Pre-Christmas Fun

We started off our "pre-Christmas celebrations with opening Wally's Lego Star Wars advent calendar. I'm not sure how Lego Star Wars fits into the Christmas theme, but if advent is about learning to wait, this calendar was a pretty good lesson. It was hard for Wally to wait until after dinner each day to open a new door.It's impossible to get a "normal" picture of Wally. But look at that eye!

Wally and I made paper snowflakes after reading a book in which the animals made them. I had forgotten how much fun it is to make them. I learned at Gramma Kathy's bank that using coffee filters is great because they are so thin and easy to cut. There's always next year, assuming I remember the trick.

The wrapping of Daddy's presents...Wally was no slacker when it came to decorations.

Wally made sick Scout a "cat nap" out of a box lid, the little quilt I made him, and a little pillow from VBS. I felt bad because I figured she would never use it. Man was I wrong. She loves the thing where ever it is! Good work Wally!

This year, Wally was a sheppard for our church's Christmas pageant that is held outside. He looked pretty sharp wearing his Yoda costume!

Worshipping Baby Jesus.

As we had done in previous years when we weren't going to be home for Christmas, we let Wally open a present every-once-in-a-while prior to our trip. I love this method because then he has time to enjoy each present rather than being totally over-whelmed. Here, Wally and Joel are building a scoop truck using nuts and bolts. I think if the pieces would have been a bit bigger, it would have been more of a hit. As it was, it was hard for Joel and I to put together.

Ah, building Star Wars Legos in a Star Wars Legos t-shirt. Life is good.

A visit with Santa. Wally totally clammed up when he went to see Santa, which has been unusual for him. However, later that night he came down with a fever that lasted several days. I'm guessing he was just feeling crumby. I feel bad for all the kids that visited Santa after Wally did...sorry kids.

I love that Wally was just as excited to watch other people open presents as he was about opening presents himself.

In October we went to a chili supper for the Kiwanis club. They had a silent auction and Wally fell in love with a "kid-sized violin." During dinner he kept wandering over to gaze at it. After dinner we walked around the tables looking at the items. We let him bid on a package for dogs. After that he knew how it worked, and he kept wandering over to the "violin," picking up the pen, gazing longingly at the paper, and putting the pen down again and join us. He wanted to sign up so badly. Finally, before we left, we let him sign up. Well, we ended up buying a ukulele without Wally knowing it, so it was a fun surprise when he opened the present.

Gramma Kathy gave Wally an Elmo doll that does the chicken dance when he was a baby. Wally has been terrified of it. Once a year or so, I bring it out to see what he thinks. Every year he is terrified. Last year, he wouldn't even let me put it back in his closet. It had to be hidden in Brother and Sister's room. Well, this year he knows what the chicken dance is and he loves Elmo. It only took 5 years!

I would love it Wally actually learned to play. I think having Joel play his guitar and Wally play his ukulele would be about the coolest thing ever...maybe in 5 years.

After Aunt Tammy taught me how to edit pictures on Picasa, I played around with my favorite wedding picture - one my parents took. I liked it so much that I gave it to Joel for Christmas.

Hmm...more Star Wars Legos. I'm sensing a theme. Wally was equally excited every time he got a new set (Thanks to Reder and Ruby for this one!)

In true Wally fashion, he had to make all sorts of "good guy ships" before he could actually build the set.

I think the pouty face was due to me taking pictures, not due to the Legos.

Our church has a Christmas music program each year. The kids get to dress in costume (Wally chose to be an angel) and sing a couple songs on risers. Wally put himself in the top row and while they were getting other kids situated a boom echos throughout the sanctuary and the congregation gasps...Wally is no longer on the top riser. A man jumps behind the risers and soon yells, "He's ok!" Wally reappears and the man remains behind the risers until the kids are done singing. I ask Wally what happened and was ready to lecture him on being careful when he responds, "I didn't fall. I jumped. I wanted to see what was back there!" My lecture then changed. He makes a cute angel though.

For some reason, I can't move the videos to put them in order, so here are some random ones.

Wally found an old Christmas CD of Joel's that has songs by various artists from the mid- to late-90s. Wally fell in love with a rap version of Santa Baby and would bust out dancing. Not sure where he learned those moves. I might have a better video that will show up in a later blog.

Wally momentarily stumps Santa when he asks for Pixie dust.

An explanation of what is going on with Wally's Star Wars Legos. If you don't get it, watch Episode 1.

