Another year, another Perfect tree!
Cutting down the Chrismas Tree at Sargent Farm the weekend after Thanksgiving.
The girls enjoying their Christmas Photo Shoot

Santa....

Hayden has an interesting relationship with this guy, Santa. Last year she really had no clue about the whole thing, or so we thought. Then, in June I got her a Fisher Price Noah's Ark and she immediately identified Noah as "Santa". No amount of discussion or correction can change this. He is Santa. Now we're in the season of non-stop, neck deep Santa mayhem. We don't spend time in malls (even before the whole "Swine Flu" scare, we weren't big fans, but now the idea of hanging out in a petri dish of sneeze is even less appealing).

I explained the concept of Santa a few weeks ago, "be good.... keeping track....will bring something, maybe, depending on what you ask for, if you're good....". I asked Hayden what she'd like, and after thinking for quite a while she announced that she'd like "nunus and butter" (noodles and butter). I'm all about her shooting low. Of course, the fact that the only real choices she gets these days invlove what she eats and what book she reads before bed may have something to do with it.

But, last Thursday, we went to the annual Christmas lighting in downtown Exeter. We decided early on that we weren't going to wait in line to see Santa, since Hayden really didn't seem to care and the "terror to fun" ration just didn't seem likely to be in our favor. But, while we were waiting lin line for a hay ride, we saw Hayden's friend Ryan in line for Santa, and we went over to say "hi". In a very "Christmas Story" moment, Hayden was taken by the hand by an Elf and escorted up the stairs to Santa before she even had a chance to process the whole thing (or myself for that matter). The Elf explained that Santa was in a hurry and really didn't have much time, but he could say a quick "hello" (Santa is on a very tight schedule these days). To Hayden's credit, she didn't cry. She just clung to me looking pretty horrified by the whole experience. That is, until it was all over.

When we were done, she ran to Brian (who was still in line for the hayride) and announced that she had seen Santa.
"Did you talk to Santa?" Brian asked.
"Uh, hu," Hayden said excitedly. "I ask Santa Dollhouse."
"A dollhouse?" (This was so not on our radar).
"Uh, hu. Santa bring dollhouse."

I hope Santa was listening.

A long overdue update

It's five months later now and life is just chugging along so fast that there's hardly any time to update. But, the holidays are upon us now, so how about a quick recap of the past few months. When asked, Hayden said that she's most proud of the fact that she "close eyes and go night night on mat." She also, "play soccer right now" (with, in this case a plastic head from some long forgotten toy). After rolling the ball under the couch, she went to find "Baby Kaya" to ask where the ball might be. But, now, she's cheering her sister on as Kaya rolls back and forth on the floor. Other Kaya milestonse: She can sit up unassisted (for a few minutes anyway; then she topples over onto the floor.) She also eats rice cereal, which she seems to like, as long as you're willing to treat it like spackle and just keep on filling her mouth as she thrusts her tounge in and out. As for sleep, not great. Unlike Hayden, who didn't like going to bed on her own, Kaya is happy to be put down awake at night, and she can fall asleep on her own. She just wakes up. A lot. All night. Over, and over and over again, to the point that we're thinking of putting the number for the gypsies on speed dial. But, we're hopeful. Guardedly optimisitic.

As for Hayden, she talks up a storm and is a total big girl. Right now, she's "calling" Maria on the phone, and she'll probably have a long conversation about cabbages and kings, most of which will make sense to the casual listener. She knows she has brown hair, brown eyes, and she can name all of her body parts and the color of pretty much everything. Right now she's just announced that she's going to "go potty poop". She's had some success at daycare, but not at home yet. So, this could be a first.

Today we're all home doing the happy snowday dance. In a few minutes we'll decorate the Christmas tree (it's been up for two weeks. It went a week with no lights, and now it has lights, garland and bows. We're hoping to put the finishing touches on today.