We dodged the Chuck E. Cheese bullet as long as we could!

Caed was invited to Kennedie's birthday today at CEC (aka Hell on Earth). As much as I wanted to get out of it, she is one of his special friends at preschool so I knew we had to go. It was all I could do not to run screaming back to the car when we arrived at the entrance and saw a line extending around the side of the building to even get it! I will not even talk about what it was like inside, although the parenthetical note in the first line says it all. Caed had a great time, and it was really special to see how excited Kennedie was that he was there. I have prayed several times since we left that God would see fit to allow me never to have to return :-)
Dancing with Chuck E. Cheese!
The birthday girl!

Dad Fashion 101

This is what Caed looked like when I picked him up from school last Thursday afternoon. I usually don't see Caed in the morning. I leave the house around 7:25, and he sleeps until 8-8:30. Patrick takes care of him in the morning and gets him to preschool by 9:30. I pick him up after I leave school at 3:30. Usually his attire is not a surprise because I lay out his clothes the night before. Caed, like me, is not a morning person. I try to have everything for the morning taken care of the night before (for both of us actually) to make mornings a bit easier. Anyway, Wed. night I was exhausted so Patrick took care of cooking, cleaning the kitchen, bedtime routines, and school lunches. I know- he is wonderful. However, this explains the outfit. Notice the light-up sandals with socks!!! Nice, huh? These sandals are Thomas the Train. We actually bought them on summer clearance for Caleb because he loves Thomas. Then Caed decided that he LOVED them and had to have them. I know it was a secret plot to make me eat my words about never buying light-up shoes for my child. Anyway, they are even better with socks :-)

The Wolfsohn family....

This is the pic of our family that Caed drew on the kitchen cabinet chalkboard this weekend. From left to right: mom, dad, baby (small-up at the top), poppa, grammie and Caed.

Don't you just love the classic, octopus-like, kid drawing???

He's got an imagination- I'm a little scared!

Caed has reached the stage where his imagination works overtime! He can come up with the most amazing and entertaining stories and deliver them like an Emmy winner. Most of the time he tells these stories to be a part of whatever conversation is going on at the moment. The question is, at what point do we challenge/correct his imaginative tales?

Some of my favorites are about his kids- yes, kids! According to Caed, he has 5 kids. Some boys, some girls, and some babies. For months, he will tell us about taking care of his kids, "getting his kids in trouble", putting his kids to bed, etc........the latest happened on over the weekend. We spent Sat. morning thrift store shopping and then went by Krispy Kreme on our way home. Caed wanted a doughnut with sprinkles. So we ordered one for him. When it came, it had chocolate (a rare treat) icing and sprinkles. So he was in the back in his car seat, enjoying the doughnut when he started with "Guess what my kids said?" He proceeded to tell us that his kids had asked for a bite of his doughnut. He said that he told them they couldn't have any because it had chocolate icing. He explained that his kids couldn't have chocolate until they were very tall and 58 because it has caffeine- you know??

New Year's fun...

We had a great time ringing in 2009. The evening started with dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant which has become our tradition. Dinner was followed with a party fit for a 3 year old at our house: complete with noise makers, silly string, party hats made by Caed, a 2009 cookie cake, party drinks, and a neighborhood fireworks show. Caed couldn't stay awake past 10:30 as hard as he tried. Patrick and I watched the ball drop and then aged 10 years as we watched Robbie Maddison jump the L'Arc de Triomphe at Paris Las Vegas. Bring it on 2009!!!!

Christmas according to Caed

Caed got a digital camera for Christmas and documented his holiday. I think we may have a future photographer on our hands..Check out the album I created from his pics.

St. Nicholas Day

This post is several weeks past due but better late than never. When Patrick and I first got married, his mom told me about a tradition that she wanted me to continue. On the night of Dec. 5th, I was supposed to put "treats" in his shoes. Sound crazy? Well, it's in honor of St. Nicholas day. He was a saint that was known for helping people in need. He would leave gold in their stockings that were hung at night to dry. This is where the idea of Santa- St. Nick, stockings, etc. come from. Many European countries celebrate St. Nicholas Day on the eve of Dec. 5th by leaving gifts in shoes/socks so that the rest of the advent season can be focused on the birth/gift of Jesus. I was very excited to learn about this tradition and even more excited to be the one to continue what my mother-in-law had started with Patrick and now with Caed.

"The following is a disclaimer: We don't think that Santa is bad. We just have a different take. (what else is new right?) We don't think that our way is best. It's just our way. Again: This was a disclaimer."

So here goes, we actually aren't teaching Caed about Santa, only St. Nicholas. Lots of people don't understand. They tell us to let him be a kid and enjoy the magic of Christmas. It just didn't feel right to us. I am very thankful for the chance to teach Caed that this season about the gift God sent, helping those in need and loving people. Before you want to stone us.....We aren't all bad- we do give him gifts. He gets 3 gifts that he knows are from me and Patrick. We are also teaching him that people pretend about Santa so that can play along and not end up ruining someone else's Holiday. Enjoy the pics from St. Nicholas day 08. Thanks Gramma Mary!