Hair Cut

I gave Spencer a haircut yesterday and Boston decided he wanted one too. We've been debating cutting it because he hates to have it done and it looks so messy otherwise. So ...

Before:

After:

Work Party

Boston asked the balloon man to make him a rocket. He was stumped for a moment and then gave it a try.

Boston loved it. He had a great time playing with it while it lasted.

Watching for Santa...
"I see him! I see him!" Although after Santa entered the room Boston was more interested in the fire truck.

He didn't want to sit on Santa's lap but was willing to for a treat. For some reason he was very happy that his shoes made into the photo. Whenever he shows people the Polaroid he points out "Here's Santa, here's me and here's mine shoes."

Letter From Santa

Boston got his letter from Santa. He opened it and said, "Oh, I love it. I love it." Spencer asked him what it said. "I don't know. Read it Mommy." He thought it was so funny that it said, Ho Ho Ho Boston." Insider tip: Santa likes all cookies equally.

Snowman

Spencer and Boston made this snowman the other evening. We waited until the next morning for pictures.

Gingerbread Houses

This is a very serious matter for Spencer.

Boston decided to only put "one direction" (decoration) on his house. The other candy went in his mouth. He kept saying "no, no I just need to taste this one," as I encouraged him to put more on the house.

Sammy made a really cool castle, Spencer did the log barn and Ayen and I made plain old candy houses.

Sledding

Spencer helped Boston smooth a path for the sled, down one of the hills created by plowing the roads. Boston would climb to the top and Spencer would put the sled in front of him, then he would jump on to the sled landing on his stomach and pushing off slide down the hill. He did this for close to an hour this afternoon and all he can talk about is doing it again tomorrow.

Letter to Santa

Boston mailed his first letter to Santa today. We have a lady in a near-by town who helps Santa read his mail and reply to the children. He was so excited because we have been reading Christmas stories that mention writing a letter to Santa.

Christmas Bundt Cake

Thanks to Sharon for this fun bundt pan. I made a candycane cake in it and it turned out great. We shared it with some people who were working that night and they liked it too. It is so fun to have a holiday pan.

Musical Boston

This is one of the many songs Boston has learned from playing Rock Band. He loves it! He is always singing and plays the air guitar, air drums or even air trumpet/saxophone along to most songs. We were in a hotel with a piano last week and he sat down and started playing and singing and gathered quite a few compliments from passers. After church every week he waits for Daddy to get him from nursery so that he can go into the chapel and pretend to play and sing. This week he was singing "I Am a Child of God" and then started into "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." He has quite a large and varied repertoire for an almost three year old.

Christmas Party

Boston got to visit with Santa at the ward Christmas party. We wondered if it would be a repeat of last year. He kept saying that he did not want to sit on Santa's lap. We told him if he would then Santa would give him a treat. He watched Jackson do it and then was ready for his turn. Santa noticed his shirt right away and said "Well there's my little helper." First he listened very intently as Santa told him that he knew he was a good boy and he needed to keep being a helper to mommy.

Then Santa asked him what he wanted Boston to bring him. Boston said, "A treat. My mom said you had a treat." So Boston got his candy cane and was a happy boy.

Boston enjoyed crawling and playing under the tables while we waited for lunch. Then at the end all the kids got up on stage to sing. Boston was happy to head right up there with them. He was one of the first kids on stage and started waving and smiling at us. He didn't join in any of the songs. Shannon kept trying to get him to do his air guitar but he was too shy.

SLC trip

We took some friends on an overnight trip to SLC last week. They are new converts so we wanted to show them around temple square and since the lights are so much fun we thought we would do both at one time. We had a great time but it was soooo cold. Even bundled up I could barely stand to be outside for more than a few minutes.

We stayed at a/the hotel. Boston loved playing elevator in the mirrored closet.

He also loved looking at the cranes from our window. He has always loved cranes and can spot them just about anywhere.

We were happy to squeeze some family time into dinner at a favorite restaurant. We also liked going shopping at a Philippine grocery store and seeing the different types of food. Ayen showed us the things that she thought we would like and we tried a few new things. Sammy was excited to find some Puerto Rican foods right in the local grocery store. It was a great trip.

Decorating the Tree

We ran out out lights about 2/3 of the way done with the tree, then we had to wait until we were going into to town. Luckily Scott bought us some while he was in town or we probably would just be finished decorating the tree. It looks kind of bare because I only put Boston friendly ornaments on it. I have another small tree on the mantel that has my favorite and more delicate ornaments. Boston was not very interested in putting ornaments on. The branches are really this so anything you put on the tip just falls off so he got frustrated. My Aunt Peggy gave us a pickle ornament and he loves finding it every morning. Sometimes he will pretend he doesn't know where it is and "find" it again throughout the day.

Look at me!

Boston made this 5 caterpillar. He played quietly with the dice for at least 15 minutes. So if you need a few minutes and have a bunch of dice. See what your toddler will think of ...

Christmas Tree

Yesterday we went with some of our friends to cut our own Christmas tree in the mountains. First we drove up Big Falls Road to check out the waterfalls. This is what they looked like in May:

And here they are in December:The water falls were so beautiful partially frozen. Boston had a great time playing in the snow. He loved making snow angels.
Boston needed a nap after playing in the snow.

Spencer did a lot of map checking because we had to make sure that we were on BLM land.

Boston spent some time "being the driver" while Spencer looked for a tree because it was so cold.

We had to drive through the river to get to the place where we finally found our tree.

Spencer did a great job finding us an excellent tree.