The 3 Days of Christmas

For the first time in our nearly 10 years of marriage, we were "home" for Christmas.  Not that we don't love visiting family over the holidays...mostly this was a necessity, since David plans to graduate in May, and holiday breaks are a chance to get more writing done on that dissertation! 

Day 1: Christmas Eve

Decorating Sugar Cookies.  Funny story... we loaded all our decorated cookies onto two cookie sheets to let them dry before making plates to deliver to friends.   That afternoon, Ethan grabbed one sheet of cookies, and before I knew what had happened, he delivered the entire sheet to one house.  Then he ran back home for the other sheet, and I caught him as he was running up the porch to another neighbor's house.  So if you didn't get a plate of cookies from us this year, now you know why!

 Candy-covered pretzels

Panetone, Sicilian-style

The Porcaro tradition is to have an Italian dinner on Christmas Eve. David made Panetone (an Italian fruity cake) and melanzane (eggplant) which we ate with tortellini and ham. YUM! 

NATIVITY.  Twelve years ago, David and I began collecting middle-eastern items so that we could use them in our own family's Christmas Eve nativity reenactment.  This year we were so excited to use it for the first time!  A baby blanket made in Bethlehem, a shepherd's (camel) staff from Oman, authentic frankinsence and myrh from the Dhofar region, and a bunch of fun Arab-style headdresses and gowns.  As it turns out, a good nativity reenactment requires willing participatin in addition to cool costumes... we'll hope for better luck next year. 

Dawnell-pregnant mary, Ethan-Angel, Claire-Shepherd

David-wiseman, Claire-shepherd

Ethan-wiseman

Ethan-shepherd. 

(He couldn't make up his mind about which costume he wanted to wear,

but he eventually settled on the one that came with a cool staff.)

David, the Grinch, and Panda - 3 Wisemen

Claire-Mary, Bunny-Baby Jesus

Claire in box (Baby Jesus? This is where she spent most of the time).

David played Christmas hymns and read scriptures to tell the Nativity story.

Day 2:  Christmas Day

Christmas at our house is a laid-back day to spend time as a family, enjoy new toys, and eat leftovers. 

After Santa's visit

The Grinch was a gift from my dad and Diane several years back.  I love "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"  Our kids hate the Grinch, and throw him off the couch and onto the floor everytime I replace him by the Christmas throw pillows.  Apparently, Santa couldn't resist playing a little prank on Ethan.

Ethan loves his new bike!  Check out those 16" wheels!

Both kids love Claire's new cash register.

Claire reading her new princess book from G&G Jungert.

Ethan playing with his new "inductive cars" from G&G Jungert. 

The battery-operated cars follow lines drawn with thick black marker. 

David and Ethan both enjoyed playing Cootie, a game David remembers

from when he was little.  (Thanks, G&G Porcaro!)

Claire's new whiteboard & stencils from G&G Haberman.

Ethan's new art kit from G&G Haberman.

Day 3:  Snow Day!

Christmas night it began to snow, and we awoke Sunday morning to a beautiful, white day-after-Christmas.  Church was cancelled due to slippery road conditions (no snow plows here in Georgia!).  Ethan was very happy about church being cancelled (maybe we need to do something to add more interest to our Sabbath days??).  David and I both agreed that this was the happiest of our 3 Days of Christmas. 

David and the kids were outside playing in the snow by about 8:30am, long before any of our neighbors ventured outdoors.

Ethan is wearing his winter coat from two years ago, since we didn't need to buy one in Oman.  Claire is sporting Emery's old snow gear!  I remember the first day Emery wore these boots and mittens in Richland, WA when she was 2.   

Maybe it's just the outfit, but this picture reminds me of little Emery.

  Pretty impressive snowman, given the few inches of snow!

Check out that snow shovel... only one in the neighborhood, I bet.

Ethan didn't ride his new bike on Christmas due to the rain. 

But here are my boys, riding throught the snow...

Gingergread Houses.  Our $10 store-bought kit made 5 small houses instead of one larger one... perfect for our family.  Claire won the prize for using and eating the most frosting and candy.

Ethan really got into this project, and impressed us with his creativity!  He built a really cool Christmas tree out of frosting and gum drops, and put a yellow star on top.

David's awesome A-frame.

The girls :) 

Ethan-Ethan-David-Daawnel-Claire

(By now we've eaten all but Ethan's... he says we can never eat his)

Getting our Christmas on

We put up our Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving.  It's fun when you've lived in one place for a couple of years, and you already know where the decorations should go. 

 David and Ethan picked out a Douglas Fir from Lowe's and did not request to have the bottom branches trimmed.  Instead, David trimmed them at home and made an awesome wreath from extra branches and wire!  (We got the idea from our grad-student neighbor whose house is pictured in the back.)

How cute is this?!?

Winterville has an annual Christmas Festival that we love to go to!  We can walk from our house to the park.  The Methodist church has a live Nativity.  Three years ago on this spot, Ethan was bit in the leg by a donkey who smelled Oreo crumbs in his lap/stroller seat. 

Ethan started composing his own music this month.  David taped letters on the piano keys, and Ethan makes up simple songs and asks us to play them.  It's so cute!  Zoom in on the photo to check out those music notes!

