Santa vs. The Dentist

Santa Claus showed up at our ward Christmas party yesterday, and both of the kids were excited to sit on his lap. Brooklyn just sat there looking sweet, and didn't say a word.
Ethan was excited to talk to the big guy, and asked for his own set of (Disney) Cars Lego's.

Their experience with Santa was in stark contrast to their experience at the dentist the day before. Ethan got upset because he wanted Brooklyn to go first (so he could play with the dentist's train set in the lobby for just a little bit longer). Brooklyn was doing fine until half-way through the check-up, when she starting getting upset and ended up sobbing uncontrollably. It wasn't until after we got home that we were able to figure out what she was so upset about - she didn't want to get new teeth. We recalled that Brooklyn started getting upset after the dental hygienist observed that Brooklyn had such pretty, new, white teeth. Brooklyn must have thought she was going to be getting a new set of teeth.
So, now we know that the dentist is scarier than Santa Claus.

Jen and Brooklyn went to a friend's house earlier this week to make gingerbread houses (thanks, Kate). They turned out cute. When Ethan saw them after he got home from school, he decided they would make good houses for his Lego people, and shoved one in the front door, taking a few icicles out in the process.

Brooklyn put candy on her own graham cracker house. Surprisingly, most of it is still there!

Brooklyn has been doing really well with her potty training, and hasn't had an accident in weeks. When she's doing #1, she'll often get things rolling by chanting, "Come out, come out, wherever you are, pee pee."

Getting ready for Christmas

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving up in Logan last weekend. We were even able to spend time with both sides of the family and eat two Thanksgiving dinners. One of the highlights for the kids was meeting Grandpa Morrey's new colt, which Brooklyn has name "Baby Bullseye." The adult horse's name is already Bullseye. Brooklyn rode the horse for close to an hour, and cried when it was time to get off. Ethan was excited to dress up as Woody, but never did muster up the courage to ride the horse while we were there (although he has in the past).

Kyle and I managed to have one last birthday celebration before my free meal coupon expired. We had a lovely lunch at Benihana with Brooklyn while Ethan was at school. I recommend the Mango shrimp. I encouraged Kyle to order the lunch boat which included a couple of things he hadn't tried before: sashimi (raw fish) and edamame (soy beans). I also recommend that you sign up on their website for their birthday club. The free meal is up to $30 value. Brooklyn wasn't so excited about getting her picture taken.

We got our tree up early this week. It was fun to have the kids help decorate it and show their excitement for Christmas. It seems to get more fun and magical for them each year. We finally got some stockings up too. I've been planning on making some for the last few years but never could find fabric I was crazy about so I just went to Hobby Lobby and bought the stockings. Oh well, for the price I couldn't make them so fancy.