So . . . tonight I will try to catch up on some of the happenings at the Ferguson house over the past two weeks. Travis and Grant have each taken a turn being sick. Travis had bronchitis and Grant managed to get a bad cold, pink eye in both eyes, and an ear infection all at once. Poor boys. Everyone is healthy now.
Grant got over all of his illnesses in time to go on a field trip with his school to a Christmas tree farm. Sophia and I were glad to go with them. The kids picked out a tree, the teachers cut it down, then we all went back to the school to decorate the tree and have cookies and hot cocoa. This picture is of Grant, his friend Logan, and his beloved teacher, Ms. Bev, checking out a tree. On the way home I looked in the mirror and Sophia and Grant were holding hands. Made their mommy's heart melt. About a month ago, a local mega-church began advertising on television for their Christmas program, a Singing Christmas tree. As soon as Grant saw the commercials, he was sure he needed to go. We ordered tickets. Everyday (about 20 times a day)Grant asked when we would be going to see the Singing Christmas tree. Unfortunately, Grant's case of pink eye came the morning we were supposed to go to the big event. We spent the afternoon at the doctor's office getting medicine for his eyes rather than at the performance of the Singning Christmas Tree. I tried to order more tickets, but they were sold out. The weekend of the last performance, we took a chance and just showed up at the church hoping that they would have some tickets turned in (Grant, Daddy, and Sophia waited in the van until we were sure we had tickets to avoid unnecessary trauma.) We ended up with great tickets. Both kids loved the show--we didn't make it through the whole two hours, but we saw a good majority of it. At one point in the show, fake snow falls over the audience. Grant loved it. A group of older adults sitting in the row behind us loved watching Grant love the snow. I admit that I often get a bit sappy over my kids. I had one of those sappy moments at the show as I looked over at Grant perched in his chair, Travis's arm around him, soaking in all that the experience had to offer. He was so happy. Seeing him so happy and secure made me feel good about our family . . . like we're doing a good job.
Sophia had the chance to visit with Santa this week. My Mothers of Preschoolers group had a fun "Morning with Santa" event. We did a little Christmas party for the kids and brought in a Santa so the kids could tell him what they wanted for Christmas and the moms could get pictures without standing in line at the mall. Sophia loved it! I had talked her though what was going to take place at the party. In the van on the way she told me she was going to sit on Santa's lap, get her picture taken, and tell him that she wanted a "dolly" for Christmas. She didn't actually muster up the courage to tell him about the dolly but she did sit on his lap and smile for a picture. Afterwards she enjoyed eating muffins with her friend Adam.
Both kids have made Christmas lists and have memorized what everyone else wants for Christmas. They have also enjoyed learning Christmas songs. Grant likes to sing his version of "Away in the Manger" which is "Away from the Manger". Sophia surprises us with how well she can keep up with Grant in the Christmas carolling. Grant is entertained by Sophia's singing and has taken to encouraging performance from her. It is fun to see them enjoying one another.
For fear of painting too rosy of a picture, I will say that Grant and Sophia have also developed a healthy(?) sense of sibling rivalry. They both have developed an enjoyment of picking on each other and getting the other in trouble. Sophia is also working on some molars right now, which makes her down right grouchy at times. She has turned tantrum throwing into an art--I like to think of her as advanced . . . hitting the terrible two's several months early. Seriously, she's cute, but she can be a real stinker. Travis and I have made the parenting choice to not spank our children. (A wise friend of ours suggested early in our parenting experience that we consider parenting in such a way that we teach our children, among other things, that we do not solve problems in physical ways. The idea clicked with us.) We do use time outs quite frequently and effectively. Lately when I have asked Sophia if she needs to spend some time in her crib (thinking this would not be something she would want since she is so social.) she has cried, "Yes. To my crib." Even the most social kids need some time alone.
We had a fun first today--Grant's first performance. Today Grant's preschool choir at church sang "Go Tell It On the Mountain" during the service. The service planners were pretty brave in that they had the kids on stage for quite a while before they actually sang. I held my breath and Grant did great. He didn't wander off or make anything on stage fall over. He did begin counting the people in the congregation but only got as far as eleven before he was distracted by Pastor Steve lighting the advent candles. Ever the encourager, Grant told Steve "Good job" once he got the candle lit. Steve appreciated the encouragement. When it came time to sing, Grant stood nice and tall with all of the other kids. He didn't actually sing, but I'm proud as can be anyway. It takes a lot to be four years old and stand in front of 300 people.
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