ELF - DEC 16

DEC 16 - Barney knew that we opened some of our 

Christmas presents last night with Nana, Papa, Uncle

Mike and Auntie Karin. 

On our drive back home, Sydney asked Daddy "do you think 

Barney will fly back to our house?" 

Daddy thought so. Afterall, Barney found his way to Nana

& Papa's house so, he'd probably find his way back home.

Sure enough, Barney was waiting for us at home... sitting on

our Christmas tree!

Waiting for us at home... on our tree.

ELF - DEC 15

DEC 15 - Barney found us! We were
at Nana & Papa's house for the weekend!

Sydney told Uncle Mike that he couldn't stand too close to Barney. We don't want Barney to lose his magic and we don't want to accidently touch him.

ELF - DEC 14

This morning, Mommy and Daddy laughed at Barney. When Sydney woke, he was SAD because he missed Barney and couldn't find him. Sydney looked in all of the past places for his scout elf and got frustrated when he couldn't find him. I asked Sydney "Don't you see anything out of the ordinary? Anything seem a little strange or out of place?"

Sydney kept returning to the corner and standing next to the giant FISH pillow, plate of goldfish crackers and boat. Still, he wasn't putting two and two together.

"I just see this ocean of fish and a boat."

Via telephone, Sydney talked to Daddy at work and explained that he couldn't find Barney. Daddy reminded Sydney that Barney usually hangs out near his projects and stays out of the way....

and then, Sydney looked UP and spotted our little fisherman!

That Barney... looked like he was a happy fisherman.

The Thankful Book...

In Sydney's backpack, a 3-ring binder was sent home from school. In it, each child drew a picture and said what they are thankful for.

Sydney's page was RAINBOWS.

He didn't know that I had looked at the binder. Tonight, I asked him "What are you thankful for?" thinking he would tell me about his rainbow page. His answer surprised me.

"God. He created us, you know. I told them that I thought our parents made us, but we are thankful that God made us." he announced.

I was proud of his intellect... that he knew that his parents DID make him. He's one smart cookie!

ELF - DEC 13

DEC 13 - Barney squirted a SAD FACE in toothpaste after Sydney refused
to brush his teeth last night AND claimed "not to like" his new
toothbrush from St. Nick. Uh-Oh... guess Santa and Barney are disappointed!

Sydney protested brushing his teeth last night. In fact, he even claimed that he "didn't like the new toothbrush from Santa (St. Nick)"

ELF - DEC 12

DEC 12 - Barney was taking a bath in a marshmallow tub.

ELF - DEC 11

DEC 11 - Barney was hanging onto our Spritz cookie gun.

ELF - DEC 10

Barney holds a snowball while laying in the snow. It looks like he
was inspired by Sydney's snow angel yesterday in the front yard. FUN!

FUN DAY IN THE SNOW

This morning, we woke to SNOW!
It was my favorite kind... the kind that
sticks to the branches and makes
everything BEAUTIFUL!

The view from our deck this morning.
It snowed lightly for much of the day.
By day's end, there MIGHT have been 2" on the table.

The boys helped mommy shovel snow. I'm not sure WHY
I didn't think to just make snowballs to ROLL the snow
instead of shovel. (It was wet and heavy, perfect for
a snowman!)

Thumb-sucking Silas would NOT keep his mittens on!
He kept taking them off and throwing them on the ground!

We built a snowman and had to borrow
a carrot from Lisa. However, when Sydney
tried to steal the carrot from Silas, a fight
broke out. Lisa had Sydney come get another
carrot for himself. By the time he got back home
with it, it had nibbles out of it. Hmmm....

Silas parades with his carrot (from Lisa).
Unfortunately, our snowman fell over
before we could put the nose on it. Bummer.

Silas was SO MAD that I made him come inside. His hands
were RED and ICE COLD (because he refused to leave his
mittens on.) Normally, we have ALL HAPPY PICTURES
of Silas so, HERE is his MAD FACE! (Mark your calendar.)

Our advent book for today was MERRY CHRISTMAS,
CURIOUS GEORGE. Grandpa read it to the boys!

This is Sydney's FAVORITE display at Reflections in the Park.

Went to Reflections in the Park last week. However, it is
SO MUCH PRETTIER with snow on the ground! Took
Grandpa Lowell here for his birthday tonight. FUN!

After being serenaded HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Sydney and Silas
attempted to deliver a gift bag to Papa Lowell. Silas took the
present out of the bag before they could get to him though.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDPA LOWELL!
Told Sydney that Grandpa wanted PIZZA for his birthday;
Sydney found that odd - thinking he should want
BIRTHDAY CAKE, not pizza! FUNNY KID!

ELF - DEC 09

Today, our elf had found the large foam alphabet mat/blocks and spelled out his name, making a tunnel for the boys to crawl through. Sydney did a great job slithering like a snake. The boys had SO MUCH fun playing with them and suddenly realized that Barney's airplane was gone and they didn't know WHERE Barney was.

Sydney started to cry. "I miss Barney!" he moaned.

"Miss Barney!" Silas repeated.

They searched in all of the previous places, but didn't find Barney. Then, while talking on the phone to Daddy (at work), Sydney made the discovery and beamed a HUGE GRIN. (He was hanging in the light fixture in our entryway... right above his work of art!)

Eventually, Mommy had to pack all of the letter blocks up before they got wrecked. (The boys weren't being very gentle with them and they were.... well, EVERYWHERE!)

Silas peeks out of the "A" hole.

Sydney sneaks into the opposite end.
He and Silas meet towards the middle.

That Barney, sure is a FUN ELF!