Making our own noisemakers.
More Halloween costumes
This time it was the pumpkin costume that he wore when he was an infant — not even two months old!
Me: “Does it fit?”
Jackson: “Yeah, it fits perfectly!”
Reindeer…hunt?
A scavenger hunt for the beautiful pine tree reindeer throughout downtown Wheaton, with Grandma and Aunt Emily.
Trying to reason
“Beckham, can you please stop crying? Mommy’s gonna take us home soon.”
Jackson
Christmas rooster?
Remember that time when Jackson wanted to be a rooster for Halloween? And then changed his mind after I bought all the pieces for the costume? And then I missed the return window and was stuck with an unused rooster costume?
Well Jackson apparently remembered, and decided he wanted to dress up as a rooster today. At least we’re getting some use out of that costume now!
Hope you like garlic
Looks like Jackson’s been cooking again. Why did I buy the jumbo size bottle?! 😩
Reflecting on Santa’s visit
Santa was all the rage, once he was off our property. Jackson kept talking about his visit from Christmas day.
“But Santa was different,” he said.
Uh oh! Did he notice?! Does he know??
“There was a problem,” Jackson continued. “He didn’t have a beard.”
I don’t know if it was the mask that was throwing him off, or maybe the cotton ball beard is getting sparse, but Jackson seemed to know something was fishy, lol.
Socially distanced Santa
Santa and his elves stopped by later in the day with an outdoor COVID-safe visit. Jackson was so excited about it — after the fact — but gave side eye while he was here, lol.
Santa also surprised Jackson with his number one wish from his list — a saxophone!
Getting ready for Santa
“Should we get some cheese? I bet Santa would love cheese.”
“Is Santa gonna eat ALL the cookies? Will Santa share the cookies?”
Jackson
Making maple syrup
For our not-so-typical Christmas Eve celebration this year, we tapped some maple trees in the backyard, lol
Need sleep
I spent forever digging around the freezer looking for my ice cream. I could have sworn I had some left, but couldn’t find it anywhere. Eventually I found it — in the fridge!
Later that night I also realized that my sweater had been on backwards all day.
Heeeelp!
In December. In Chicago.
“Let’s open the sand box. Today’s a good day to play in the sand.”
Jackson
How did he do that?!
To my surprise, Jackson turned on Mickey Mouse all by himself. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that he — at some point — had also purchased three episodes.
How do they not childproof that part?!
Snack time
First he wanted something poppy. Then something flat and crunchy. Then something fluffy.
Jackson: “Hmm, what’s fluffy? Let’s go check the pantry.”
Elf on the shelf: Day 5
Jackson: “Daddy moved the elephant higher. He moved it from Beckham’s stocking to the tree.”
Daddy?! It’s supposed to be MAGIC!
Can’t fool him
Last night Jackson moved the elf — aka the elephant — and hid it himself behind the door in Beckham’s room. This morning when he got up, it was on the table eating a fruit bar.
Jackson: “Who found the elephant behind Beckham’s door? Did someone go in Beckham’s room quietly and get it and put it on the table?”
Me: “Maybe the elf got up and walked downstairs and climbed up on the table?”
Jackson: “Try again, Mommy. Those aren’t the words.”
Follow him
Justin commented how it’s so helpful that Jackson thinks out loud. Case in point:
Jackson runs into the bedroom, says, “Daddy’s sleeping. I’ll be able to get his computer in no time!” and then runs downstairs.
Ouch
Me: “Oooo… that looks so nice. I want to take a bubble bath!”
Jackson: “But Mommy, you’re too big.”
Me: “You think so? You do have a pretty big tub.”
Jackson: “It would break.”
Silly me
Our second day of the elf, and Jackson has continued to call it the elephant, haha. But when I called it the elephant, he corrected me: “That’s not an elephant. It doesn’t even have a trunk.”
Elf excitement
Justin took Jackson downstairs in the morning so I missed his first reaction to our new elf. But when I woke up, he ran to tell me he found the “elephant” lol.
I’m not so sure the magical element has really sunk in yet. He then said, “Now I’ll go hide it and you can find it!”
And he keeps asking if we can play “that game” again tomorrow.
It’s no game… it’s Christmas magic!
‘I counted the sheep’
Jackson came down the stairs saying he had a good nap.
Me: “You didn’t sleep.”
Maybe next year
Me: “Jackson do you want to frost some more trees?”
Jackson: “I’m really busy. I need to watch my show.”
