What a Difference a Year Makes

2005 brought mommy to tears as all I wanted was a picture of C.J. with Mr. Vintage Santa. All C.J. wanted was to run around outside in the snow.

2006 brought a trip to the mall whereupon C.J. noticed Santa (we weren't even going to attempt this year) and cheerfully helped himself to the line.

CJ: "I need a train table, where's your elves?"
Santa: "Well, okay then, come up here on my lap and tell me more about this table."
CJ: "I want the one your elves are busy making me but sometimes I yell and hit mommy and say bad words."
Santa: "Well, if you be really nice to your mommy and daddy, I'll have my elves bring a table to you."
CJ: "Okay, well, thank you Santa for sitting on my lap and for your busy elves. See ya."
Santa: "Thank you for sitting on my lap. HO HO HO, Merry Christmas!"
C.J. "Ho, ho, ho, Happy Holidays I'm getting my train table!"

After two weeks with family in Utah, we are now home and bored. CJ keeps asking me when we're leaving again for Christmas. He even told me he'd like to "throw his Idaho bed in the trash." A few of the Thanksgiving highlights:

Celebrating Maddie's 3rd birthday AND finally getting to meet our new cousin/nephew Baby Jack.Eating Maddie's birthday cake. Visiting the new Childrens' Discovery Center at the Gateway.

Four-wheeling with his favorite cousin, Josh.

All the grandkids (and Lucy) with Grammy and Grandpa on Thanksgiving.

And finally, this was C.J. last night with his very own Christmas tree that he decorated all by himself for display in his bedroom. Complete with four trucks, one pair of Crocs, three socks, one tube of toothpaste and a stuffed animal underneath.

Yesterday was trash day and as we all know, CJ loves the trash truck. Which is why he decided to turn my bed into his trash truck, complete with a gigantic pile of floor rugs, trash cans, toys, books, magazines, lamps, scriptures, cordless phones, dog toys, and even an empty bottle of Clorox toilet bowl cleaner (which wasn't quite empty and bleached his shirt and my bedspread). He made me sit by him, put on my seatbelt and pretend like I was the garbage man picking up the cans. That was until he said that my trash was stinky and to get out.

As I'm in my room/office this morning doing some work, I hear CJ saying, "Okay, nobody go pee-pee in the bathtub."

Halloween

Lucy stayed in this frozen pose for 20 minutes after I put her in costume. C.J. The Lion tells me that , "Boy his pumpkin was heavy with all that delicious candy in it." Trick-or-Treating took twice as long because Mr. Social would say to EVERY neighbor, "Trick-or-Treat, do you have a dog?" And yes, everyone on my block has a dog who CJ would have to pet and talk to and introduce to Lucy who was finally happy about her costume after seeing how much warmer she was with it on. C.J. also held a few kitties and was taken on one tour to see a fish tank in somebody's living room. We came home, changed into pajamas and drank daddy's awesome chocolate-bananna shakes. C.J. made cookies for Nana and Papa who are here for the weekend.