Christmas 2013

We had a wonderful time in Palatine at Christmas.  We got to spend 6 days having fun with Granny and Grandpa and the Chernesky's and Burke's (and we got to see and play in the SNOW!).  We also enjoyed new traditions (Chippy the giving elf!) getting ready for Christmas and the time off of school and work once we returned from our trip (during which Treehouse Masters became our new favorite show).  For more photos, click on the one below.

A wonderful celebration

Our last week has been full of activity and celebration. Here are some highlights:

• Granny and Grandpa Schmidt were in town all week and were a huge help. Ty loved playing numerous make-believe games with them and Megan loved being held by them.


• Tyler had his holiday show at school during which the whole class dressed up as angels and screamed a multi-cultural version of "We wish you a Merry Christmas." The words were "We wish you a happy Hanukkah, we wish you a happy Christmas, we wish you a happy Kwanzaa, and a happy new year." Tyler will now not let anyone sing the Merry Christmas version without telling them that they're singing the wrong words.


• Ty actually sat on Santa's lap--a huge accomplishment after being terrified of him the past couple of Christmases. He whispered, "May I please have a Backyardigans' DVD?"


• Tyler has memorized almost all of the words to "The Night Before Christmas". I guess it helps that we've been reading it since early November.


• We had a great Christmas dinner with Granny and Grandpa and our friends, the Bushroe's.


• We all enjoyed our best Christmas gift this year, little Megan Avery.

For photos, click here.

My Christmas wish: That this attitude lasts for at least a few more years

Due to many generous friends and relatives, Tyler was overloaded with gifts this Christmas. However, a comment of his early in the day made me realize how little he really needed to be happy. As he opened his stocking, he grabbed the candy cane, clutched it tightly and said, "A candy cane...just what I wished for."

"Getting Ready for Christmas" Day 2008

Last weekend, after being a tremendous help for a week, my mom returned to Chicago. So in an attempt to keep Ty in his routine and at the same time allow me some time to rest and recover, we kept Tyler in school this week even though I was home. Well, as the week went on, the drop-offs at school became increasingly difficult and teary and I began to feel increasingly guilty that I wasn't spending the time I could with Tyler.

In an effort to make the rest of the drop-offs easier for Jeff and to assuage my guilt, I announced to Ty on Tuesday that on Thursday he would be staying home with me and we would have a "Getting Ready for Christmas" day. This was in part inspired by one of my friends from work whose family celebrates the "The Days Before Christmas" with a special activity each day. Although we started small this year, I'd love to expand it next year.

Here's how our day went...

(Oh, and by the way, one of the rules of "Getting Ready for Christmas" day is that you can stay in your pajamas all day.)

Activity #1: Making the dough for the gingerbread cookies (one of Ty's favorites)

Activity #1b: Megan entertaining herself looking at the hippo on her bouncy seat (yes, there are a lot of patterns going on in this picture)

Activity #2: Decorating Christmas gifts with paint and cookie cutters

Activity #3: Decorating gingerbread cookies (you can almost see how vigorously Ty is shaking the sugar/sprinkle container--needless to say this activity was a little messy)

It was a great day that we will repeat (and hopefully expand) next year.

We wish you all a happy and peaceful holiday season!