KID DICTIONARY

Nonconversations about winter solstice with small children is a memorable experience that leads to an extremely entertaining and humorous game of Kids Say The Darndest Things. Yesterday during bath time the kids were asking about the slow and anticipated coming of Spring, hoping to soon continue our beloved outdoor activities. I was thinking to myself, "We are so lucky to have passed winter solstice, but I won't get into that with the kids. They won't understand the whole idea of days getting longer, because to them, time stays the same. Can't wait for....." and the words "vernal equinox" slipped out of my mouth. It was if the word "equinox" cued the lights, cameras, and Bill Cosby.

Emerson: "Vernal equinox? That's Laverna from Mermaidia!" (One of Ida's "princess" movies)

What's a solar eclipse?
Emerson: "That's what there is when you clip your fingernails."

Who is Mr. Clean?
Emerson: "Oh, that's the man who has lots of tools and fixes stuff ."

What does Sasquatch do?
Emerson: "They play games and give hugs."

What do you know about recess?
Emerson: "Those are Ida's princesses who spin on ice skates."

What is an excavator?
Emerson: "Those are the kids that vacuum rice cakes off the floor."

Have you read any good literature lately?
Emerson: "Oh, they have that at church."

And the Government, what do you think?
Ida: "Who's that Emerson? The Government?"
Emerson: "That's Daddy!"

OH HOLY PICTURE NIGHTS

We have an awesome family tradition of spending Christmas Eve with the Fraker-Fraker-Party-Maker side of the family. You may think that it is weird that I made that rhyme using our last name, but it is a lifelong joke for Josh and I. The name Fraker and my maiden name Carty create some wildly fun rhyming challenges and we have been fortunate enough to have friends and family members who enjoy this bazaar game as well, so just play along. Not to mention that the other last names of our relatives at the party were Hart and Childs. Now the game begins.....

Anyway, when Josh and I were first dating and married we went to Josh's Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rick's house to celebrate, but for the last 2 years we have gone to Josh's brother Mike and his wife Liz's house. And I can tell you that it doesn't matter where we go, the hugs are warm, the food is delicious, and the house is very merry. We just love this family tradition and all the wonderful people that make it special.

We got home from our Christmas Eve festivities at 10:30! That is the latest the kids have EVER gone to bed and, seeing as we were so tired, we forgot to put cookies and carrots out for Santa and the reindeer. When the kids wondered if Santa ate his cookies the next morning, we convinced them we left Santa the last piece of cherry pie. Next year we will remember to put the cookies on the counter.

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Emerson and Ida were not affected one bit by staying awake 2 1/2 hours past their bedtime. They were up and ready to go at 8:00 and boy was I glad. I woke up around 7:00 and was too excited to go back to sleep. I can argue that I am now familiar with how my 2 year old feels when she has to wait "just a minute" or "one more second." Around 7:15 I was getting antsy and allowed myself to entertain the thought of waking up the kids. I really started losing it when I reverted back to all the "morning training" I have given Ida. She is a fan of waking up early and for weeks we practiced and learned all the things she can do in her room until everyone else in the house is awake. I found myself singing songs, telling myself stories, reading books, shaking my leg, looking out the window, counting the strings on our quilt, everything. The kids made their first peeps at 8:00, I gave Josh a tap to wake him up and was out of bed spreading Christmas cheer. And the fun began!

Off To Grandpa's

The Carty side of the family is super fun and passionate. We always have a roarin' blast with everyone. Poor Jack braved his nap despite a sea of loud voices and came out on top! Emerson's head was spinning like a top and Ida was in Doritos heaven. Whoever invented Shout deserves a maid! We are very blessed to have such wonderful, fun, giving, thoughtful people in our lives.

The kids passed out in the car going home at 4:00 pm. I think they would have slept through the night if we hadn't woken them up. But leaving two sleeping kids in a freezing car is child abuse, so we decided to take them inside for some supper before bed.

My Holiday Stitches:

Mel from Jack's Big Music Show

Emerson and Ida's Super-Active Super Capes and belts, pin cushions

Butterfly oven mitts

My Sister's Mad Sewing Skills: she made 10 elephant pillows for her nieces and nephews...........they are AWESOME!!!

DEAR SANTA

The letters are on their way to the North Pole, written with much love from Emerson and Ida, with the help of Mom and Dad as scribes. Emerson would love his very own piece of the Mayan Jungle or a small parcel of the Savanna Biome with all it's jumping, slithering, and racing things included therein. Unfortunately the Santas that live in our house don't have a special toy bag like St. Nicholas that can redistribute portions of Mother Earth to deserving boys like Emerson; so that dream won't be realized this Christmas. Fortunately, however, Toys R Us makes a wonderful, man made jungle for nature and animal lovers like himself. And accompanied with his super-active super cape, we hope he can "transport" himself to his jungley world and Tarzan it up!

Ida would really appreciate some babies and a pink super-active super cape. It is funny that the kids call them super-active super capes because they seem like pretty active kids already. Maybe it is because the capes will make them do things better and faster. Ida is already wonderful at taking care of her babies and making sure they are fed and held, so perhaps Tarzan will be joined by Super Nanny. What a fun Christmas it will be!