Holidays

So once again I have fallen behind in posts. I have had many “friendly” reminders that I haven’t posted any new pictures lately, and I get the hint. So here is a little holiday montage from the last few months. Let’s start with my three little pumpkins on Halloween:

Sean was Thomas, Jack was a scarecrow, and Rex was an astronaut.

And Michael and I joined in on the fun as Cleopatra and Julius Caesar:



The weather was a little rainy, but who cares when you are filling up a bag with tons of candy? As we were sorting through all that candy later that night, I told Rex we could keep the candy for one week, and then we'd have to throw away any candy that was leftover. He looked devastated. I asked what was wrong, and he said, “There is no way I can finish all of this candy in one week.” I said, jokingly, “Don’t worry, I will help you.” I expected him to be incredibly protective of his candy and insist that I not help, but instead, he let out a huge sigh of relief and said, “Thank you, Mom, for helping me, because I know I can't do it by myself.” HA! He actually thought I was offering out of the goodness of my heart! In reality, I just wanted his Kit-Kats. But I did not feel the need to destroy his altruistic vision of me. That will happen on its own all in good time.

For Thanksgiving, we headed up to Pennsylvania to spend the weekend with Grandma Bernie. The boys LOVE going to Grandma’s house. The look forward to eating Fruit Loops for breakfast (a special treat that they ONLY get at Grandma’s house), and, of course, visiting with Grandma and lots of their Aunts and Uncles. We spent Thanksgiving at Aunt Edie and Uncle Dave's house, but only after starting the morning off with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.



Any female who has ever worn shorts or a skirt around Sean, knows that Sean has a strange obsession with knees. (Why ask why...somethings just are.) You can imagine his excitement as he watched the Rockette's performance. If only he could have jumped inside the tv....






The highlight of the weekend was visiting Santa and riding the train at the mall.



Sunday was very special as the family gathered together for lunch to celebrate Grandma Bernie's 75th birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom!





Then it was back to Maryland to get ready for Christmas. Grandma Sutton came to visit for a few days, and she and the boys had fun decorating gingerbread cookies and a gingerbread house.



Rex didn't care for the taste of gingerbread very much, but Sean seemed to like it!


Grandma Sutton was able to baby-sit for me (I'm so glad she's back in the same time-zone!) so I could attend Rex's class for Moms and Muffins. It was fun re-living life as a kindergartner for a little while. It makes me thankful for adult sized chairs. But I had a great time eating muffins and having some special Mommy/Rex time.



This past week, Michael and I were able to attend Rex's Kindergarten Christmas Pageant. Yes, St. Mary's has an actual Christmas pageant. It's Catholic school- no "holiday festivals" here. And it was adorable. All three kindergarten classes (about 60 kids total) were dressed as angels. A few children were chosen to dress as Mary, Joseph, shepards, etc. and they acted out the parts as Deacon Moore read the Christmas Story. (No, not the one with Ralphie and the Red Ryder BB gun...the real Christmas story with the manger and baby Jesus.) The "angels" sang Christmas carols as they signed them in sign language. It was absolutely precious. Definitely put me in the Christmas spirit.






Finally, last night we bundled up and headed downtown to watch the Boat Light Parade. The members of the Eastport Yacht Club string up Christmas lights on their yachts and sailboats and parade down Spa Creek and Ego Alley. Some of the boat lights were impressive, some were not, but they all get kudos for effort and for braving the cold. Our favorites: "Christmas Story" complete with Dad's Leg Lamp, Ralphie stuck to the frozen flag pole on the bow, and the crew chanting "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out", and the Blue Angel. Sean favorites: "Train!" and "Christmas Tree!":












I had a hard time getting pictures that were not blurry. I don't know how to use my camera to photograph moving objects. Given that I have three children that rarely sit still, perhaps that should be a New Year's resolution...

I would like to think that maybe I will get another blog post in before Christmas, but the realist in me says to wish you all a Merry Christmas right now. So, may you all find the warm spirit of this wonderful season, and may you be able to share it with those you love, near and far. Merry Christmas! With lots of love from the McAllister Family.