November's end

I am thankful that Dennis was fine today, eating like a champ, running and playing at school. His eyes looked tired and a bit red, and he was a trifle quiet, I think. Those who know him well asked if he'd been sick or if he was feeling okay. But he really was fine, he kept insisting, so we treated him as such!

We filled in the last pocket of the Thankful Tree tonight, with Dennis saying he was thankful for "my school, my family, my cousins, and my school friends." He asked where pockets 31 and 32 were. I explained that we were now finished with the tree, and tomorrow we'll start the Advent calendar. He's already been using his Santa counter to count down the days until Christmas, turning the blocks each morning at breakfast and today happily informing me "there are 25 days til Christmas, that means tomorrow it will be 24 days." And "what if there were twenty-hundred days until Christmas? That's way too long!!". I agree! We are noticing the Christmas lights going up all over town, and he's delighted to point out new ones each evening. It's the best time of year!

little sickie

We were getting ready for school when a sad little man wrapped himself around my legs and whined "I don't feel good, Mommy; my tummy hurts." This was immediately followed by him running to the bathroom and throwing up a couple of times. Then he said he felt better. Gran came over to watch him so I could go teach my class, and he mostly just dozed on the couch while she was here. He never threw up again, but he had bouts of pitifulness for the rest of the day. He has been able to eat just fine, thank goodness. Tonight he told me he was thankful for me. So sweet.

He was delighted that we all watched Christmas shows together tonight, snuggled up on the couch, enjoying the Grinch and some classic Mickey and Donald Christmas cartoons. His little eyes are red and he is exhausted, and he's climbed into our bed to sleep (a sickie tradition). I hope he's better in the morning.

Something I forgot to mention happened yesterday. He knew we were going to Walmart after school, so I saw him loading his pockets with some change from his piggy bank. I asked him what he was doing, and he said "getting money for when we go to Walmart." I wondered what he was planning to purchase. And then, before I asked him just that, he said "it's to put in that red bucket for the people that need money for Christmas." Sure enough, later when we arrived at Walmart, he reached in his pocket and dug out his change and put it all in the bucket. I'm humbled by his generous spirit, awed at his thoughtfulness. What a blessing he is!

taekwondo buddies

Ellen and Chloe and Ian came to visit us this afternoon! We had an awesome time, so awesome that it's turned into a spend-the-night party! We happened to remember that it's Bring A Buddy Week at Dennis' taekwondo class, so Chloe put on Michael's old karate uniform and Dennis' white belt and joined him in class. Dennis is often the only one in his class, so it was nice for him to have someone else in class with him. And Chloe has some incredibly high kicking power! They had their moments of silliness, of course, but were mostly very good. We took them out to McDonald's afterward and came home for more playtime for them (and baby snuggle time for me--Ian is a total cutie!). They got along wonderfully today, happily destroying and then cleaning up Dennis' room. And they actually played enough to go on to sleep instead of staying up giggling half the night.

Tonight he told me he was thankful for Chloe. I'm thankful for a day of catch-up time with our best friends!

Advent ninja

We didn't make it to church this morning, this first Sunday of Advent. Neither Dennis or I were up for it. It was rainy and cold and we were sniffly and exhausted. We snuggled in, took naps, and spent a lazy day at home. We lit the first candle in our Advent wreath tonight at dinner and talked about the hopes for the coming of the Savior, about the meaning of the season, the prophecy of His coming.

Dennis treated us to a ninja demo tonight, dressed in dump truck pajamas, a camouflage ninja head covering/eye mask, and boots: one brown cowboy boot and one black spider rainboot. He did some rapid spins and martial arts moves before running off to his next project. Just about bedtime, he told me "I need to shake my body now!". He put on his reindeer slippers, his superman ball cap, his batman sunglasses, some strands of Mardi Gras beads, and several rubber wrist bands. He told me to play "Rock Your Body" on my iPhone and set it on his ottomans. He danced and danced, some breakdancing, even, and indeed shook the heck out of his body for over 10 minutes. And then he had trouble getting to sleep. Tomorrow morning I'll have to peel him out of bed!

Tonight he is thankful for "every firefighter in the whole universe."

grooming revelation

I was trimming Dennis' nails tonight when I noticed that he'd been biting them. I asked him why he'd done that, and he replied "because I needed something else to eat, so I ate my fingernails." May I just say "YUCK!". I guess there are just so many Thanksgiving leftovers a person can eat.

Tonight he's thankful for Santa and for penguins. I'm thankful that we had a day together, just the three of us. We worked around the house, David building the framework for our fireplace, Dennis and me putting up Christmas decorations, Lemonade and Tabasco hanging out and keeping us company. Great day!

bargains!

No, we don't do Black Friday. I have never liked Christmas shopping in crowds and years ago began avoiding malls after Thanksgiving rolled around. And I really don't care to observe humanity at its worst at the beginning of what should be the most joyous time of the year. But I was offered a nice bargain today. Dennis told me "if you can go all day without yelling at me, I promise to clean my room tonight." I mentioned how rarely it is that I actually yell, and he clarified "I mean if you can go all day and not get mad at me." I think he was attempting to make the deal with both of us. I don't remember yelling at him, but I did ask him to sit down and finish his meal about 85 times (over the course of three meals). He was so wiggly and squirmy today! I overheard him trying to rush Granny this morning, demanding to know "why aren't you outside playing with me yet???" as she was getting ready. Oh the drama! He was either whining at me or kissing me all day long, and I'm hoping a good night's sleep will reconstruct the less whiny persona we've been working so hard to cultivate. And I hope it banishes my grouchies as well!

so very thankful

Another wonderful holiday shared with family and friends! We are so very blessed. As a matter of fact, I was delighted when Dennis said to me "when it's my birthday, I have a secret wish. I'm going to wish that my family will be all around me." Heartwarming, isn't it?

He woke up and said "this is a very special day: I love Thanksgiving!". He gave me a sweet hug and kiss and kept me company while I was cleaning house. He later dressed as Spiderman and asked if he could play outside. I told him he could, and when I happened to glance out the kitchen window, I saw Spiderman's head pop up over the top of my car, and suddenly Spiderman was all the way on top of my car. I watched him carefully climb back down, pull off his mask, and grin hugely. He ran in to tell me "you'll never guess what trick I can do!". I told him I'd seen him, and I told him his Daddy would be home soon and not to let Daddy catch him on top of the car. He agreed that this was wise. Of course we told Daddy about it later, but it would have given him a great shock to have seen it!

In honor of today's specialness, he added a clip-on tie to the front of his long-sleeved and hooded t-shirt. The colors weren't even remotely compatible. He was very proud of his high fashion look, and he received lots of compliments on his tie. It was almost as much fun as taking Flash Gordon to Walmart earlier this week (in red cape and mask). I love his creativity and individuality and try to encourage it wherever I can! How many other kids (age 4) ask for a zip line for Christmas?!