The World of Wyatt, Jubilee & Addie: December 2006

Pre-schooler Christmas Bliss!

On Monday night our neighbors asked if we'd like to join them at Bellevue Square Mall for their nightly Christmas festivities. Now normally I'd run screaming from any mall the week before Christmas, but Erin said it was a treat for kids. Indeed, Snowflake Lane was a veritable Holiday paradise for Wyatt, somewhat like the sensation he would (presumably) get from eating 10 bags of skittles in a row. Come on, a hundred drummers dressed up as toy soldiers, creating "the longest drumline in Washington State"... snow made of bubbles falling from the sky! By the time we left my hearing had been damaged to the same degree as an indoor punk rock concert, but such a small price to pay to watch my son dance hand in hand with Eliot to some really intense carols.

New Homes

There has been many, many new gingerbread constructions on our block of late. First, Wyatt and his Mom constructed a sturdy IKEA model. This was Liz's first time making cement frosting and the results were pleasing. For Wyatt, it was all about the candy. Not suprisingly, as the days wore on, more and more of that candy just accidentally fell off the house and into his mouth!

Two nights ago Liz, Erin, Leah, and Kathy-the-gingerbread-maven created their own homes at Erin's. Kathy (Garret's mom) is a baker by trade, and whoa, can she ever make a gingerbread house. She supplied the raw materials, and with pounds and pounds of candy, we made a new neighborhood. Liz especially liked the "ski chalet" that Kathy constructed for absent Kristy (who was packing for Hawaii, poor thing), and the colorful roof of Leah's cabin (Liz wanted to make it into jewelry...edible jewelry), and Erins fanciful church (with roof caving in...incidently, Erin is one of the most optimistic people in our lives. She appreciates her vertically-challenged roof as whimsical). Liz's church was almost doomed to implosion, but Kathy helped prop up the inside with a plastic container (not the can of Budweiser Liz had first tried out). Anyways, how lucky our family is (for Liz especially) to have this super cool group of gals to get creative and unwind with.

And finally, this morning, Liz and Wyatt took the remnant frosting and candy and constructed the BEST HOUSE OF ALL out of graham crackers and a box. Behold its artistry! Seriously, Liz likes this last house best of all!

The Tree

Snow still clung to the ground last Saturday as our family went looking for the tree. We've decided to make cutting down our own tree a tradition each year. It will be Liz's job to rally the troops and pick the farm, and Caleb and Wyatt will have final say on which tree makes it into our house. This year we went to St. Nick's, 14 miles away on a winding back road. Caleb and Liz would very much like to move out there someday. Following close behind were our neighbors Evan, Erin, Eliot, and Ivor. Finding the tree was a snap! Riding the tractor back to the coffee shack and pay area was a blast! Telling Wyatt there would be no second ride...whole different story. Both trees fit on top of the Griffiths Jetta. When we got it home and decorated it, voila, the star just about touches the celing. Perfect size! Another tradition was begun that night...decorating the tree in new Christmas jammies, watching a movie, and falling asleep in sleeping bags beneath the tree.