Jack's Birthday Wishlist

Many people have asked me what they should get Jack for his birthday. The boy is Thomas the Train CRAZY right now. If you need some ideas, I added a link on the left side of the blog. Is it hard for anyone else to believe that in a few weeks we will have a three year old?!?!

Christmas Day

It's a tradition that we all sleep at Grandpa and Grandma's house on Christmas Eve. Jack is always asking if he can spend the night at his grandparents' house, so he was pretty excited his wish came true. 

It's also a tradition that the boys wear Christmas pajamas. Jack's pj's pretty much sum up two going on three. :-) 

Another Seaton tradition is that we open crackers and wear the crowns that come out to dinner. 

The Seaton Boys

Our Seaton Family- Look at Luke's sweet smile. 

All Seatons

Everyone did a lot to make Christmas special for the boys. Thanks to all of you. 

Christmas Eve

The first thing Jack noticed (because John pointed them out) as we drove up the hill to my sister's house on Christmas Eve morning was the huge Santa and smaller Frosty inflatables on her deck. Jack got out of the car, rang Linda's doorbell, and ran right past Charlie who answered the door to get to the inflatables. He is crazy about the things, and Linda's friend, Mark, has a pretty good idea about what little guys are crazy about so he transported them from his house to Linda's just to make the boys happy. He succeeded. Thanks, Mark. 

After we spent a good amount of time greeting Santa and Frosty, we had an amazing brunch with Linda, Charlie, Joe, and Rachel along with some of their friends. 

The thoughtful things John does should never surprise me because he does them every day, but I was very moved when he arranged to Skype Kathy and her family when it was time to open gifts. Family is really important to Kathy, and I know it made her feel good to be included in the "Thorn" celebration even though she was 1,000 miles away. 

Kathy sent this bad boy to the the little guys! Jack was especially excited about his new wheels. 

He hopped right in and took off. He is going to need to figure out how to steer a little better because he promptly thanked Mark for bringing the inflatables by ramming right into his car. Nice. 

Jack enlisted Luke's help in pulling/pushing the car up Linda's big hill. Luke was excited because this was as close as he got to the car until we got home and he got a turn sitting in the car. 

The "Thorn" Christmas was special this year. Everyone just seemed really happy to be together, which is what I believe Christmas is really all about. 

Ready for Rudolph

Naps seem to be a thing of Jack's past, and yet I've never met a kid who needed one more when 4:00 in the afternoon rolls around. It's a constant battle at our house, and one I can't claim victory to very often. But today I was the victor. 

We found this in our mailbox on the way home from the post office. It's a letter from the head reindeer elf up at the North Pole. 

On the back was a recipe for reindeer food. Apparently, it's been decided that our house is the perfect location for the reindeer to have a snack before continuing along their way. It just so happens that I had all of those ingredients in the pantry, so I promised Jack that if he slept during rest time today we would make reindeer food. 

I checked in about five minutes after I finished reading a few books. He was out. And so we made reindeer food. 

Luke wanted to help too. 

And so did Mom. 

This is what reindeer food looks like for anyone who didn't know. 

The neighbors brought gifts for the boys this morning. Luke received a laptop. Jack is quite taken with it. In fact, he used it to Skype Santa this afternoon. Santa wanted to know if his reindeer's food was ready, don't you know?

No Explanation

I don't think this one needs any explanation.

Help with the Bills

I don't like unloading the dishwasher. Laundry is not my favorite thing. But, I absolutely despise paying the bills. Luckily, I had a little help today, and he thought it was all kinds of fun. He used stickers for stamps and licked the envelopes. It kept him busy long past the time I was finished with my own set of bills. Now if only I could send him out to earn a paycheck we'd be in good shape. 

The Boys These Days

Jack has discovered the word why and he isn't afraid of using it.... 4,000 times a day. For example:

Me: Jack, you shouldn't touch the blind in your room.

Jack: Why?

Me: You're breaking it.

Jack: Why? 

My thought: Exactly! 

Jack is really trying to figure out how to emphatically express himself lately. Just the other night upon his third or fourth request for a drink of water before bed he said, "Daddy, don't talk to me about no!" John and I about laughed ourselves silly. Another common expression around here is "like I said". I hate it, but I know he got that from me. I've caught myself saying it and mentally kick myself every time I use it now. 

Luke has finally decided he likes books. He brings me countless books throughout the day and says something that he thinks means read, but sounds nothing like any word I have ever associated with books or reading. The best way to describe the sound is th. Nevertheless, I know exactly what he means and will read to him until I'm hoarse or he's bored. His favorites right now are Peek A Who? and Dear Zoo. 

Jack is sort of a Santa buff. He knows details about the guy that amaze me. I heard him refer to Santa as St. Nick while he was playing with his Playmobil Santa and elf this morning. St. Nick and the elf were having a conversation about which presents were for boys and which presents were for girls. We've been unwrapping a new Christmas book every night and reading with the boys. Jack really loves the books that are about Santa, but his favorite book seems to be The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. I'm hoping he's absorbing the real message in the book, that Christmas is about more than toys and lights. 

Our favorite activity since the weather has been cold and rainy is chasing each other around the house. Luke and Jack both shriek in delight as they run through the kitchen, dining room, living room, and back into the kitchen with me hot on their tails. Their laughter is my favorite sound. 

Yet Another Christmas Parade

I'm thinking the Christmas parades we have attended this season have made quite an impact on Jack as he has started to make parades of his own in our playroom. 

Santa is always in attendance. 

And so are Z cars. 

Santa Visit 2011

Luke arched his back and was off Santa's lap in a flash. Jack, on the other hand, had a nice little chat with the jolly guy. When I asked him about their talk in the car, Jack told me he asked Santa for a Thomas train. He said Santa asked if he's been a good little boy. Apparently Jack said yes, but confessed to pushing his brother a time or two too. 

At the Park

The Monday Blahs

On Monday mornings, Daddy heads off to work after a really fun weekend. We always feel a little sad with his absence, and it's hard to think of fun things to do. Toys don't seem like as much fun. Everything is just a little blah. So, this morning Jack and I built a fort. It sent Monday's blahs away in a hurry. 

Little Luke wanted to play too. Anything Jack thinks if fun Luke does too, but Luke kept on pulling the blankets down. So, Jack and I came up with this plan to keep the blankets in place. 

Then Luke could play too. 

And take pictures of our work. 

Christmas Parade x 2

We spent a lot of time at Christmas parades this weekend, attending both Franklin's and College Grove's. Grandpa and Grandma were able to join us in Franklin for a spectacular parade.  

Jo Dee Messina was the Grand Marshall.

The bands and sirens and horns were extremely loud. 

Luke was tickled when he got one of the Chick fil a balls. 

Spotting Santa is always the best part of any Christmas parade. 

College Grove

Letter to Santa

Jack finally decided on something appropriate (not fireworks) to ask Santa for, so we spent some time this afternoon making and writing his 2011 letter to the fat guy. 

Jack is a fan of these little thumbprint pictures. Every thank you note we write these days has his thumbprint on it. :-) 

Signature

It was my idea to include what Luke would like since he's too little write to Santa, and it was my idea to ask for a stuffed animal. But, it was Jack's idea to ask him to make it a dog like his. :-)