Poker? I didn't even know her.

Sorry, a little elf humor.

he needed a little Christmas

T did a little decorating of his own last night....

a busy night

Big T had a busy night last night, and quite the belly ache to show for it. 

The boys left him quite a smorgasbord of candy and milk.  He did his best to finish it off but we found him clutching his stomach laying on his side this morning with chocolate all over his face.

And this was after taking him for a drive around the neighborhood after dinner to check out all the Christmas lights.  Logan passed out, but Tyler was taking it all in.   I think tonight he will do some extra holiday decorating of his own in the family room!

treats for Tyler

The boys got home from school this afternoon and decided that Tyler looked hungry.  They set some treats next to him for him to enjoy tonight (note to self:  Buy some Reeses Peanut Butter cups soon!).  And then composed this note.

******

Dear Tyler,

All the treats I put next to you or in your lap are for you.

Dylan, Logan, Michelle and Andrew

******

I just love this Elf.   He brings another layer of fun to the holidays!  I think tonight he's going to have to write a letter back. 

snow angel

Last night, Tyler got into the flour and decided to make himself a snow angel.   The boys found this hilarious this morning and right away checked to see if he had flour all over his back.  Luckily he did!

watch out

Tyler likes the four wheel drive action.

he's baaaaack....

Tyler Snowy is back in The House for his second year.   He arrived Friday morning, ready to watch over our boys and report any and all activities to Santa nightly.  He reports back to the North Pole every night to give Santa the 9-1-1 on any meltdowns, fighting or sassy behavior.  But apparently his very first night, he got a case of the lazies and forgot to make the journey.  Oops!

I can feel he's going to get into a lot of mischief this holiday season.   I wish he came with a reminder alarm every night so we don't forget to move him.  Its hard to come up with enough viable excuses Dylan will believe.  "Oh, Santa was sick and couldn't have company last night."  "Hmmmm, Tyler's reindeer he rides back must have been at the vet."  "Gosh, I bet he must have fallen asleep. I  bet he's in trouble with Santa!".

Andrew goes out of town today for the next few days and he's much better about remembering to move him than I am.   Its a lot of pressure.  I actually sat up in bed very early this morning, "SHIT WE FORGOT TO MOVE THE ELF AGAIN ... HURRY, DOWNSTAIRS!"

Fun tradition..And really, how much longer will Dylan believe in this stuff?  His teacher has ALL the kids in third grade totally believing in this Elf thing, bless her heart.  I really hope we can keep the secret for a few more years. He figured out the Easter Bunny last spring, but we agreed he won't tell Logan.  Somehow he still totally believes in the Tooth Fairy and Santa, and this Elf.  I bought my wrapping paper for gifts this year and hid it, because I know Christmas morning when he finds gifts wrapped from Santa, he'll remember if he's seen that I have the same wrap upstairs.  And starting last year, all gift tags on gifts from Santa were typed labels from my computer so there'd be no handwriting comparisons.   I know one of these days he'll be onto me.  And then it will have to be our secret from Logan as long as we can.

a new tradition, and an old one

When you're 4 or 7, is there anything more magical than Christmas?  Everything glows and sparkles, brightly wrapped packages hold the promise of something new, sweet aromas waft from the kitchen and the days are filled with parties and family.  In fact, I believe Christmas is magical, no matter your age.  Its a time for being cozy, and a time for being together.  A time for honoring traditions that are meaningful to your family.

Tomorrow, December 1st, we can officially start the 'real' countdown to Christmas.  This year, we're introducing a new family tradition, and bringing out an old one as well.

Last year, I started hearing from friends about the Elf on the Shelf, and I fell in love with the idea.  The premise - one of Santa's magical elves appears in your home this time of the year.  The kids get to name him, and every night when everyone is sleeping, he magically goes to the North Pole, reporting into Santa all that happened at your house that day.  Then he magically travels back, 'hides' in another spot in your house until the kids wake the next morning and search the house to find him.   He can get into mischief... he can be found at the top of a snowy mountain of powdered doughnuts, or hiding behind a wall of cottonballs.   He's not allowed to talk or move until everyone is asleep, and he travels to the North Pole each night.

I'm so thrilled that Dylan still believes in Santa.  He's never yet questioned or doubted, and even when he does, I know he'll still believe in the magic of Christmas as we do, and he'll still keep it magical for Logan until Logan finds out on his own.

So today when I sat the boys down to read them The Elf on the Shelf book, they were completely silent.  I told them our magic elf was hidden somewhere in the house, and they had to find him and name him.  I told the boys our elf can't talk, but he's watching for Santa and reporting in every night while we're sleeping. And each morning, they'll have to find him all over again.  They could barely wait to look all over the house.  It took a little while, but they found him in a pile of ornaments:

Isn't he precious?  They decided to name him Tyler.  Tyler Snowy Claus.  He must be a distant relative of St. Nick himself.

The boys stood there, mesmerized, waiting to see if he would move.   Dylan swore he saw him move his eyes. Then later, Logan said he heard him talk.  They bought the whole story.  And I love it.

And tomorrow morning, Tyler Snowy Claus, our new tradition, will overlap with one of our other older family Christmas traditions.  I love this Advent calendar.  Every year I fill it with treats and let the boys enjoy a little surprise when they pull out a drawer each morning.  This year, Tyler will be filling it up and hanging out on the roof tomorrow morning, beckoning the boys to partake in the goodies and counting down the next 24 days with sweet anticipation.

In case you can't resist the Elf on the Shelf idea either, you can get it here.