Christmas Eve 2010

The word for this Christmas was "calm". All around it has been a calm holiday season. Usually we do a big to-do on Christmas Eve, but this year, we all opted for a quiet evening at home, just us. We still did our traditional Puerto Rican Christmas Eve dinner... Arroz con Gandules (Rice w/ pigeon peas) & Pernil (fresh ham) and went to mass.

I was anxious about taking Jaxon to mass (remember the Jesus story), but I had a new cute dress to wear!

On the way to St. Rita in Desert.

Thankfully, Jaxon didn't yell out "JESUS" like we all thought he would, but there was a box of diapers under a Christmas tree that he noticed right away. "Mama, dose diapers are for Jesus? He have to change his poopy diaper. Jesus wears diapers." The highlight was watching him dance in the aisle (thankfully we were WAAAY in the back, in the lobby really) and listening to him sing Silent Night, which he changed the lyrics to "Little John. John John John. Little John." Don't ask me why.

Dancing and snacking

Oh and Santa showed up!!Mama & Jaxon looking at Santa.

Then we headed back home to have dinner, hang out & get ready for Santa.
He had to have his picture taken in front of the "manger"

"No touch the ornaments. I no touch dat."

Uhh, yeah. Someone forgot his own rule!Before dinner, we had to have some family pictures!

If you want a good family picture taken, call my brother. He's the only one that is able to take a good picture of the 3 of us!

"Abu, I yick you ahh up."

Time to leave cookies & milk for Santa
Whose grand idea was it to let Jaxon carry the plate of cookies?Fresh cookies, much better

Santa enjoyed the snack! He even left a little note.

After we left cookies & milk, we exchanged new pajamas... which is my FAVORITE Christmas tradition. Somehow, I managed to not get pictures :( The last two years, my mom and I have gotten each other the same, if not similar, pjs. This year, she was smart and shopped for my jammie at a store I don't shop. Oh well.

The only picture I got of our jammies. My brother & me

Apparently, Jaxon was on the Nice List.

On the Naughty List

This morning Jaxon wanted to do some "work" on the"puter". Well, like all toddlers, he got side-tracked with some tape. By the time I noticed he had the tape, he had already unrolled about a foot of it. I took it away and put it back in the drawer. After he yelled about not taking his tape away, he picked up the cell phone on the desk and says,

"Hewoe Santa. My mama is naughty. She tell me no. No bring her presents. She take my sticky tape." He puts the down, looks at me and says, "I call Santa. I tell him you naughty." Sweet!

It was all I could do not to bust out laughing. I mean, I know he's being a brat, but I can also appreciate his cleverness. The best part is that he picks up the phone a second time and says, "Hewo Santa. Rora is a good girl."

OMG! I could eat him up... bratty or not!

Later that evening, he's coloring and announces to Rora. "I putting on my makeup. I going out."

This kid is too much. Not sure what I'm going to do with him. Seriously getting nervous about sending him to school.

Let It Snow... Part 2

On our day of snow Brian was out of town. He came home the next evening. The day he was due to arrive Jaxon kept saying, "I build a snowman wif Daddy?" Yes, when Daddy comes home you can build a snowman with him. The ENTIRE (45 minutes) way to the "erport" he repeated, "When I see Daddy I ask him to build a snowman. I build a snowman wif Daddy. You give me a carrot for da nose. Daddy build me a snowman." Before Brian even got into the car Jax is yelling, "You build me a snowman? Wif a carrot nose?"

Well, who can resist that request? It was dark by the time we got home and the snow was more ice than snow, but a snowman had to be built.

"Daddy, you make me a snowman Okaaaay. "

Jaxon wasn't much help in the building department. He just wanted to cover Daddy with snow!

The finished product. Kinda cute huh?

I'm backtracking here, but here are pictures of the snow falling Thursday night and then what we woke up to Friday morning. Which meant SNOW DAY! No school for me :)...but a makeup day in February :(

View from our bedroom deck

Holy Snow Batman!

Notice Lucy to the right? The snow came to past her belly, which isn't saying much since she's so short. But still. Poor blind dog didn't know what happened!

Let It Snow!

We had (or are having) our first snow of the season today! It's been coming down pretty steadily since 1:30 pm. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I was actually anxious to get Jaxon outside to play, but he was sleeping so it had to wait a couple more hours. Instead, I turned on some Christmas music & sat in front of a window to watch the snow fall. I felt guilty since I have SOO much to do to get the house ready to put on the market, but hey... how often do I get this chance? I had to take it and run! I was also kinda hoping for a hot tottie, but I didn't know how to make one.

Jax was super excited to play in the snow when he got up. He did much better this year than he did last year. As I am watching him play and laugh I thought how much I am going to miss this when we move. Once we're in AZ he won't see snow. How sad. I feel like playing in the snow is a memory all kids should have. Not that I had those memories, since I didn't see snow until I was 12 and I am a perfectly well-adjusted adult, but still. Oh well. We made the most of it and had loads of fun.

