Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Yeah right. Not here. It was 70 degrees on Sunday. Brantley really wants it to snow, but how can you have days at the park like this if it snows! The closest we have come to a snowball fight was pretending by throwing Brantley's wadded up bs at each other on the couch.

Quotable Quotes

"Cheaters! I want to do cheaters!"

As we sit down for Christmas brunch, us with our mimosas and Brantley with his milk, Brantley says "Cheaters! I want to do cheaters." We all look at him quizzically and ask "What?" He raises his glass and again says "Cheaters!"

Ahhh..."Cheers"

Remember that for you New Year's Eve toast!

Christmas Morning

Brantley slept 'til 7:30. He came in to wake me up and asked if he was going to school today. I told him, no, there's no school today. "Do you know why?" I asked. Brantley said "No."

It's Sunday, but do you know what else is today. - Mommy
No - Brantley
It's Christmas! - Mommy
Mommy, did I stay in my bed last night.
Yes, sweetheart, you did. - Mommy
Then why did Santa not come last night? - Brantley
He didn't come? Are you sure? - Mommy
Uh huh. - Brantley
Why are you so sure? - Mommy
Because there's no snow outside! Santa didn't come! - Brantley

I have a video of when he came downstairs and saw that Santa did come, but it's too big to upload to EasyShare. I'll try to figure out another way to share it.

Santa mistakes.....

I have bought several things for Brantley's stocking. One thing I particularly wanted to get was some water colors. He enjoys sitting at the table and painting. So, today I went to Target during lunch and bought some water colors and a really big bow to go on the four-wheeler. I had the bag in the trunk so he wouldn't see it in the car when I picked him up. When we got home, daddy was already at home so Brantley went on in the house. I got the bag out and wrapped it in my coat so it couldn't be seen. I laid the coat on the table, bag still hidden. For some unknown reason, Brantley decided to get into my coat. I'm in the kitchen and I hear "Alright! More paints!" Into the kitchen he comes with the paints. And, he saw the bow. I told him he shouldn't have done that because I wanted to wrap those and put them under the tree, small recovery in that he doesn't know it was to go in the stocking from Santa. But, he has seen the bow. I can't use it to put on the four-wheeler. Or, is it probable that as he threw the bow out of the bag, he didn't really notice it. Or, is he young enough that I can chance putting the bow on anyway and he won't notice? I have a feeling he's going to catch on to Santa really quick. Santa visited their class yesterday and he told me that it wasn't the real Santa. Hmmmm.....

Tailgating

Don't worry...it's just water.

Ship building

Brantley has really gotten into the legos. He's making Star Wars ships. He just told me, "You know how I can make all this ships. Because I know everything."

Football

Brantley has really wanted to go to a Titans game. I keep telling him the tickets are just too expensive but he will get to go one day. Well, since the Titan's performance this year has been so good, everyone at work is trying to give away their tickets. So, since Lawson is already going to the game on Sunday with Chris, I snagged 2 tickets and decided to take Brantley. When I got home yesterday, I said "Guess what I got today" and I showed them to him. He has never seen tickets before but he knew exactly what they were. "Tickets?" he said. I nodded. "To the Titans?" he said. I nodded again. He then proceeds to start screaming. He is so excited!. Then he tells daddy that mommy got tickets for them to go to the game. I told him that daddy already had tickets and that these were for me and him. He didn't like that. He said that he and daddy would go and that I would go with Chris. I'm feeling really unwanted here.

The Griswolds live on our street...

Actually, at the end of our street. It makes me think of Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation, except that Clark didn't have 5 blow-ups and a flying sleigh and reindeer in his yard. I wish the pictures had turned out better.

Santa came by our house!

He left a note and a bag of candy for Brantley!
Brantley was so excited! He wants me to send a note to Santa letting him know that he's going to be good for Christmas and that he's going to sleep Christmas Eve and not wake Mommy up! Thanks Santa! Brantley says Santa is sneaky and that he likes Santa. The note didn't scan very well so here's what it says:

Dear Brantley,
I have heard about how you have acted this year. There are some that I am not happy about! However, I know you'll be better. So, I will be at your house around 2:26am on the 25th. Love Santa

(Thanks Molly and Susan!)

Santa Claus

This year Brantley is really into Santa. This is the first year he has shown a true interest in Santa. He was dying to go visit Santa and tell him what he wanted for Christmas. I was worried about it because the last time we went to see Santa, we waited in line for over an hour and then Brantley was scared to death of him. He was 2 1/2 then. So, we went to see Santa today. Brantley was very polite and said hi to him and told him his name. He even gave him a big hug. And yes, he sat on Santa's lap and told him he wants a green four wheeler. We also got a great picture.

