PG's phrases

Ope my white = Open my white playdough
Tank you = Thank you
Me George! = well he is P. George
Big in response to how old are you
Purhul = purple
Blue Truck = Grandpa Bowen
Tree in my (big breath) house (you have to hear this one)
mulk = milk
Gia = RG
Domic = DG
Naha = Nanna
down tairs = down stairs
my new toys = all the gifts he got for his birthday
no/nowing = snow/snowing
no downstairs = what he says when you tell him when he wakes up that it is snowing

No Christmas?

Tonight we were doing our tradtional Advent bedtime routine: family rosary, Jesse tree ornaments with Bible reading, followed by a chapter of the Best Christmas Pagent Ever (a little old for my kids and a litte too mean spirited but I love it too much not to share it with them). Before the Jesse Tree reading, RA said, "Mom, I have a question. Why don't we put all the Jesse Tree ornaments up on one night?"
I explained to her that it is to remind us that each of the people we talk about spent their whole lives waiting for Jesus (he didn't come quick) in fact none of them lived to see Jesus. She looked at me with really big eyes and said, "They didn't have Christmas?" She was agast.
I said, "No, their lives were all Advent."
Only a child can cause us to stop and meditate on the meaning of this season, in a way we hadn't thought of quite like that before.

Children's Museum

Recently we visited the Children's Museum with our friends the Packs: http://www.babypack.blogspot.com/

Everyone had fun. The museum (for those of you who aren't local) uses there large, curved staircase in the winter as a long slide. We all went down it with various forms of, "let's do it again" afterwards. My kids really enjoyed showing their old favorites to a newby -- at least new to the part we showed her. So much so that they couldn't wait for her to join us again. So this Sunday we are taking the dads.

Advent Traditions

So since Christmas isn't quite upon us the Helgoths have some Advent Traditions. First is the Jesse Tree. Our tree goes up the first Sunday of Advent and we decorate it with purple lights, ribbon, and snowflakes (I found them all three years ago at Target). Then each day of advent we add a Jesse Tree ornament. For the past two years, we have been part of an exchange so I think I have all the ornaments now. This is totally the way to do it, because then you just have to make two different types of ornaments for however many people instead of making 28ish different ornaments. Great chart for ornaments at http://www.cresourcei.org/jesse.html.
Then on the third Sunday of Advent we take down the purple and put up the Christmas lights and decorations. The kids like leaving the Jesse Tree ornaments. The 3rd Sunday of Advent is also when we start listening to Christmas music.
We don't do Santa in our house. Another day for the why of that. But on the feast of St. Nicholas (Dec. 6th) the kids get their stockings filled.
We also have a creche (crib) under the tree for Jesus. It is filled with good deeds. Last year, we put in straw for each of our good deeds as mom and dad saw them and took some out if the need arose (ok when the need arose). This year we have a sacrifice jar. Each night they chose a strip of paper with a sacrifice they can make the next day. If they do it, they get to put straw in the creche.
Our letters to Santa are letters to Jesus asking for gifts: material and spiritual. We exchange gifts as immediate family on Epiphany and if no extended family is around we open their gifts then too. Christmas day we try to have a birthday party for Jesus!
We also have an Advent wreath and there are these great seek and find Advent books we use each day. http://www.printeryhouse.org/ProdPage.asp?Prod=DYK&cat=226.
Oh and you can still sign up for Holy Heros Advent Adventure. They send a daily email with activities and videos. It makes it really easy! http://www.holyheroes.com/.
Happy Advent!

After the Birthday Party

After all the fun, my parents, myself, DG and RA all headed off to the high school state football game at Lucas Oil Stadium as Cardinal Ritter High school (where my dad teaches) were playing in the 1A division. They won! Go Raiders! RA spent the whole game cheering, every defensive play we heard, "Push 'em, back, shove 'em back, [big breath] way back!" The little kid in front of us started cheering with her in the second half.
As for PG and 'Daddy', they stayed home and played with "my new toys!"
http://www.wibc.com/IHSAA/2008/fall/boys/football/photos/11.28.08_1a.aspx

PG's 2nd Birthday

PG is now officially 2. Although if you ask him how old he is he says, "Big!" And if you ask him his name he says, "George." I think he is confused. We had a great day, since my mom had done all the cooking the day before we invited them over for a chili lunch, then we opened presents, and then we had cake. There is a gift that needs explaining. Ever since I was pregnant with DG, my mom didn't like the idea of being "a grandma". She was ok with the duties, just not the age. So she wanted to be called something else, she chose Nanna and it stuck. My dad was fine with Grandpa. Well now PG can say Nana or something that resembles it but he hasn't even attempted Grandpa. So the other day before his birthday I asked him who lived with Nanna. He said, "Blue Truck" (as my dad has a blue truck). So now Grandpa is "Blue Truck" so PG got a blue truck from Blue Truck.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was really fun this year. We were in charge of pies. Blake made a cranberry pie, his specialty, and RA and I made a pumpkin pie. Earlier this year RA and I made an apple pie with a homemade crust. We did ourselves in because no crust has been right since then, but the pies were a hit. We celebrated with just my parents as my sister was in NC with her fiancee and his family. It was a nice night with more to come the next day.