Santa!

So, in an effort to not get as behind on my blogging, I am going to try and summarize the past week. December gets really crazy busy around here, and it's already flying by. Ack!

So, let's see... December 1st marked the three-year anniversary of the kids and I waking up in our new house for the first time! Really, we landed in Boston on November 30th, but it was very late and the kids were sound asleep when we got to the house. I remember that first morning-- we all (me, Gus, and my parents) woke up before the kids did, and I was so worried that they would flip out when they woke up in a completely new place. Or that they wouldn't be able to find us (remembering that this house is huge and they were only 4 and 2.5 at the time). Plus, this house has stairs, which they were not used to at ALL at the time. Now, of course, we don't even have any gates up and they fly up and down the stairs without a second thought! But back then, they were babies. It's amazing to think of how much of their lives they have now lived in Massachusetts. Maya has spent more than half of her life here! And Niko will be able to say the same shortly after he turns 8. So weird!

Anyway, that was December 1st. Two nights prior to that, on November 29th, Maya lost her second tooth! The Tooth Fairy has been busy around here! Unfortunately, it was hard to get a decent picture, especially since her adult tooth was almost completely grown in behind it already. I should say, though, that she was very brave and asked me to help her get it out. It was so loose that it was annoying her when she was eating. So I pulled it without issue. Both kids seem to prefer this method now, which is sort of funny to me. I hated having my teeth pulled when I was a kid!

In other news... our chickens starting laying eggs this week! Up until now, only Mary was laying. But then she started molting, which meant no eggs for a while. So I was actually having to buy them from the store (oh, the shame!). But suddenly, a brown egg appeared! Then a white one! And then Mary's blue-green eggs appeared again! So we went from zero to sixty! They are so pretty in the egg basket, too!

Also in there, somewhere, I took family photos for a friend of mine. We did the pictures in our yard, and I brought Maya out with me before they arrived to do a few test shots. This kid! Even in a test shot, she is so ridiculously beautiful. Inside and out! Love my baby girl!!

This Saturday (as in, yesterday) was a busy day for us. Niko had his first-ever day of basketball as part of the town rec program. It went great! He's never played before, but he had fun. And it's indoors, so it's perfect for our New England winters! I will try to take better pictures next week. I only had my small camera with me, and all the movement plus the poor gym lighting meant that 95% of the pictures were blurry. Which drove me crazy, of course!

After basketball, we spent much of the afternoon cleaning and preparing for a girls' night in I was hosting that evening. Then we had an early dinner and headed over to our town's annual Festival of Trees. We always enjoy seeing the different decorated trees and gingerbread houses, and the whole town comes out for the event. And Santa is there, too! Now, last year, Maya decided she wanted to sit with him-- the first time EITHER kid had sat with Santa since they were old enough to voice an opinion. A week or so later, Niko decided that he wanted to sit with the Santa who came to the special event at our local hardware store. And, ever since, he has maintained that the hardware store Santa is the One Real Santa, while the others are all just men in costumes. So of course, we are signed up to go to the hardware store next weekend. :) But Maya wanted to see this other Santa last night, and Niko had said he wasn't interested. BUT... he changed his mind at the last minute, and actually sat with him! I was shocked! But both kids got little gifts afterward, so I wouldn't be surprised if he does it again in the future.

Anyway... It was fun! Then we stood outside in the rain and waited for the town Christmas tree to be lit. It was very anticlimactic this year. No singing or anything... just a quick countdown and it was on! I didn't get any decent pictures because of the rain, but I did drive back over there tonight to snap a quick shot. It's only about two minutes down the road! We don't have the biggest tree, but I think it's just the cutest thing ever!

Anyway, we came home after the Festival of Trees, dried off, and then my friends started to arrive. One is a single mom, and she had nobody to watch her son, so he came and had a sleepover with Niko-- they've known each other since they were on the same t-ball team when we first moved here! So the kids had a great time with their friend, while I had fun with mine. Gus probably didn't have as much fun, but he did get to go out with friends the night before, so I think we're even. :) But really, the kids all played so nicely together, especially this morning. Here they were, making rubber band bracelets in their jammies. Because... why not? :)

After my friend came to pick him up, I helped Gus move the rest of our FOUR TONS of wood pellets into the garage. Hopefully, this will be enough to last us through the winter! But the bags are heavy (40 pounds each) and there were a lot of them. But now they are safe from the elements, so that is a good thing!

This week promises to be busy with playdates, scouts, and various holiday-related events and activities. It's the most wonderful time of the year! I am just glad to be done with my Christmas shopping. Now I just need to prepare for that big trip we have coming up... ack!