Christmas!

A few of Bennett's favourite words.  

 The quality may be poor but it was done spontaneously using the camera on Jared's tablet. It's fairly recent and he's saying more words so fast...he tries to imitate almost anything.

The big deal this year was a new toddler bed for Bennett. It wasn't easy deciding whether it was time for him to break out of his crib.  He has always slept well there but he is tall and physically strong and we didn't want him doing a head dive over his crib rail like he does off the couch.  I had looked a lot for beds that I thought were cute.  This pirate ship is pretty ridiculous and so much fun! He loved playing in the bed Christmas morning and still does, but the first night he cried and left his bed several times.  After he was asleep he didn't get up during the night..not until several days later anyway.

But he is just so adorable, when he comes out of his room and we tell him to go back to bed, he goes straight there.  Sometimes crying, but always goes.  Overall we have been very pleased with the transition.  He does drag his favorite blanket around a lot more these days, probably wanting to keep something familiar.  In his crib he liked to sleep sideways or with his head against the rail too.  The change marks yet another bittersweet milestone.  I love how he's growing but I want him to stay a baby too!

Paxton loves to play in the snow, and fortunately we had a white Christmas.  So he got some new gloves, a pirate ship, and a remote control truck he enjoys.  He's looking forward to summer when he can use his new fishing pole along with Grandpa Mack.

Paxton often asks to dress up so he got several costumes, his favorite is probably the transformer he is in here.  We also gave him a harmonica, he keeps calling it a "euphonium".  That's my interpretive spelling anyway.  I have no idea where he came up with that word.  Sometimes he also calls it a thermometer.  At least that's a real word.  Bennett loves the sounds Paxton makes on the harmonica too.

It was a nice week, Jared had most of it off of work and we were able to see nearly all of both sides of the family. Thanks to Denette for hosting and to my Grandma J, I always enjoy her Christmas Eve party.  We've had some sicknesses to deal with, apparently it comes with having children because before our boys we were rarely ill. But it's the worst when they get sick and can't describe what's going on.  At the moment they're healthy. If only it could stay that way.

It's great knowing a guy with a tractor...it's useful in so many ways!  Luckily with enough snow my dad plowed some up the driveway to make a little hill at the top of the slope in our back yard which was enough for a tube run for the boys.  Paxton had a great time, Bennett was trying not to smile. Chula is close by waiting for an opportunity to steal Paxton's knit hat right off his head.

This little hill is actually at the empty lot in our cul-de-sac. We realized the neighbor kids like it so we strolled over there too.  I always laugh at what a marshmallow Bennett looks like when he's in his snow clothes.  He hates putting on the mittens and hat but after a while he is at least a little amused.  We're trying to enjoy the season, the area needs the snow.  Last year at this time it was near 60 degrees and everything was brown instead of blanketed in white.  That's just not natural.