This is the second song later in the Christmas program. Notice they ladies put Wally in the front. However, as soon as I stopped taking this video, Wally and his buddy next to him start wrestling and wrestle through the end of "Go Now in Peace." I was such as proud mom after that program...

What a magical time of year. Through all the gifts and chaos, I think Wally still managed to remember what Christmas is truly about.

A boy and his dogs

Wally and I had a great idea for a Christmas present for Joel, so one day after school, we had a photo shoot with Moose and Daisy.

Believe me, this was no small feat.

I'm pretty sure Joel liked his present.

Thanksgiving 2011

I figured I should include the year in this post considering I'm a bit behind and on the wrong holidays, etc.

My parents made the long drive to join us for a week around Thanksgiving. What a blessing to have them with us. We spent some time running between home improvement stores and ranch supply stores. Wally needed his picture taken with Baby Lord Jesus.
Luckily, the weather was beautiful while my parents were here, so we were able to work on our projects. Our sliding glass door was not working well, so the boys took it apart and fixed it.

Then, my favorite home improvement project yet (well, its up there with the mounted microwave and the skylights). Dad installed a new storm door with a doggy door on the porch. Now, all we have to do it let the dogs out the sliding glass doors and they can let themselves out the rest of the way. This will be wonderful tomorrow with a high of 19! Oddly, Moose caught on to the door much faster than Daisy. Granted, it took him running into the main door head first right beside the doggy door to figure it out, but the fact that he caught on faster than Daisy is kind of scary.

My mom helped my with the full Thanksgiving meal. I had never cooked a full turkey before, so it was fun to learn. After Thanksgiving, she taught me how to make a yummy yummy soup with the carcass and the left overs. Thanks Mom!

Wally and Papa decorated the porch for Thanksgiving.

We are thankful to live in a place where we can eat our Thanksgiving meal on the porch! What a beautiful day. And so much to be thankful for.

To burn off a couple of calories, we took a hike after our meal at Hickory Hill. Again, we are blessed to be able to go hiking in a beautiful place, even if there are no mountains.

After about 5 silly pictures of my parents (yes, they have a tendency to goof off) I got a pretty good one. Papa had a hard time keeping up on the hike because he was busy picking up walnuts, acorns, etc. I guess that is where Wally gets that trait.

We were thinking of using this as our Christmas picture, but it just didn't seem very Christmasy.

Wally knows Grandma Mary loves puzzles, so he made one by cutting up a completely blank piece of pink paper. Now, that was a hard puzzle, but they make a good team.

I bought Wally his first pair of tie shoes right before Thanksgiving break. He worked really hard at learning how to tie with Grandma and Papa's help. After about a week and a half, he became a pro. Now, I just need to try to cut back on his creativity as he works really hard at making knots with 3 loops or knots that look like Christmas wreaths, etc. The problem with them is that they take a long time to tie (and we don't have the time before school) and they are true knots! He's proud that he can tie his shoes though, and so am I.

The weekend after Thanksgiving we too my parents Christmas tree cutting Iowa style. It was pouring rain and we wandered through rows of perfect trees and finally pointed at one that was promptly cut down for us.

Ta-da! The perfect tree!

The men did have to work hard to carry the tree to the tree shaking station.

They had to carry it rather than drag it so that it wouldn't be a big ball of mud!

A lovely tree and a lovely boy.

Wally got to open his presents from Grandma and Papa early. He was a little excited as you'll see in the video below.

Ah, he really loves his presents.

He really REALLY loves his presents!

Building Legos = chapped lips.

I loved that Wally actually helped decorate the tree this year. The ornaments weren't necessarily nicely spaced around the tree, but it was perfect.

Reading a "silly poem" book with Grandma Mary.

Just what I wanted! Not to take away from Grandma and Papa's present, but Wally was this excited about every gift he received this year, so thank you to everyone!

We had a great Thanksgiving and really we have so much to be thankful for, I feel guilty. Thanks so much for the visit Grandma and Papa. We love you!

Mall of America!!!

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we were blessed with the chance to get together with family to do nothing but have fun (and boy did we!). We met Kathy, Ryan, Amy, Jenna, and Molly in Minneapolis on Friday afternoon at a hotel. After unloading, we all piled into minivans and headed to the biggest mall in America - and it was big! We had to stop for a photo shoot in the mall by a stuffed dog. And then we were off to the Sea Life aquarium. What an amazing place! There were so many neat displays with so many things to look at. We were all in awe at times.

Wally loved the touch pools were he could touch star fish and sea urchins. The kid didn't hesitate. We need to get him to the ocean some day.

