Jake's Christmas

Jake had a great Christmas this year. He really, really wanted a drum set and a Bat Cave playset, so his daddy and I divided up the gifts. Alex and I (or rather Santa) got him the drum set. Hmm, think we got the wrong end of that deal? Nah, he was so excited when he saw it! Besides, all of his other musical gear -- electric guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica, recorder, etc. -- are here at home anyway. Now he can be a one-boy band!

Jake got lots of other fun presents from Mommy and Poppy, and from his family. Puzzles and games were a big hit this year, along with some new Wii games to play.

It was our usual relaxed day, where we all just hang out and don't ever get out of our pjs. Not having to get out of his pjs is definitely one of Jake's criteria for an excellent time!


Look! Santa ate his cookies and the reindeer ate almost all of the carrots! (We...er, Santa and the reindeer...left just a few crumbs and a a bit of carrot with a bite out of it) Jake is just old enough to really "get" Santa and still young enough to completely believe in a man wearing a red suit, flying all over the world with presents. A rabbit hopped through our yard sometime on Christmas Eve and left tracks in the snow right by our front door. Jake thought they were reindeer tracks!



Jake sees his drum set for the first time. It's a cool set, with it's own leather drum seat. It adjusts different ways and it is wired so the bass lights up when you hit it. Jake decided he now has a band, called the "Robot M&Ms." Sadly, the Robot M&Ms broke up before Christmas was over and formed a new group, the "Broken Robot Eaters." (Seriously, these are the names he came up with.)



Trying out the drums. Our poor neighbors...it was pretty early for drumming, but you can't say "no," now can you? It was unlimited drumming on Christmas.



Even when not playing the drums, Jake wanted to sit on his drum seat. Here he and Charlie watch a new DVD and eat snacks. In their pjs. That really is Jake's idea of a perfect winter day...

More Pics

It's been so long since I updated, here are some pictures from the last couple of months..


Charlie and Jake love to wrestle. Of course, Jake doesn't know his own strength and Charlie has no fear, so it can be sort of nerve-wracking. But Jake usually tries hard to be gentle. And they both laugh so hard!


Every year, Jake and I make a gingerbread house for Christmas. This year, it was a Willy Wonka brand house, so the candy was particularly good. Oddly enough, once it's made Jake doesn't want to eat it. He just likes eating the extra candy during the building process.


On Thanksgiving weekend, Madison had an "open house" downtown with free hot chocolate and treats at select merchants, and free trolley rides. It started out as a very cold day, but warmed up a bit. We had a great time. Jake is posing on the Capitol building grounds, with State Street behind him.


I bought Jake and Charlie Thanksgiving pjs. Jake's said, "Everyone is grateful for me" and he liked to point that out every time he wore them.


I also bought the boys matching shirts that say "Mommy's Little Monster." They look too cute wearing them and sadly, on this day, they were all too accurate. Don't be fooled by how angelic they look here! It was one of those days we were stuck in the house because of weather and they were just stir crazy. Can't wait for spring...

Halloween

Jake wanted to be Darth Vader this Halloween--mostly because of the chance to wield a light saber, I suspect. It was a relatively warm night, especially for Wisconsin, so he could get away with a sweatshirt under his costume. We had a great time going from house to house; many of the houses in our neighborhood really go all out decorating for Halloween. There were packs of kids roaming around, all hyped up on sugar and excitement, so it was a good night.


Darth, all set to extort candy from unsuspecting rebels...er, neighbors.


It was my turn to take Jake out; Alex stayed at home with Charlie to dispense candy. I ended up with the important job of holding the mask, flashlight and light saber.


Jake got TONS of candy. He was so sweet and polite, many of the neighbors commented on how he said "please" and "thank you" which I guess from the comments, not a lot of the kids did. Jake may sometimes act like a wild little heathen but at least he's a polite little heathen!



Darth sharing the love with his little brother. Charlie wore a onesie which said "This is my costume." After all, his bedtime was still about 5:30 then, before dark.