Santa

We are a Christian family.
We believe in Santa.
We believe Mary & Joseph traveled to Bethlehem.
We believe Santa's reindeer will land on our roof, the night before Christmas.
We believe Jesus was born in a manger, because there was no room for Mary & Joseph in the Inn.
We believe Santa will climb down our chimney, while we are sleeping, to deliver presents under our tree.
We believe Jesus was born on Christmas Day.
We believe there is room for both the Miracle & the Magic of Christmas.

My parents did holidays big.  Our house was always filled with the Magic of Christmas, but we all knew the true meaning of Christmas as well.  I don't remember ever questioning Santa.  We were told Santa exists, as long as you believe.  And that was that.  I have wonderful, magical Christmas memories.  My brothers and I all sleeping in the same room, on Christmas Eve.  We were always told Santa waits until we fell asleep, before landing on our roof.  We weren't allowed in the living room in the morning until we were all together.  Kacy was always running around our house waking everyone up, and guarding the Christmas Tree. 

I want Karson's to have the same Christmas memories.  I want him to understand the true meaning of Christmas, but I also want his Christmas filled with magic.

I am hoping I never have to answer the but so & so said Santa isn't real, and Santa doesn't come to their house questions. But, I will be prepared to, in the future.  To be honest, if anyone questions Santa to Karson when he is little, I will be a little more than annoyed. :)

I read a blog post here, a while back, about how a Mom answered her daughter's question, Is Santa Real?  Her answer made me cry....

Dear Lucy,
Thank you for your letter. You asked a very good question: “Are you Santa?”
I know you’ve wanted the answer to this question for a long time, and I’ve had to give it careful thought to know just what to say.
The answer is no. I am not Santa. There is no one Santa.
I am the person who fills your stockings with presents, though. I also choose and wrap the presents under the tree, the same way my mom did for me, and the same way her mom did for her. (And yes, Daddy helps, too.)
I imagine you will someday do this for your children, and I know you will love seeing them run down the stairs on Christmas morning. You will love seeing them sit under the tree, their small faces lit with Christmas lights.
This won’t make you Santa, though.
Santa is bigger than any person, and his work has gone on longer than any of us have lived. What he does is simple, but it is powerful. He teaches children how to have belief in something they can’t see or touch.
It’s a big job, and it’s an important one. Throughout your life, you will need this capacity to believe: in yourself, in your friends, in your talents and in your family. You’ll also need to believe in things you can’t measure or even hold in your hand. Here, I am talking about love, that great power that will light your life from the inside out, even during its darkest, coldest moments.
Santa is a teacher, and I have been his student, and now you know the secret of how he gets down all those chimneys on Christmas Eve: he has help from all the people whose hearts he’s filled with joy.
With full hearts, people like Daddy and me take our turns helping Santa do a job that would otherwise be impossible.
So, no. I am not Santa. Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness. I’m on his team, and now you are, too.
I love you and I always will.
Mama



I have it saved, for in the future.  Although, I hope I never have to use it.  As far as I am concerned, the magic of Christmas is up to you.  Santa will exist as long as you believe.

{disclaimer: I am not passing judgement on any family that chooses not to believe in Santa.  I am just sharing what we believe.  But please, please, please, please, don't ever question Santa to my Munchkin.}

Karson {20 Months}

We took Karson to a barn down the street to get some pictures over the weekend.  I am still learning all about my SLR, but I love getting a chance to 'play' with it!  I apologize now, because there are a lot of pictures on this post!

Karson {20 Months}

My sweet little boy.  He learns so much each day.  Today, if I had a penny for every funny thing he said or did, well, I would have a lot of pennies! 

Our favorite conversation from today:

Mommy: "Karson say 'bug.'"
Karson: "buuubble."
Mommy: "bbbbuuuggg"
Karson: "buuuuuuubble."
Mommy: "buuuuugggggg"
Karson: thinks for a second....signs 'bug'...walks away

He tries so hard.  You can see his wheels turning.  He gets out the 'bu' and just can't stop yelling 'bubble!'  Instead of getting frustrated, he just signed 'bug,' and walked away.  I love sign language!

He signs often.  Over the weekend, DJ & Karson let Molly outside.  We don't have a fenced in yard, but Molly has such bad separation anxiety, she barely makes it off the deck before she is running back in the house.  Regardless, we always stand at the slider and watch. Karson knows we yell for her to come back in if she tries to wonder...which she rarely ever does.  DJ said K was yelling 'no!' out the window at her, and couldn't figure out why.  Then he signed 'snow.' He was yelling 'snow,' he just couldn't get the 's' out.  Signing has given Kason a wonderful communication tool!

He asks for help now.  It comes out 'hewl' and his interpretation of the sign for 'help' makes me laugh.  If he comes up to you and puts one hand above his head, & claps, he is asking for you for 'help.'  Likely, to fix his Nativity set.

He is dramatic.  He throws fits on the floor at the worst times.  He is a little boy.  He is learning. 

He and Molly...I love their relationship!  Karson loves her!  Molly loves him.  If he takes an extra long nap, she is usually found laying outside his bedroom door whining.  Karson thinks he is Molly's boss.  Telling her to 'shhh' when she barks.  He always watches her outside the slider when she is outside.

He loves tractors, and Daddy's truck!  I caved a little on my no riding on lawn mowers rule.  He loves it, and is always asking Daddy to ride on his tractor. 

of course, only riding slow, without the bade

Just when he was getting easy in church, he got difficult again.  He usually makes it 45 minutes before one of us has to take him out.  Last week, he lasted 15 minutes.  He was yelling 'mommy, mom, mom.'  Someone I don't know came up to me after the service and said they were thankful their little wasn't the only one screaming in church. 