At least we finished a few “trees” for our gingerbread house before Jackson’s schedule filled up.
The elf is running late
Day 2 of Elf on the Shelf aaaaand… I forgot to do it again, lol.
I need to get that thing out of the box right now or it’s going to be Christmas Eve before we start!
I also think I may have been a bit too ambitious with the cleaning idea, too. I told Jackson we needed to clean because the elf was coming, and the best I could get him to do was like four pieces of a toy. And if that’s the best I could get on the first night, it’s only going to dissipate more haha. Worth a shot!
Also Jackson kept asking when the “elephant” was coming. I had to keep repeating, “No, ELF!”
Rough Start
Welp, today was supposed to be the first day of our modified Elf on the Shelf schedule — our Elf’s debut! — and I already forgot to do it. 🤦🏻♀️😂
Pinterest Fail
The idea was to have Jackson make a cute holiday wreath out of handprints — a classic!
However things took a turn when he insisted on red finger paint.
Red handprints chaotically smeared all over a piece of paper? Looked more like Halloween horror than Christmas decor!
20 questions
Jackson asking for snacks is like playing a game of 20 questions. He’ll describe what he wants without saying it directly. Today, for example, he asked for “something crunchy or something flat.”
The answer? A cookie, lol.
Go Go Christmas
Jackson was obsessed with the the Kidz Bop “Go Christmas” video when he was little, excitedly shaking his fists and saying “go! go!” whenever he wanted to watch it.
And here’s Beckham watching it… also completely enamored!
Snow flurry
“Uh oh, Mommy. There’s not enough snow. There’s only crumbs of snow. Did somebody eat it all?”
-Jackson
Why didn’t I think of that?
Beckham was crying and crying at his doctor’s appointment.
Jackson: “Did you bring the baby shusher?”
Me: “Ohhh, no I didn’t.”
Jackson: “Oh, well you need to bring the baby shusher.”
In the play kitchen
Jackson: “If you want tape for the orange, just let me know. Plus it’s really important to keep it safe.”
A winter hike
Jackson brought his backpack and filled it with toys for Beckham — including the Baby Shusher, which worked like a dream!
Permission granted
“I’m gonna go ask Mommy. Mommy, can I pretend I’m a doggie sleeping on the couch?”
Jackson
Elf on the Shelf
I kept debating whether I really wanted to start this holiday tradition… seems like it could be kinda fun, but you do hear parents lament all the work involved in coming up with creative ideas and remembering to move it around every night.
I think pandemic guilt got the better of me — trying to add a little more fun back into this unusual holiday season and this was, at least, something we could do from home. And then fear from all the out of stock items this year led me to impulse buy an elf once I saw one available.
So, I officially committed… eek!
That being said, I am changing the rules a bit for our elf. We’re keeping it simple: Ignoring all the naughty stuff, just moving the elf to a new spot, and only doing it for the 12 days of Christmas.
Plus a new goal — get everyone to clean each night before the elf comes, lol.
Aww
Justin: “I have to go back to work now.”
Jackson: “Don’t worry, Daddy. I hope you can come back soon.”
Time to wake up?
We have Jackson’s sound machine programmed so that it changes color and turns green in the morning when it’s OK to get out of bed. Apparently one night it shut off completely so he was confused in the morning.
Jackson: “The light didn’t turn green, and I was asking the triceratops but he didn’t say anything.”
Checking out the lights
Jackson thought it would be a good idea to bring/wear a blanket, haha.
Pinterest fail
I thought this was a cute idea at first — to use Fruity Pebbles as the “rubble” of a construction site — until I realized I provided him with the world’s largest bowl of sugary cereal. #BouncingOffTheWalls #Won’tEatAnythingElseAllDay
Getting out the Christmas decor
Me: “That’s your stocking.”
Jackson: “Does it go on my hand or my foot?”
Handy helper
“Mommy, can you reach? Mommy, be careful! Just let me know if you need the ladder.”
Jackson
Choo choo
Got our Christmas train all set up! Just missing the tree for now. Beckham is enjoying the view, haha.
Another family photo
This time I tried to stand up my phone and use a remote shutter — slightly better results.
I hear ya
Jackson, while I was teaching him how to do a sit-up: “This is tricky. Let’s do it tomorrow.”
Kids these days
I told Jackson he could go downstairs and watch TV while I eat my lunch.
Jackson: “OK, but who’s going to skip the commercials?”
Call my secretary
Jackson: “OK, but I have to watch my show. I’m really busy. See you later.”
(Shuts door to basement.)