12 Great Things about the 2008 Holiday Season...

In no particular order:

* Sweet Mafia games with the Sloan clan where I proved to be a genuis cop (sweetie, remember listen to me and the game will be won) and an idiot townsperson (who knew that if you say "Fine, kill me," they actually will??)

* The ability to now print pictures from the comfort of my own home office (thanks Mom and Dad!!)

* Learning about lots of new family members to be added to the family in 2009 (two sister-in-laws and a niece/nephew!!)

* Building a gingerbread house with my brother's fiancee while watching one of the best girl movies ever--Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

* Watching Marley and Me with my sisters-in-law and unabashedly crying through almost all of it. Seriously, I loved this movie, but don't go see it without plenty of tissues, and I think you might skip out on the mascara just to be on the safe side.

* Getting to eat lots of my favorite holiday goodies (can we say peanutbutter kiss cookies, monster cookies, snickerdoodles, oatmeal cookies, sausage balls, cheese balls...)

* Two full weeks with no work involved. I'm not kidding. That actually happened. True story.

* Meeting my new good friends Ted, Barney, Marshall, Lily, and Robin. For the uninitiated, I am speaking of How I Met Your Mother. In the span of three short weeks, we have now watched the first three seasons. And they are Legen...wait for it...dary!!! (Thanks Curtis and Jenna!)

* Saying goodbye to 2008, a very bittersweet year, and ushering in 2009 in the arms of my best friend who still rocks my world 6 New Year's Eves later.

* Lots of sweet new jewelry, especially necklaces. My favorite piece Bryan picked out for me from ChinaBaroque. Check it out. She is amazing!

* Robby's First Tricycle (see pic above). Okay, so he can't reach the pedals yet, but he loves his bike. He "helped" me put it together, and he fully comprehended what it was long before all the pieces were on. I had to physically move him off of the bike to add the seat because he was trying to sit where he knew the seat would be. {note: Putting together the tricycle does not make the list of best things about this holiday season.}

* The Ball Pit. In our bedroom we now have a 6 foot soccerball pit filled with 300+ balls that we romp around in. It is AWESOME!! (Thanks Toloallaro)

Christmas Elf

The week of Christmas festivities at the Sloan house has begun with a wonderful weekend of celebrating Christmas in Eastland this weekend. Robby could not have been happier there with dogs to play with, golfing to do, and leaves to crash about in.

Pahpah and tah gave Robby a Robby-sized table and chairs which he loves. We spent all morning getting in and out of the chairs.

Tonight, we celebrate Christmas at our house, and then we will go to Houston on Christmas Eve.

It is an exciting time, and in honor of it, I thought I would post a couple of pictures of Robby getting into the Christmas spirit.

Let it Snow

A week or two ago it snowed at the Sloan house. I know what you are thinking...but it hasn't snowed in North Texas yet this year. Well, this snow was not outside but in my kitchen. It might not have been freezing, but to my son it was wonderous. He received a package of goodies from my aunt and uncle in California, but the goodies themselves were of no interest (at first). What he liked was the box full of styrofoam popcorn. He didn't just like it. He loved it! I will say that after he exhausted himself and went to bed, Mommy and Daddy did not enjoy Project Snow Cleanup, until I came up with a brilliant (if I do say so myself) idea. I used Clingwrap to pick up the pieces, and it went so smoothly after that. All those little pieces that had eluded me in my sweeping efforts clung to the wrap and did not stray again, so if you get a Christmas present with popcorn in it, that is my hearty recommendation.

On a side note, Toby and Lori, you guys are brilliant gift buyers. He LOVES the Christmas book. The last two pages have 25 flaps that he can open, and most of them are Christmas ornaments on this huge tree. He loves to open that page and open all the "balls." He sits and plays with it forever saying "ball" over and over again. I kept the LeapFrog toy in his closet until this week, but it too is a huge hit. He gets frustrated when he can't get the letters in, but he loves to make it sing to him. Way to go on the presents :)

Other recent Robby accomplishments: jumping, somersaulting (seriously he can do a full somersault on our bed), tiptoeing, and saying cup.

Christmas Music!!

Okay, so I have not yet decorated my house (anyone in need of a bunch of gords, cause I still have them), and I haven't wrapped any presents, and I had not started the Christmas music...until about half an hour ago. My friend Minda made me a Christmas CD, and I put it in as I wrote this afternoon, and suddenly a world that was overwhelming in how much I have to do suddenly became full of cozy happiness. I always forget just how much I love Christmas music! And, this CD has a wonderful version of "Baby It's Cold Outside," which I think is hard to find. I am now ready to decorate and get this holiday started!!

Yay to Minda! I guess what Buddy says is true--"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear" :)

Two Kinds of People

So no pictures of Robby this posting. Instead, I am going to kick off the holiday season by presenting a question of culture, a question of Christmas tradition, for you. I propose that Americans can be divided into two kinds of people: the explorers and the revolutionaries. I just want to say upfront that I and my family are not newfangled revolutionaries, nor will we ever be. We are explorers. I know many of you fall into that other, much less harmonic, much more awkward camp.

I want to hear from you--so tell the truth and tell it loud (like respond with a comment and tell which side you are on.) When it comes to the end of the song, who will he go down in history like--Columbus, or, that much more cumbersome and harder to spit out George Washington?

If you know not of what I speak, just think these hints:

"like a light bulb"
"like Pinocchio"
"like Monopoly"




Okay, so the pic gave it away, didn't it? :)