He is stubborn.  Extremely stubborn.  He knows fully well how to say 'Nana.'  He refuses.  He also refuses to tell me what Santa says.  I broke his stubbornness today a little.  He finally said 'ho ho ho.'

Every time he hears a noise outside, he thinks it is either a tractor or an airplane. 

The work 'icky' doesn't just make him laugh.  It makes him absolutely crack up.  It always has.  Say 'icky icky bug' and the full belly giggle comes out!

He says 'uh oh' and 'mommy' all day long.   He usually says 'uh oh' at the most appropriate times.

I think he would live on YoBaby's Strawberry Banana Yogurt if I let him.  He always has , at least, 1 a day.  He insists on opening the yogurt himself.  And getting his own spoon.  If I don't let him, he is usually found throwing a fit on the kitchen floor.

He loves to watch Frosty the Snowman, and asks to watch it all day long!  Today he brought me a book with a snowman on it, and was saying 'no, no, no.'  It took me a minute to realize he was saying 'snow.'  He was so proud of himself.

If he wants you to fallow him, he comes up to you with his hand out, and opens and shuts it over and over.  He loves to show everyone his big bear in his room.  Or bring Daddy to his tractor.  Or bring me to the refrigerator to get him a yogurt. 

He loves to dance.  He is always asking to listen to music.  I love when there is music on, and he comes up to me with his hands out, wanting to dance.

He is part monkey.  I am sure of it.  He loves to jump.  On the couch...on the chair...on the bed.  He is learning this is not such a great idea.  

{no i do not believe in evolution}

When he sees a baby in a car seat, he tells us to 'shhh.'  With his little finger over his mouth.  We have a bassinet in our living room, and the baby's car seat in our room.  Whenever he sees them, he tells us to 'shhhh.'

I can not believe my sweet boy is 20 months old.  I can not believe that, tonight, when I got home from a LLL meeting, my sweet boy and I sat in the rocking chair together; sharing a bowl of granola and glass of apple juice. 

Magical

Did you know the first snow is magical?

I am sure of it! 

I love the beach.  I love the smell of my sun screened baby.  I love watching him run and play in Lake Michigan.

But the snow...the snow is magical.

I love the snow!

Karson was sleeping when the snow started, and I was so anxious for him to wake up.  I had everything sitting by the back door.  Coats, hats, boots....  Then I realized the snow had changed.  Instead of just a few flakes on our deck, it was almost covered.

And the snow was coming down hard.

So I broke a rule.  A rule, we try hard to never break.  I woke Karson up from his nap.  He missed playing in the first snow last year, because he was sick.  He wasn't going to miss it again this year.

yes I know, he doesn't have gloves on.  he was less than thrilled about being woke up, and I wasn't about to ruin the magic that is the first snow, with a fight over gloves.

At first, he was confused, and wouldn't look up from the ground.  When he realized how excited Molly was, he started giggling, and running across our deck.  Dragging his feet in the little snow we had.

We walked around the house so many times.  Karson saying 'Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow!' & 'SNOW!' 

He has been running to the slider all day, saying & signing 'snow Mommy snow!'

The snow is all melted now, but I am anxious for its return.  I will have the snow gear waiting. Maybe next time Karson will actually be wearing gloves.

After we played in the snow...we warmed up with cuddle time and Frosty the Snowman.

Karson's New Room

It has taken me a long time to get these up...sorry.

I had so much fun with Karson's room at our new house.

His room is actually big enough for him to play in!!

I often drink my morning coffee on the floor of his room, while we read books next to his huge bear. 

His room still isn't completely done.  We need his crib for baby brother or sister, and are getting ready to transition him into his new big boy bed.   I realized I didn't include any pictures of his crib or dresser/changer.  They won't be there much longer anyway. We are waiting until we get his new dresser ready, and his new bed in there before we hang a few more things.  His crib is the same as it was at my parent's house.

{Please ignore his carpet.  It is old, and stained, but it is clean.  We decided we are going to replace all the carpet in the house, AFTER all our kids are potty trained.}

I love how his room came together!  The white shelf we bought to hold toys in my parent's house.  My Mom and I...ok mostly my Mom...are going to sew the letters for his name to hang above the magnet board & shelf.  The 'miracles happen' sign, Auntie Leesh made when I was pregnant with Karson.  Karson came...um...about 5 years earlier than planned, and the beginning of my pregnancy was full of scares. God knew what he was doing all along, and he is definitely our miracle!

Are you on Pinterest?!  You should be!  Because, you find awesome ideas like this one!!  An oil drip pan for a magnet board!  Karson loves it!  The same day we got it, I found a steal of a deal on jumbo magnet letters & numbers.  They are in the bucket, but usually can be found scattered around our house!

I laugh when parents say that stuffed animals are worthless.  Seriously, that bear is one of Karson's absolute favorites! He has a huge leopard my dad gave him too, that of course, is next to the dresser I didn't take a picture of.  He loves them!  I think everyone Mr. Bear rode with him in the cart at Costco with him saying 'oh wow' the entire time!  The sign above his closet says 'jesus loves me.'  Molly is often found chewing a bone in the middle of his room, anytime Karson is in there!  The basket holds all of his small stuffed animals.  

 Karson loving on his bear.  He usually will lay on him and read a book, or just sit there looking cute. The rocking chair was mine when I was little.  Karson loves to sit in it.  Plus, I think it is cute in his room!

The banner is from his birthday party.  The 1 is only on one side, so when he turns two, I can turn it around.  I have a larger one I am waiting to hang also.

A post on Karson's chicken wire frame here...

My favorite part about my baby's new room....