My Chaos -

Joshua banged his head on the coffee table again! I am seriously considering getting rid of it. I just have to battle Brandon about it - god forbid he doesn't have a place to put his FEET! Joshua did cut his head open, but it was a tiny, but kinda deep cut. We took him to the ER and they didn't seem to worried about it - I figured since they wanted us to wait for HOURS, it must be OK to take him home after an hour and a half. The bleeding had stopped and he wanted to play, so I was pretty sure he was ok. Still, I let him sleep with me just so I could keep and eye on him. He didn't think it hurt too much so he kept rolling around on it. Inevitably it started bleeding again in the middle of the night. The pictures are the result of rigging by yours truly to try to get something to cover his cut and keep it there. LOL! He saw his normal Dr the next day and she said I did just fine thank you. He was a trooper and besides.... it was kind of amusing to watch him nod of...

There is this new place that is all the rage with the kids and their birthday parties! It is called Pump it Up - it this huge warehouse full of bounces and inflatable obsticle courses. Even Brandon got in on the action.

Bryan came in second for his Den. I think maybe if we had had more than 2 days notice he could have smoked them all...but alas, his den was in the middle of den leader drama/transition, so Bryan's car was created the day before the race!

Bryan is an old pro at this now - but he is still as bright - eyed and expectant as ever. I love watching him read the letter that Santa leaves him every year. He feels so special at that moments and you can see it in his face as he reads the letter out loud to the whole family. He also becomes this sweet, helpful brother to Joshua. It's kinda funny to watch since it throws Joshua for a bit of a loop. For the past 2 years now we have been taking Bryan to Target so he can buy presents for everyone on his own. It is adorable watching him agonize over his choices and listening to the reasoning behind them. He takes them home and very carefully, he uses a mound of wrapping paper to wrap each of the gifts himself. On Christmas morning he can't wait to pass them out and often wants to do that and watch the unwrapping before opening one of his own gifts. I am hoping to teach him the joy of giving and rein in on that little boy "gimme, gimme" thing. So far, so good ...

Man did he have fun. This was the first year that he was really into it! It took him all day just to get through that BIG bag. He had so much fun and I really enjoyed just sitting back and watching him. I think that is the big thing for me - it's not so much getting anything myself, but just watching the boys. They get so excited and want to try each new thing as soon as they open it. We are just so blessed to be able to give them good Christmas memories - and I am not talking about just the presents (although I am grateful for that as well), but the love that is so tangible, especially on that particular day. The silliness that we all feel, the jokes, the hugs, kisses and smiles. It is just the best day to be a parent and the best day to come from such great families as Brandon and I do. We love them all so very much.