Underoos!

Cy got his very first pair of underoos today! We went to Target and he picked out Thomas The Train (over the Cars, that was amazing). We are starting to work on potty training for real during these 2 weeks while we are home for Christmas break. It's too hard to try to potty train him at home in the evenings after work so I figured we can work on it consistently during the day everyday between now and the new year and we should make good progress. That being said, he peed and pooped in the potty on the first day and peed in his undies twice. We'll keep working on it though and see how it goes. I am not feeling pressure to make this happen and have no agenda behind it so if it doesn't happen right now then so be it.

Ornaments

Cy's crafty activity for the day was to make his very own ornament for the Christmas tree. He picked out a snowman to color and I put an adorable picture of him in it once he was finished. I am sure he'll be thrilled to take this to his own home one day and hang on his own tree:)

Raging River

This is the overlook bridge on Belle Isle. It is full of these quotes from different people involved in the fall of Richmond during the Civil War. It's actually quite moving when you read each quote and put yourself in the place of these individuals on that day in 1865. It must have been terrifying to be here, in Richmond, and watching the whole city burn. There is certainly a rich history here in Richmond and in Virginia as a whole.

Look at that river! It never looks like this.

Cy was all bundled up with his Woobie in the Croozer...it was super chilly today!

We had some torrential rain one afternoon/evening so we decided to take a bike ride down around the James River and Belle/Brown's island to see what level the river was flowing. It was BUMPING! Hollywood rapid, the only real rapid of any consequence, was completely washed out and replaced with a monster munchy hole. It was incredible!

A Christmas Parade

Cy & I had a fun filled holiday celebration when Brad was out of town for his History Conference. We went to the 27th annual Dominion Power Christmas Parade and the Willow Lawn Holiday Extravaganza:) The Parade was awesome, Cy had a blast. The Extravaganza was just a little above his level with the arts and crafts but we did get to ride a train so that was awesome:)

Cy and I, on the Choo Choo.

Cy's Pom Pom, he thought that was great!

One of the many marching bands. This was a local military academy, very impressive.

That start of the parade was the Science museum. I really love this place, it is amazing on the inside. Cy and I had a wonderful time here one afternoon for hours and hours.

Christmas Traditions

I love this photo of our family. This was before we went out for the evening and left Cy with is first real babysitter. He was so cute. He definitely was fine with us leaving but was extra snuggily before we walked out the door. I hate leaving him, ever. I love our little family of three and couldn't imagine my life any other way anymore. I am so grateful for the men in my life. I am a blessed woman.

We have started to implement some new traditions this year with Cyrus that I am really enjoying. Christmas has taken on a whole new meaning this year with Cy being so interested in everything and wanting to be a part of everything. I remember being slightly disappointed last Christmas because I wanted for Cy to love it all so much and he just wasn't ready. This year though, he is really digging the whole she-bang and it just cracks me up. For instance, somehow this child of mine now knows who Santa Claus is and that he will be bringing presents to our house for Cy. He knows where Santa lives ("North Pole") and can show me on a map where the North Pole is located. He's amazing to me:)

I have started decorating his door and his hallway at this house for each season and holiday and he really enjoys that. This house is certainly not an ideal how for a family of 3 with 2 dogs and a cat. It's very small and quite old but we are finding ways to make it our home for now and this is one of my ways. His room is pretty tiny and his playroom is even smaller so I try to make this end of the house his own space and it seems to be working.




We also started doing the Advent calendar this year. Cyrus wakes up in the morning and runs straight to the Advent calendar to see what his treat for the day is. We have not started talking to Cy about religion or God or even Jesus at this point in his life but I wanted to start our own version of the calendar this year so he is aware of the days of December and participate in the "count down" to the big day.

My parents are having a great time with Cy this year too!! Cyrus got a letter in the mail this week from Santa at the North Pole. He was so excited (especially since there is a Choo Choo on the letterhead). We opened the letter and read it and then talked about Santa and Rudolph and when they were coming. The envelope return address simply says, "Santa" and "North Pole". Very cute. It's hanging on his craft board right now and will go in his little Christmas 2011 memoir book this year.

The actual letter - amazing;)

Nana and Pap also sent us our Elf On The Shelf. Cyrus named him "Buddy" and we look for him every morning. There are some great ideas out there for having the Elf be mischevious but this year we are just having a great time finding him in the mornings. Because we introduced Buddy and the Advent calendar this year Cyrus has blended the two and believes that Buddy brings him his little toy each morning from Santa after flying all the way back here from the North Pole each night.

Celebrating the Season

We had our first Christmas parties of the season last night and they were so much fun!!! The first party of the evening was thrown by Ken Seward and his wife Helen at their house on Granite Avenue. Ken is the Headmaster for Steward. It was lovely and so nice to see all of my colleagues outside of school.

The second party of the evening was thrown by Creighton and Alison Anders. George and Emma are Cyrus's best friends and Creighton and Brad used to be neighbors in middle school. It is just fortunate for me that Creighton's wife is so wonderful. We get along so great and I enjoy her company so much.

Cyrus had his first ever PAID babysitter while we were out at these parties. Two of my eighth grade students, Helen Russell and Mckenzie Carnes, came over to watch Cy for the evening. He was so excited when they came. He showed them his room, his play room and how he can hop like a frog. I was concerned that he was going to be sad and scared so I picked the girls up 30 minutes early so he could get used to them. He could not wait for Mama and Daddy to leave so he could have the girls all to himself. It worked out wonderfully and we had a wonderful time together, enjoying each other and our friends. It was a great night.

The Christmas Conundrum...hmm....

I read this blog today entitled, "The Christmas Conundrum" and thought it was inline with my philosophy of the holidays almost perfectly. I didn't necessarily agree with the opening belief that you should do away with the lights and Santa all together to help one remember the "Reason for the Season" but the remainder of the blog was awesome. I am not for doing away with Santa in our house but we are about doing away with the materialism of Christmas and "remembering the reason for the season". I am trying to start Cyrus's life off in a way that he is aware of all that he has and that he is continually grateful for this. I have no intention of ever having our living room FULL of gifts for him on Christmas morning simply because I want him to appreciate the few thoughtful gifts that we give to him. I never want my son to equate happiness with "stuff" but with love and experiences and giving to others. I am sure that it will get harder as he gets older and all his friends have this or that but I want him to be grateful for all that he already has. I think the philosophy of: "Something you want, Something you need, Something to wear, and Something to read" for gifts is perfect. I also really liked the part in the blog where she said this year she is instilling the "something to give" part of the season by giving each of her children $100 to give to others in any way that they see fit. That's pretty awesome and I will do that with Cy when he is older and can understand a little better why he's doing it. I love the holiday season, but I love it because of the way it makes me feel, when I see the lights on the tree and when I hear Christmas music. It's not that I am deeply religious, that is a constant struggle for me but I am deeply humanitarian and I want for all people to feel these blessings. The greatest legacy we can ever leave as humans is through our children and I want to know that my son is aware of and grateful for his blessings in this life. He is lucky. We are all lucky. To be born here, in the US instead of Haiti. To have parents that could support us financially. To have a home. To have food. To turn on the faucet and have water simply spill out and that he/we can drink it. It was chance and it was luck and we won on this end but that does not mean our responsibility ends there. It is our job to help those who were not so lucky and that begins at home.