December Recap

Wow. It's been a fast and furious month. This poor little space has been highly neglected among all of our activities: Hanukkah, Christmas, our road trip tour de Texas and having Cooper out of school! Here are some high and low notes of the month:

I lost my biggest blog fan and most avid follower this month. I say that in jest but there is no one that loved this blog more than Kyle's grandmother, Bubby (Marolyn). She printed off every post that I wrote to show to people and also laid them out on her coffee table in her living room. If I ever questioned the importance of posting yet another "this has got to be the most hilarious thing that any kid has ever said" moment, I knew that Bubby would read and treasure it…and she did!

Bubby was a very spirited woman who never let her opinion go unknown. Towards the end of her battle with cancer, she would constantly remind us that "these doctors don't know who they are dealing with!" I had to laugh because that was true, on oh so many levels. She loved us all fiercely and we loved her right back. We will all miss her very much.

In lighter news…

 - Our Elf on the Shelf, Bama, returned this year. He made his scheduled appearance only a few days late after being misplaced by Mom and Dad. When all else fails, chocolate.

 - Cooper's beloved Mr. Snake tragically lost his eye in a severe wall banging incident a few months ago. He was promptly removed from the group of animals Cooper sleeps with every night, affectionately named "the stuff". He would say, "I don't like him anymore. His eye is broken." There is a lesson in there about tolerance and acceptance that somehow didn't translate! Anyway, I performed a little surgery a la Doc McStuffins and voila…Mr. Snake is happily part of "the stuff" again!

 - This little cheeser helped me decorate the Christmas tree this year. I've only been waiting to do this with him SINCE HE WAS BORN! We blared Christmas music and drank hot chocolate and there was only one reported ornament loss to speak of!

 - In other "wanted to do this since they were born" news…I officially have a shopping buddy. I knew this would happen eventually, I just didn't foresee it being the case with a 17 month old. Watch out Kyle, she's coming for your credit card! Let's just say, I didn't mind the company while shlepping through town buying gifts this year!

 - Kyle and I spent 1.5 days in Belize soaking up the sun and enjoying childless laziness. Unfortunately (on many levels) we had to cut our trip short to attend Bubby's funeral and spend time with family, but it was beautiful and luxurious while it lasted.

 - One of Cooper's favorite activities is to go golfing with Kyle. So, on days when there aren't many people on the course, Kyle will take him out to play a few holes. (Tough Dad job, I know.) Cooper will don his fishing/golfing glove and they head out to tear up the course (and the water hazards). Our apologies to the other golfers!

 - Cooper really got into the season this year. Eight nights of Hanukkah celebrations bode well for almost 4 year old boys! Every day during Hanukkah, Cooper would announce that he said "Burch atah adonai" (the beginning of the Hanukkah prayer) and that he was ready to open presents clearly ignoring the whole waiting until sundown thing. Patience is not our strong suit!

 - Speaking of getting into the season, I made Cooper help me clean out his toys so that we might give the ones he no longer plays with to other boys and girls. Y'all. We gathered up 5 trash bags full of toys! Embarrassing yet extremely satisfying. We even had one whole toy drawer empty…until Christmas came along!

 - I'm always taken aback by the simplicity of Cooper's holiday wishes. Last year he wanted a basketball and this year he wanted a light for his bike. I always fret over what to get him when in reality I should just embrace it before he discovers the beauty that is the Toys R Us catalogue. True to form, he wouldn't open up another gift this year until Kyle attached the light he got from Santa to his bike!

Hope your December has been just as full as ours. I really can't believe 2015 is just knocking on the door. Since I'm recapping… Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all!