Snowball Fight!

"Dis is coad"

Only boys...

We went to the front yard and he says, "Hey, it's snowing here too! " He was amazed by this.

I striped him of his wet clothes before coming into the house. Glad this isn't an everyday occurrence here in New Mexico.

On a side note, this past Saturday we went to the Twinkle Parade. SOO cute! All 50 floats had lights. We had a great time, we froze, but had a great time. It was actually more fun than the 4th of July parade. We went with our dear friends the Wilson Family. I'm going to miss them so much when we move. I'm also going to miss all of the parades they do here (4th of July, Twinkle, Homecoming. That's only 3, but still.)

Jaxon Sloan & Kellen waiting for the parade to start

"Christmas" on a firetruck, the only thing that would have made this better for Jax would have been "Christmas" & a T-Rex on the truck!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY WINTER!

Interesting

I just want to share a few of Jaxon's conversations this past week. Mostly, I want to be able to read back on these years from now. I know I will forget half of the crazy stuff he says!

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I have mentioned before how great my thyroidectomy scar looks. Or doesn't look. If you were to look at me you really wouldn't notice the scar. I even have a hard time seeing it when I'm looking.

Well, I find it interesting and fascinating that Jaxon notices it! SOOO many times when we are sitting together he will reach up and touch my scar. Exactly where it is! It is bizarre.

Tonight, we were playing and out of the blue he lifts up my chin, points to the scar and says,

"Mama, you have owie on your neck?"

"Not anymore Bud. It's all better now."

"No, you have owie right dare. I take you to doctor and he make you feel better."

"I already went to the doctor and he did make it better."

"I get you band-aid. A Dora one."

He was just 11 months when I had the surgery, so it isn't like he has any memory of it (maybe he does who knows?) I was just amazed and wanted to share.

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Jaxon has a new word he likes to say. "Jesus!" And usually not in the "I'm going to say a little prayer" sort of way, but in the "Let's say it when I drop a toy" sort of way. This I have my dear husband to thank. Just minutes after he scolded Jaxon for saying that very word he says, "Jesus! This computer is slow." There's that apple again.

Anyway, after the umpteenth time of Jaxon saying the word, I said, "Jax, you can only say Jesus when you are in church and you pray. You cannot say it at home just because, it's not nice."

"Okaaay. I onwe say Jesus at church. I will say Jesus at church. Onwe at church I say Jesus."

Fast forward to Monday afternoon, we drive by the church and he says, "Mama, dats da church? Dats where I can say Jesus. I go dare I say Jesus and pray. Let's go dare I say Jesus."

Sigh.

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One final Jaxon story...

At dinner tonight he says,

"I have beer wast night because my tummy hurt so I have beer. Yup. Wast night I have beer in my dinosaur cup. It make me feel better."

"You did not have beer last night, Jaxon."

"Yes! I did! Daddy gave me some in my dinosaur cup to make me feel better."

Brian was not even home last night so I know for a fact this isn't true!

We are raising a cursing, lying alcoholic here!

Going to See Christmas

Today we went to see Christmas (better known as Santa). Yes, Jaxon thinks that Santa's name is Christmas. This is a recent thing. A few weeks ago he knew he was Santa Claus, but as of the last 3 weeks he is Christmas. Who knows?

Brian & I were nervous because last year did not go well.

But last week, my mom started prepping him... "You're going to see Santa. You'll sit on his lap and tell him what you want." sort of thing. So this morning when we told him we were going to visit Santa he said,

"See Christmas? Where?"

"At the mall. You'll sit on his lap and you can tell him what you want. Then we'll take your picture with Santa."

"No Christmas. I tell him I want a firetruck & firehouse. I show him Paaapi, he be so happy to see Paaapi. I share Paaapi with Christmas."

"His name is Santa. Christmas is a day."

"Yeah, Christmas bring me firetruck."

We got to the mall and thankfully the line was super short!

Waiting for Santa

Telling Santa he wants a firetruckShowing Daddy the candy cane Christmas gave him.

Waiting for his present.

"Dis is not my present!"
Seconds after these pictures were taken Jaxon had a slight meltdown. (not a tantrum, just pure sadness)

"Where my present?"

"There's no present right now. You'll get it on Christmas Day."

"Dat's Christmas. He give me firetruck. Where is it?"

"It's in the workshop. Santa has to make it and bring it to Lola's house on Christmas Day."

"I go to Rora's house now?"

"No, not now. In a few weeks. We have lots of sleep left."

"I take a wittle nap and wake up and fwy to Rora's house okaay! Den Christmas comes and brings me a firetruck."

The kid was so sad. He broke down again in Old Navy. And I mean genuine, big, sad tears, wondering why Christmas hadn't given him his firetruck like he asked.

It's going to be a loooooong 20 days!

The official picture