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After a long exhausting day of moving, what better to do than go get a Christmas Tree? Who cares that there are boxes everywhere and beds aren’t put together? After all, when you make a promise to your child you had better keep it!

Dylan has been asking for a Christmas Tree for weeks and I promised him that as soon as we moved we would get a tree and put up the Christmas decorations before we even unpacked any boxes. Well, I kept my promise and the smile on Dylan’s face was worth the feeling of sheer exhaustion that my body was feeling as we decorated the tree at 10pm!

Yes, it’s been less than a year since we moved last, but it’s time to pack up and move again. I knew that our last move would only be temporary, so it’s a great feeling to be moving this time. Going back to Newport Beach where we started our lives together almost 6 years ago is well … like going home!

Dylan enjoyed helping to pack up his room and pack his special magnets from the fridge. But I secretly know his favorite part was when we took his bed apart and he got to sleep with mommy for 2 nights.

OK, living in Orange County it just isn’t Christmas without a trip to Disneyland to see the fireworks and snow fall on Main Street… at least in our family it’s not. Trust me if we weren’t in the holiday spirit before, we are now … Walt has a special way of making that Christmas Magic touch us all.

So we all got bundled up in our hats, jackets and gloves and headed to Disneyland. I picked Dylan up from school early so he was really excited. We did all the usual rides with Aunt Stephie and also the new Nemo ride… Dylan really likes it. We visited Santa’s Reindeer Round-Up too!

Grandma and Grandpa came later for dinner and the snow. The park was beautiful as usual, but unfortunately a certain little boy was too tired to stay awake for the snow.

Ah, to be a child and find the joy in the simple things. Dylan spent over an hour building his “invention”. He took all of his bouncy balls, some animals, a train, some cars, string and all sorts of other things to build this creation. It’s amazing what can be created when you just use your imagination!

What better way to spend a Saturday than at Sea World. After all, our passes expire in December so we might as well go one more time. Most people would think that a day at Sea World means watching the Shamu and Dolphin shows … not with my son. Dylan only wants to see the Sea Lion show and feed the Dolphins, Bat Rays and Sea Lions. Other than that we walk the exhibits, see all the marine animals and we’re done! This time I didn’t even have to buy a toy … all he wanted to spend money on was fish for the animals.
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It was such a nice day too. Perfect weather. Dylan was the tour guide and he chose where we went from the map. I tried to explain the logic of seeing things that were next to each other, but it didn’t work. We were all over the place! In most of the pictures his cheeks are puffed out … this is because he wanted to give the illusion that he was holding his breath and swimming under water with the animals. The park was decorated for Christmas so this made it fun too … helped get us in the holiday spirit.

Forget about the turkey, Dylan woke up asking for two pieces of pumpkin pie! This year Thanksgiving was a bit smaller than normal, but so nice and relaxing. Grandma made the turkey and all the fixings. When the turkey was done Dylan gave his impression of what a turkey does … Gobble, Gobble!

Now because the day was so relaxing, I failed to take the important pictures as planned. So there is no proof of the fixings, or of Dylan eating a turkey leg, or of the pumpkin pies. I know bad mom. However, I did manage to get the turkey cookies that Dylan made and Dylan and Great Grandma playing darts!

What a day for Dylan! After making Turkey Soup, Cornbread Muffins and Butter with his classmates it was finally time for the Feast. He was so excited and couldn’t wait for his family to come share. Unfortunately, Grandma and Grandpa couldn’t make it … but Mom and Aunt Stephie were there. Both kindergarten classes recited a Thanksgiving Poem and then sang a few songs for all the families. Then it was on to the food … let the feast begin!
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We all know how much Dylan loves animals. Well, he has begun making animal sculptures as he calls them. He actually had one made with all of his animals and it covered pretty much the entire floor of his bedroom. Unfortunately, I wasn’t thinking and made him clean it up before taking a picture. It really was impressive though. He had grouped the animals by continent~what else?

Every child in Dylan’s class gets to have one day that is all about them and what makes them special. A week before their ‘I Am Special’ day they get to bring home a little suitcase and fill it with their favorite books, toys, stuffed animals, pictures of their family, etc.

Well, Dylan filled that suitcase to the brim! He brought his books, Madagascar animals, his penguin and raccoon from his special shelf, sunglasses, rubber snake, Buzz Lightyear, USC pompom, baby blankies and more! After lunch and recess all the kids sit on the carpet and Dylan gets to sit in the teachers chair. All eyes are on him and he has the floor. Man did he love the attention. He got to introduce his family that came (myself, Grandma and Grandpa and he told his friends that his Aunt Stephie was in Italy and Spain) After showing all of his favorite things the class got to ask him questions about what his favorites were. When asked what his favorite animal was, the response was “Oh, that’s so easy … every single animal in the whole wide universe!” Needless to say that became the standard answer for everything.

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Mrs. Campbell was surprised to see this side of Dylan. Apparently he is very quiet and not the Dylan that we all know and love in class. She said she loves to see the personalities of the kids come out when their family is there. We are all so proud of Dylan!

As a mom it just breaks my heart when Dylan is sick. All I want to do is kiss it and make it better… but sometimes that just doesn’t work. Sometimes we need the help of doctors. Last week Dylan came down with a cold, a good cold that just wiped him out! Unfortunately, it did not get better. My poor baby was coughing 24/7 and in so much discomfort. Never mind that I wasn’t sleeping … living on coffee all day and night. So back to the doctors office we went. His cold had turned into bronchitis.

Like a good mom I got his homework from the teacher and we set up school at home. He really likes school and actually enjoys doing his worksheets.

So for the past two days we have been doing breathing treatments every 4-6 hours. He seems to be getting better, and the doctor gave him the ok to go back to school tomorrow. Which is a good thing because tomorrow is his “I’m Special Day” and he was really upset that he might miss that!

He doesn’t like the breathing treatments … who would!?!?
But he does them like clock work. Such a trooper!