And the Winner is...

Wyatt and Malcolm came running out of the bedroom this morning to see if Santa really came. Malcolm's first words on seeing the stack of gift waiting under the tree, "which one is my firetruck?"

The top gifts this year were Wyatt's skateboard and Malcolm's fireman boots. When Malcolm unwrapped his new boots he quickly kicked off his old boots and tossed them aside. He couldn't put the new ones on fast enough! He said, "baby floyd can have those boots now. I hope Santa brings him a fireman hat" to go with them.

And Wyatt was very happy with his brand new skateboard! He had just seen Giggen unwrap a tennis racket in nearly the exact same sized box so when he was opening it he said, a new tennis racket for me? He was delighted when he pulled it out to find a new skateboard instead! He's been riding it in the garage all day. Wyatt said, "I am a lucky boy, aren't I?"

Tomorrow we will write thank you cards to Santa. Very fun Christmas with the boys!

Before and After

The anticipation has been killing the boys this year. Wyatt knows the days of the week now and has been counting them down as patiently as possible with Malcolm asking repeatedly, "When we wake up today will we open presents?" This photo is of the boys before they went to bed on Christmas eve. Wyatt asked many logistical questions about how the whole process works -- "Santa will come down that chimney?" he asked in a skeptical tone followed up with "hows that going to work?" (its a wood burning stove w/ a very narrow pipe). He also wondered "will the reindeers come inside to eat the carrots we left them?" and then worriedly asked "Santa is going to stay out of my bedroom, right?"

In an effort to get the kids to go to bed earlier, Uncle Sean told the boys how he had once seen Santa not come because someone stayed up too late. This was very worrisome for Wyatt. I couldn't figure out why he was repeatedly calling me in his room to tell me that we needed to go to sleep. Eventually he was brought to near tears when he finally disclosed that he was worried that Uncle Sean was going to stay up too late and Santa wasn't going to come. Luckily Sean went in to smooth out the situation and Wyatt finally fell asleep.

Malcolm is much more pragmatic about the whole thing. He says Santa brings presents but no, reindeer can't fly because "they don't even have wings!" He's right and it got Wyatt thinking about the logistics of the whole thing a little more. For now, they are both believers and its so fun! The second photo is obviously after Santa came.

Ready for the Slopes

Maybe next year Moosey! As you can see, he takes it very seriously.

On the Slopes

Getting Ready

Tonight we put up our tree in Tahoe. The boys were so excited they also wanted to wear their Christmas Pjs and hats. They are in the final stretch of a long count down till Santa comes. Last night we even thought we might have heard reindeer on our roof!

Gingerbread House

Making the gingerbread house has become one of our favorite Christmas traditions. This year we bought a kit that had a pre-made house which, we've decided, is the way to go with small kids. Wyatt can't believe that he has unfettered access to any number of sweets during the process. In fact, before he eats any candy he asks, "I'm going to eat one, no two, I mean two M&Ms right now, OK?" And then he looks at me in the process like I'm going to stop him at any moment. Malcolm's approach is much different. He grabs a handful, looks around to see who is watching as if he thinks he is about to do something he is not supposed to, and then he shoves them all in his mouth. It doesn't seem to matter if anyone is watching him, he goes for it anyway. Surprisingly he only choked once during the process. Next year we are planning to up the ante and have a family gingerbread decorating competition.

Pooped After a Full Day on the Slopes

Snowboarding

This weekend, we stopped by REI for some Christmas shopping and came home with an impromptu snowboard purchase for Wyatt. As soon as we brought it home and he tried it on, he had to go try it out. So Papa and Wyatt drove up to Tahoe that night and spent all day Sunday on the slopes.

Fireman!

Malcolm's new obsession - being a fireman. In fact, he no longer wants to be called Malcolm or Moosey, only Fireman. Yesterday he was especially happy to find a fire truck parked out in front of our house. He got to sit inside and even was allowed to ring the bell. To put his obsession in perspective, he actually went and sat on the fireman's lap for the photoshoot...something he refused to do even with Santa Clause!

Drawing Skateboards

Wyatt has been skateboard crazy the past couple of weeks. He's been spending a lot of time learning how to ride with both feet, and doing tricks. Here's a photo of his drawing this morning - there's a tall skateboarder who's 10 years old and a smaller skateboarder who's 4 years old (notice the numbers). There's also a drawing of Wyatt "sliding on a railing" (Papa helped draw the stairs at Wyatt's request).