
Well Christmas is officially in the air! The house is a wreck and there's something allocated to every free moment on the calendar! But it's so exciting counting the down the days and knowing what a special first Christmas we'll have as a family. No matter how many Christmases we all experience, there is something so magical about this time of year, and going through it with our son now makes it even more wonderful. I so look forward to seeing it all through his eyes in years to come and remembering what is was like when it was brand new to us, too.
Matty certainly seems to be enjoying the new eye candy around the house! The wooden "Merry Christmas" train from my childhood came out yesterday and he was all about it! I can see us clocking many miles around the house, someone pulling and Matty trailing behind! And "Tumbling Santa" was an especially huge hit! The wooden toy that Bop handcrafted for me when I was little is such a unique toy, and so simple, but mesmerizing at the same time! We all could watch Santa tumbling down that ladder over and over again! Matty and Ben placed the first ornament, a Waterford choo choo train Patsy gave us to commemorate his first Christmas, on the tree last night. The house is really starting to come together and we're excited it's almost time to start our celebrating!
Matty's school has been very busy since Thanksgiving. Us Room Mothers have been busy planning a surprise Teacher Appreciation dinner for all the teachers at DCA. The dinner was Tuesday and I have to say, they were very surprised and the evening was a huge success. These women are truly amazing, and genuinely love these kids, and every mother there was proud to serve them our homemade dinner to try to thank them for all they do for our children. The Christmas Program is this afternoon as well as a Bake Sale we've been putting together. I am so excited about the Program, all the children are in it, yes, including the infant room...they have even been rehearsing for the past couple of weeks! I can't wait to see it come together, it's all a big surprise! Our neighborhood had their Christmas party Sunday evening, which I also helped out with (yes, I know, I need to start saying no!) We got the chance to get to know our new next door neighbors and it was funny to learn that the wife went to Stratford, our rival high school, and also graduated in '95! Small world! I think we're going to enjoy having them as neighbors!
Last weekend was Davis MacIsaac's first birthday party! It was so fun to get together and celebrate Matty's little friend! I can't believe he is already 1 and that Jake and Matty will be there before we know it! Davis gave all the children Santa hats with their names on them! They are so cute and I must say rather toasty warm, I've worn Matty's on more than one occasion. I might need to don in again this weekend, as I roll up my sleeves and start the holiday baking. If anyone has ever seen me in the kitchen, wish Ben and Matty good luck.

Matty is pulling up well now and enjoying the new things that he now has access to. His father's wallet for instance. Getting an early start on going through that one. And we're trying all sorts of new finger foods. He loves wagon wheels and puffs, but we're still getting used to Cheerios. The baked potato did NOT go over well when I made another attempt this week. I mean Oscar worthy, full on gagging at my cooking. I thought I had years before I had to worry about that. We're getting used to the tastes and textures of ripe pear and cheese cubes. All in a day's work for an 8 month old.