Quotable Quotes

While watching his new Allosaurus movie with Grandma.

"I know everything about dinosaurs." - Brant
"Just ask you, huh?" - Grandma
"Yeah" - Brant - Miscellaneous discussion about hot lava and paleontologists.
"What are those dinosaurs behind the Stegosaurus" - Mommy
"I don't know." - Brant

It's the little things

When Brantley was smaller and still in a seat with a 5-point harness, it was pretty easy to buckle him in. Being short means that my arms are also short. So, now that he is in a booster seat and buckled up with the car seat belt, I have to pretty much climb in to be able to buckle him in. Today, Brantley finally agreed to try to buckle himself. And he did it! He was so proud of himself and he says he's going to do it every day! Yay for mommy!

Christmas Tree

The weekend after Thanksgiving has become our weekend for Christmas decorating. Things get so busy after that weekend and before you know it, Christmas is here. This year Brantley is extremely excited about Christmas. He couldn't wait to put up the tree. He even says he's going to go visit Santa and tell him what he wants for Christmas. He is going to tell him he wants a green 4-wheeler. Now, 'Santa' has to figure out out to get the 4-wheeler home and hidden until Christmas. It's sitting in layaway until he figures that out. ;)

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving. A time for giving thanks for family, extended family, and friends. A time to ponder what's really important in this life. And to eat lots of food.

Here's the kids table (the coffee table) at my sister's house. Works pretty well for the kids. Not that Brantley ate anything off his plate.

Learning to write

Quotable Quotes

A conversation about Star Wars:

"Mommy, does Anakin turn in to Darth Vader"
Me " I don't know. I haven't seen a movie where he does. Why do you ask?"
"Well, Reed says he does."
Me "Well, I don't know what to tell you. I don't know."

Before the movie.
Me "Now, you can't tell me what happens because I have to study. I'll have to watch the movie some other time. Okay?"
"Okay"

After the movie.
"There were good guys and bad guys. Hmmmm...who were the good guys....Jar Jar Binks, he's a good guy. And Yoda, he's a good guy. And ummmm...(yelling) daddy - who was that other guy in the movie.."
Daddy - "Obi Wan?"
"Yeah Obi Wan. He's a good guy."
"And...Anakin... he did a bad thing. And Anakin got burned by hot lava and somebody put him back together and made him in to Darth Vader!"

Thanks Brant. Good thing I already kinda knew what happened.

Roses in November

It's been unseasonably warm lately, now it's unseasonably cold! When we got home Wednesday, we noticed all the pretty flowers.
What's up with all of our plants. They think it's spring. We cut the roses because it was supposed to get down to 24 degrees that night. Better enjoy them inside rather than have them freeze! By the way, Brantley helped me put all of the mulch down last weekend. He's a very good helper. He got a little too tired though and wasn't to happy when we finished. Check out the dirt tears!

A singer in the making

Since it's Saturday morning, I'm going around the house cleaning up and what not. Brantley was sitting playing with his legos and singing. He just kept making up this song and singing. I caught the end of it on video - he didn't know that I was recording him. I took another video after that. He didn't know at first but he looked around and saw me. Notice the performance after he knows he's on camera. (Video link) - let me know if this doesn't work.

Three days of trouble

For the most part, Brantley is well-behaved. He's always good at school and it's rare for him to get a bad report. But, recently there have been some teacher issues and I'm afraid all of the changes have had an adverse affect on Brant. Friday, I was told that Brantley and 4 others were standing in a circle throwing wood mulch at another child. Monday, Brantley was wrestling with another child and he bit him. He said the other child hit him so he bit him. I explained that wasn't a good choice and that he needed to tell his teacher if another child hits him. He got to watch no TV last night. Today, another incident report. The teacher didn't see what happened and thought it was an accident. This time, Brantley said one child hit him so he hit another child. The child he hit got a bloody nose. Granted, the child that got the bloody nose gets them easily, but still. I can't believe this behavior. They are supposed to have a new teacher starting tomorrow. I'm hoping he just needs some stability in his classroom. He's still a creature of habit at this point and when his life is disrupted, it causes problems. If something happens tomorrow, I'm going to have to come up with a new punishment.

Birthday Party at My Gym

We've had a busy day. We were in Cookeville this morning where Brant got to ride the tractor and the four-wheeler. Papa even hooked up the trailer to the four-wheeler and Brantley, Nathan, and Taylor all piled in. They had a great time. This afternoon, we went to a birthday party at My Gym. Similar to Let it Shine, but not as big and more catered to smaller children. He had a blast. When we got home, he was so tired and wasn't in a good mood. I had to send him to his room and he passed out. He's still asleep now.