along with an electronic Dora toothbrush because Santa would hate for her teeth to rot), along with two gifts she had specifically asked Santa to bring (a train and a tractor), our gifts, and Grandma’s gifts galore. She was so excited that she came running into our room, eyes beaming: "Santa came last night!!!" 


I hope the magic stays alive for may more years to come. 

No more crying...

"Santa, I want a train and a tractor..."

  

Happy Autumn!

It was a beautiful, comfortable 75 degrees today--fall is finally here! This is my favorite season of the year, and here are the five top reasons.

• Lots of hiking. K and I love to hike, and we've been taking EB since she was 10 months old. She has long outgrown her carrier, but she's a little trooper and does great hiking on her own. Here are some pics from our past hiking trips:

EB 10 months; Arizona

EB 24 months; North Carolina

EB almost 3; Mt. Pinnacle

• Pumpkin breads. I bought a couple of pumpkins yesterday so that EB and I can bake some pumpkin bread together. Look at these beauties--only $2 each. Here's a great pumpkin bread recipe, courtesy of Alton Brown from the Food Network, in case you're interested.

Bake me!

• Chilly nights = bonfire + s'mores. K built this fire pit in our backyard a few months ago...just in time for a blistering, blazing summer. We can't wait to put it to use.

• Halloween! I have not cared for Halloween since my college days, when it was a great excuse for my college friends and I to dress up and get silly inebriated. But now that I have EB, I have a brand-new appreciation for this holiday. In fact, she's been talking about it nonstop for months now, and it's great fun seeing everything through her eyes. 

Buds from school

• And finally...no more flip-flops at work. I can not believe people actually think it's acceptable to wear flip-flops in the office, but that has been the sad reality. Don't get me wrong, I think some toe action is O.K. during the summer time, but showing off every unsightly square inch of your feet is just plain wrong. It creates a hostile work environment.