I love this picture of Molly, if only she was smiling in it.

We loved the jelly fish...somehow Wally knew all about jellyfish. He said he learned it from watching the Nemo movie, but I don't remember jellyfish in it. Maybe he has a better memory than me.

One of our favorite parts was walking through underwater tunnels. There were sharks and all sorts of huge fish and sea turtles swimming around us. A little interpretive dancing under the sea...

On the way out of the mall, we had to get a picture by the biggest Christmas tree I've ever seen.

We topped off the day with dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant. Wally loved eating calamari. I'm not sure he ever quite figured out what it was he was eating though.

Saturday was the big day. We started it out at the American Girl store. To celebrate Jenna's birthday, the kids and Gramma had a tea party, dolls (and teddy bears) included.

Wally is probably about the only 5-year-old boy who would be totally excited for a tea party. He made jewelry to wear to the party for him and Heart Bear (a bear that used to be my grandma's). Because Heart Bear was a bit smaller than the dolls, he had to engineer a booster seat for him, but all worked out.
Aw, what a cute boy hanging out in the girliest store I've ever seen. We did actually leave for a little while during the party - Joel took me shopping at a tall girl store and got me a girly, super-warm coat for Christmas.

Look at all the fancy foods and hot chocolate! Wally's never been to a party like this before!

Wally was obviously having a blast with the art project (notice the face and shirt covered in hot chocolate - his eating/drinking skills aren't quite up to the normal standards for tea parties).

A very happy boy!

One of these is not quite like the others, can you find the one? Jenna was joined by some Minneapolis friends for the party - the perfect size for tea.

After the tea party, we went to the much awaited for Lego Store. The Millennium Falcon! Can you see the drool dripping from his chin?

Gramma Kathy bought Wally a Star Wars Advent Calendar, he was (and still is) a little excited about that! Thanks Gramma (and Reder and Ruby who also had the great idea)! Team Graff at the Lego Store.

After the Lego store, Joel and Ryan went to a bar to watch the Cat-Griz game with Tammy and Cheryl. Us girls and Wally were going to join them, but it had started to snow and the roads were very slippery, so we played at the mall. The best part of the Lego store, I thought, were the giant Lego statues that were above it. You had to go up a level or two or three to see them well.

One of my favorites was the saber-tooth tiger. Wally like the really big robot because "It was really big."

In the middle of the mall, there is a full-fledged amusement park. Wally was enthralled by it and really wanted to ride the roller coasters...so we did.

But first, Jenna and Amy (and the Olly twins) had to do a little dancing.

Wally: "I'm so excited to ride the roller coasters I can barley hold myself together!"

Jenna: "Yea! Let's do it!"

Molly: "I'm bored." Ready for our first roller coaster.

Though you wouldn't guess it from the picture, the Log Chute was Wally's favorite. Wally and I managed to get soaking wet, so logically, we rode the swings that go way up in the air and spin around like a merry-go-round. This dried us off quite nicely. The last big roller coaster we went on was crazy, not only did you go fast up and down and around, but the cars actually spun around too. Wally was laughing then saying, "I want to get off!" Once it stopped, he immediately said, "Let's do it again!" That's my boy! Molly also looked terrified in the video, but she wanted to do it again afterwards too!

Wally looked a little dazed, but was totally wanting more. For lunch, we ate at the Rain Forest Cafe. Wally had to hug the tree frog out front.

Joel, Ryan, Tammy, and Cheryl then joined us back at the mall. We let the kids ride a few more rides. I just love the expressions these three are making!

Joel didn't miss out on the action, he got to ride the Big Rig!

Wally learned a fun game...kick Uncle Ryan! We were all exhausted after a good 8-10 hours at the mall. We headed back to the hotel for some soaking in the hot tub and pizza. The kids were easy to put to bed that night! The next morning, we enjoyed the pool. It is amazing what a little peer pressure can do for a kid. Before swimming with Jenna and Molly, Wally would only do a little hop into the pool,but after watching his cousins, he was doing cannon balls, or at least a Wally version of a cannon ball. He was also seeing how long he could hold his breath under water.
Cannon ball!!!!

The cousins had a great time together. The day after we got home, Wally got really sad and said, "I feel left out. I miss Jenna and Molly." I said, "We'll get to see them in 1 month at Christmas." He says, "How about 1 day!"

Wally was exhausted and slept much of the way home. If you look closely, you can see that his nose is smashed up like a piggy nose on his coat. I took some pictures and then unzipped his coat as he just snored away.