Remember our unsuccesful dentist visit last month?  We rescheduled with a pediatric dentist.  A few days before the appt, the kids and I went to the store and shopped for presents, cupcakes, and chocolate milk to be enjoyed at our "dental party" which would follow a successful visit and cleaning.  This dental office was much more child-friendly, but the kids were still very reluctant to have anyone near their mouths.  They each cried and fought through a 30-second examination.  About 15 minutes later we were about to give up on the cleaning, and then I casually mentioned how we'd have to return our party supplies and presents to the store.  Ethan hopped in his seat and had a great cleaning, inspection, and even x-rays!  It was a happy day for us all.  After 4 years of fighing the tooch-brushing fight each night, it was so nice to be reassured that the kids' teeth looked good!  Here are the kids playing with the gifts they picked out for themselves-- a Go-Fish game for Ethan and a Fur Real meowing cat for Claire.

Happy Birthday Dawnell.  We had a low-key party this year, which was fine with me.  I had been sick for the previous 3 weeks with a bad cold.  David asked all month what I wanted for my birthday, and I told him that my present was the 3 weeks he had acted as a single parent... doing nearly all the cooking, cleaning and childcare (plus teaching a class and working on a dissertation!) while I coughed and sneezed and took extra naps. 

I recieved lots of nice birthday cards, and some funny presents from David's sister Jenny!  The best one was the t-shirt from Mysterio, predicting that our unborn child is destined to be... a Flamenco Dancer! (BTW, this lovely picture was taken at about 28 weeks)

  

Nov catch-up

Whenever I get behind on the blog I think, maybe it's time to quit.  After all, who cares what our family did two months ago?  Well, I do!  And since this is the only journal I'm keeping right now, it's time for an update.

Mid-November, David flew to Minneapolis for an informal job interview and to check out the area.  On the way to the airport, we wanted to stop for lunch somewhere with a play area, and we just happen to end up at the Dwarf House, the first Chick-Fil-A restaurant ever! 

For you Westerners reading this, you may think that Chick-Fil-A is just a place to get a chicken sandwich at the mall. Here in the south, Chick-Fil-A is esteemed as a 5-star fast-food institution that typically has much better service, food and facilities than the competitors.  The Dwarf house was unique because you could choose the fast-food side or the "dine-in" side with waiters and barstools.  Of course we chose that side.
 
 David ordered the "Hot Brown."

After wee and paid the bill, Ethan sat himself on a barstool and ordered an icecream cone.  The super-nice guy gave him one free of charge!  (Claire got in on the action, too)

 
David loved Minneapolis.  He stayed with his potential future-employer's house in this neighborhood.

 He interviewed in this office building.

 Ethan's first dental cleaning.... almost.  He waited patiently in this chair for quite some time, asking me, "when are they going to come in?" 

 Don't these look like happy little dental patients?  (Still waiting for the hygienist to come in, nearly an hour after our appt time).  Ethan really surprised me by being afraid of the vacuum and jumping out of his seat before the cleaning could begin.  There was no convincing him to sit down again...we eventually just had to leave without cleaning or inspection.

 Speaking of teeth, Claire loves walking around the house with these vampire teeth in her mouth!  (Better than fingers or marbles, in my opinion)

My little artist.  He loves drawing space shuttles.  And check out those stars! 
 
 Happy Thanksgiving!  We gathered at the institute building with 3 other families for dinner and games.  It was a really fun day.  Next time I think I'll do my own turkey, though, just for the leftovers!

 Grown-up table.  3 out of 4 mothers at this dinner were pregnant (not pictured)

 Kid tables.  I was amazed how well Ethan and Claire sat at the table when surrounded by other kids instead of parents!

 

Happy Thanksgiving from Ethan and Claire

Ethan learned this Thanksgiving song and poem at preschool.  They decorated their t-shirts and put on a brief program for all the parents.  Here is a personal performance for your enjoyment!  Click here if you're reading this via email:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9ATRv-4RkM



Notice how Claire leaves half-way through... I didn't realize until later that she was writing on the wall.

Ethan's 4-year-old class at the preschool Thanksgiving Feast

 While many of our friends and family members are freezing this week, we've been enjoying beautiful fall weather.  Here are some pics in our backyard:

I'm thankful that Ethan learned to smile for the camera :)

 Puppet show, starring the rake

 Little tree huggers

A few reasons why I love my Ethan

1.  He is loyal.  He has loved the same stuffed "Puppy" for the past 4 years.  

2.  He asks interesting questions.  About 6 months ago we had this conversation:  Me:  We don't eat goldfish.  Ethan:  Why don't we eat them?  Me:  Well, they don't have much meat on them.  Ethan:  But why didn't God put more meat on them?  (More recent questions have included "but HOW does the baby come out?")

3.  He is a patient brother.  Claire slaps him much more frequently than he slaps back.  

4.  He is extremely forgiving.  No matter how upset I get at him or how many times I put him in time out, I don't think he's ever been angry with me for more than 3 minutes.

5.  He has the most beautiful eyes! 

6.  He gets wildly silly when he's sleep deprived, just like me (This is probably NOT why David loves Ethan, or me, for that matter)

7.  He randomly belts out the Muslim "Call to Prayer" during parties.

8.  We have conversations like this:  Me:  I love you, Ethan.  Ethan:  I love you, Mommy.  But Jesus loves me even more than you love me.  Me:  Yes, Jesus has a greater love.  I'm trying to be more like Jesus.  I'm trying to love you more like He does.  Ethan:  Yes, and I've already learned, so I love you as much as Jesus does. 

What a lucky mom I am to have two sweet children, and another baby girl on the way in March!