Merry & Bright???

The holiday prep is in full effect at our house. Baking, cooking, cleaning and organizing are all (presumably) happening while both kids run around like lunatics. Perhaps not as productive as I'd like it to be but still we're getting ready, slowly but surely. Will helped me make spiced nuts, cookies, and puppy chow for our friends. He's actually quite helpful...until the cookies are ready to eat, then he mysteriously disappears. Hmmmmm. As you can see above, Archer likes to "help" in the kitchen too. He snatched the bottle of chocolate sauce out of the fridge and ran around the house sucking on it. Messy, yes, but at least it kept him busy for a while!

Will's last day of school was Friday; they capped off the year with a cute Christmas program. The 4 year olds, 3 year olds and Kindergarteners sang several songs, including "All I Want for Christmas" and "Silent Night" among others. In the past 2 years, Will's time on stage has been spent picking his nose, turning around to look at his classmates, putting his hands down his pants (eek!), and a tad bit of singing. This year, as a very mature 4 year old, he actually sang most of the songs. He did seem to go into a daze a few times but for the most part he was all about singing. He did a great job. And, just for the record, I think I went into a daze a few times too; his music teacher insists on singing solos (SHE sings them) and doing duets with chosen students, which gets a little old after a while. But overall a very cute program.

It hasn't all been fun and games at our house lately. Since Will is out of school, he's been acting up a bit more (as to be expected). He got mad at Keith the other day so on his doodle pad, he wrote a letter U, put an international no symbol around it, and gave it to Keith. Translation: no you. Hahahahaha! I guess he was mad at his dad. Of course that's rude but it's hard to get mad when he's so clever. I had to remind him that the Elf on the Shelf is watching...

As for the adults, we're trying to be good too. Keith had his last day on the USS Truman as a Shooter and has since checked back in to the C-2 RAG to get his flying qualifications. Hopefully it will be a smooth (and quick...haha) process. He *should* be done by mid-March in preparation for our April move. I anticipate much jolliness from Keith once he's back in the cockpit. :) I was able to head north to NYC for my friend Kristin Manning's baby shower. It was a short trip but so fun to hang with the Mannings and friends and celebrate baby. We spent an evening in the city looking at all the Christmas lights and store windows. It was great. I even got to see Mandy while I was there, which was a special treat. Jill, Matt and Mandy will all arrive here in the next few days so I should get to cleaning! Merry Christmas!