More Christmas Morning (Is That an Easy Bake Oven??)

As Sarah was setting up her Easy Bake Oven, Allison sat at her feet and said, "Ask me a question, Oven Girl!" The name has stuck throughout the day. Sarah can't wait to make us all some cakes! Santa brought Charlie a giant Charlie Brown pez head! David enjoyed other people's presents... and their packaging.
We had periodic serenading from various children, some with microphones, some with sippie cups.
Charlie got a new game boy cartridge. He was never heard from again.

Santa Came!

He came! He came!

More Christmas Eve

It helps to have your own official photographer in the family! Lane took some wonderful pictures at the church.

Christmas Eve

We each got to open one gift: new pajamas! Talk about gay apparel! Charlie is Mike Wazowski, Sarah is the litte mermaid, and Allison and David both got Cars pj's. We were so excited we had to wear them immediately!

















Then we watched Granddaddy Lane's favorite movie, "A Christmas Story," and wrote emails to Santa. (Nobody asked for a bunny suit.)

Then we enjoyed a delicious meal! Granddaddy Lane's famous oyster stew, and Daddy's famous flank steak and brown rice.

Now the children are nestled all snug in their beds. We sure hope Santa will come to our house!

Angels and Shepherds

The children were lovely in the Christmas pageant at Mass.

Charlie was a shepherd. Allison and Sarah were angels.

Letters to Santa

Tonight the kids sent emails to Santa. Here they are, typed by their own hands:

Dear Santa,
I have been good all year.
When I sat on your lap, I forgot to tell you what I want for Christmas.
I would like

1. Easy Bake Oven
2. The Little Mermaid
3. A Care Bears Movie
4. Doodle Doug
I hope you can come.
Love Sarah


Dear Santa,
I have not been better than usual.But I still have been a very good boy.
I would like a Scooby Doo movie,BackyardFootball 2007 for GameBoy Advance,and Dogs.
That's all I can think of.
Your friend, Charlie

PS I wouldn't mind a couple surprises either.

Santa wrote them back, and here's what he said:
Greetings From the North Pole! It's Christmas Eve & my sleigh is loaded and ready and we have prepared the final flight checks with NORAD for our trip around the world! All this running around is helping to keep us warm because we have had some very cold Arctic air come through here lately! My elves, Chuckles and Buckley, will make sure any last minute requests get sent via email to the sleigh. The reindeer are ready for their Magical flight and have been eating their Magical Corn! Do you remember what makes the corn magical? I am pleased to see that you are on the NICE list again this year and we are so proud of you! Have you guessed the secret ingredient in the reindeer?s magical corn? It is LOVE! The reindeer enjoy their magical corn, but it is the love of the children and Christmas that keeps them going! Stay happy and remember to share the magical love that comes from the heart! Love, Santa Claus

The Spirit of the Season

By far the most enjoyable experience of the Christmas season so far was to take Charlie, Sarah, and Allison shopping for each other.

I went to the toy aisle with each of them one at a time, and they selected three gifts for their siblings. They felt such joy thinking about what the others would want. Then I gave them money and they stood in line alone and purchased their gifts. They each had a bag they carried and kept as a surprise from the others.

Allison was dying to tell the others what she got for them and had a hard time keeping it a secret. On the way home, Charlie said, "It's a lot more exciting to give presents than to get presents, because it's so much fun to keep it a secret!"

Sarah is excited about the present she made for me in school. She told me, "It's quite small, but quite special!" I told her that's my favorite kind of gift!

When we got home, I spent time individually with each of them wrapping their presents, then they put them under the tree. Charlie said, "I couldn't wait for Christmas before, but now I really can't wait!"

My heart is full.

Can't Catch Me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!

'Tis the season for gingerbread men, and gingerbread houses! We did a project with each, thanks to Linda Hart! As you can see, the children sure enjoyed them. Not sure which was more fun: making them or eating them!

Visit with St. Nick

We went to see Santa Claus today!

Charlie and Sarah were very excited. Allison got a little worried when it occurred to her that Santa would know she got in trouble this morning. David said, "I don't care what this guy has in his sleigh, I'm not sitting on his lap!"

Santa was lovely, and despite his busy schedule, took the time to listen to all the children. Charlie asked for a Scooby Doo movie. Sarah asked for an Easy-Bake Oven. Allison asked for a yo-yo. David said, "Waaaaaaaaaaaa!"

And The Winner Is ... Sarah Mackey!

Sarah's essay on My Favorite Place won the kindergarten age group for the county and is now representing the county in the state contest! Winners at the state level will be announced in March and will go on to compete at the national level. The contest, called Reflections, is sponsored by the national PTA. This year's theme is My Favorite Place.

Here is Sarah's essay:

My Favorite Place
I like Six flags Becuse it Has Ride
I like The Rollercoster Becuse it Gose fast.
We Go there Evre Summer. It is Cool.
We Get To Go To Six Flags becuse
My mom wock for Coke.

(There is a later version that was sanitized to remove all brand names, but this was her original submission).

Way to go, Sarah!!!!

Words David Can Say

Here is a (partial) list of what David can say (now that he is 18 months). He can mimic most sounds so I'm only counting it if he uses it spontaneously and in context:

David
Mommy
Daddy
Charlie
Sarah
Allison
puppy
down (also used for up)
E-I-E-I-O (any time he sees a McDonalds - he doesn't get that it's not the same McDonald)
Coca-Cola's great! (any time he sees a Coke logo OR a Pepsi logo. With some prompting, this is often followed by "Pepsi stinks!")
again
more (in sign language, which has now morphed into clapping vigorously when he wants more of something)
yeah
no
please
thank you
thanks
hi
hello
bye-bye
high chair
sippie
lovey
banana
applesauce
woof woof
meow
quack quack
moo
diaper
yellow
red
blue
(no he doesn't know which color is which, except sometimes he is very convincing that he knows yellow)
Christmas tree
Ho ho ho
Bingo! (any time we drive over railroad tracks - I'm not sure how this started but it is now a well entrenched tradition in Mackey vehicles)
minivan
car
shoes
socks
book
school - when driving by his preschool or the big kids' elementary school
I love you too!
I can't (when he can't reach something or open something or do something)
Here you go.

Gag Me With A Spoon

Bryant, Allison, David and I all went in to Charlie and Sarah's school today for a holiday candlelight lunch. Allison and I were waiting in the hallway outside the cafeteria for the class to arrive. She was dressed adorably and was being very sweet. As we waited, an elegant, well-dressed woman, clearly somebody's grandmother, came out of the cafeteria. As she approached, she looked at the sweet and lovely Allison and smiled at me, and my heart swelled with maternal pride. I only vaguely noticed that Allison was starting to make some weird fake coughing noise. As the elegant woman stepped directly in front of us, my beautiful Allison looked up at me and announced with perfect clarity, "Mommy, I'm pretending to throw up!" Mrs. Elegant's smile vanished. And so did mine.

Ballerina Moves

Tonight we were in a restaurant where they had just mopped the floor by the self-service drink refills. Sarah commented, "It's great to know ballerina moves, because then when there's a giant mess, you can just ballerina right over it."

The Spelling Bee

Charlie won his class spelling bee and, along with his friend Toby, qualified for the Grade 1 through Grade 3 spelling bee which was held Tuesday.

He studied hard and practiced his list of words and knew a lot of really tricky words. In the spelling bee, he correctly spelled "slow," "going" and "panic" before succumbing to "delicious."

Great job, Charlie! We are so proud of you!