CHRISTMAS WITH A FOUR-YEAR-OLD

Boo Boo is four years old and really knows what Christmas is all about: spreading love and giving to others, baking goodies and sharing with friends and neighbors, creating beautiful handmade gifts and tenderly wrapping each one, making delightful ornaments, decorating the house - indoors and out and anything that stood still for a moment, hot cocoa, peppermint, singing Christmas carols, the Nutcracker, reading our favorite Christmas books over and over again (especially Jan Brett's "Gingerbread Baby" and "Gingerbread Friends"), making gingerbread houses ... and last, but not least, celebrating at Grandma's house in Ohio, with snow!. It has been a busy month and we have relished every moment!!!!! I hope you enjoy the pictures.

VISIT WITH SANTA

This is the first year Boo Boo wanted to sit on Santa's lap. In the past, it was all three of us ... poor Santa ;-) She's always loved and cuddled with the Easter Bunny, but not the strange man in the red suit. This time, she had a plan of exactly what she was asking for ... "all I want is a wooden doll swing if your elves can make it. If not, then surprise me".

ADVENT CALENDAR BANNER

I saw this cute Advent Banner last year and finally finished it for the beginning of Advent this year. Well, almost ... I ran out of winter white wool felt and only have the last "25" pouch to go. So, it will be complete within days. For now, here's a picture of the 24 days. I chose to place a surprise of one crayon rock for each of the first 7 pouches to follow along with the idea of stones in this Advent verse by Steiner:

“The first light of Advent is the light of stone–.Stones that live in crystals, seashells, and bones.The second light of Advent is the light of plants–Plants that reach up to the sun and in the breezes dance.The third light of Advent is the light of beasts–All await the birth, from the greatest and in least.The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind–The light of hope that we may learn to love and understand.”

The second week of Advent, I'm thinking I'll put a surprise of different types of seeds in each pouch. The third week, possibly needle felted animals ... and so on.

After saying our verse from above and lighting the appropriate candles on our Advent Spiral, Boo Boo gets to open up the pouch for the day. She is really excited about this and seems to be drawn in by our new tradition.

CHILLY NIGHT IN SOUTH FLORIDA

Brrrr ... it got chilly here Thanksgiving evening and we took advantage of it. Daddy lit a fire in the firepit and we busted out the vegan marshmallows, dark chocolate and graham squares for some smores right before bedtime. YUMMY!!!

LET THE DECORATING COMMENCE!

Boo Boo is just about as crazy about decorating for Christmas as I am. Our tradition over the past couple of years is to spend Thanksgiving evening decorating the house for the Christmas season. Full tummy, lots to be thankful for, Christmas music and decorating fun ...

THANKSGIVING DAY AT THE ZOO

We decided to spend the morning at the Miami Metro Zoo before heading home to have our yummy Thanksgiving dinner where "Tom" the Turkey is a guest rather than on the menu ;-) What a wonderful experience. We biked through the zoo with cooler temps and no crowds. This may become a tradition for us. Hope you enjoy the pictures.