Santa Visits...of Christmases Past

A quick glimpse to our successful, and unsuccessful, visits to see Santa in years past.

Check that beard, Emerson...legit?

Near identical to Scarlet's photo this year.

Mentally working through his list to be sure he's covered everything.

He must have been a very good boy this year!

First Santa photo together.

Possibly her last smiling Santa photo for a few years. See this year's post!

Santa Baby!

This past weekend, we made our annual trip to see S.C. to let him know just how wonderful we've been. Emerson knew what he wanted to talk to Santa about. And Scarlet, too, was very excited! Until we got there.

Here we go! Can't wait to see Santa!

"I really want a rainbow loom, and anything else you want to bring me is fine. As long as it's  not girl toys or baby toys." FOR THE LOVE, this kid better get a rainbow loom tossed down the chimney next week. We hear about it daily. This poor deprived child is apparently the only child in his school, and on the face of this Earth, that does not have a rainbow loom.

"And my Mom wanted me to ask for something for my sister, since she can't talk. So you can bring her whatever you want, too."

Enter Scarlet.

Devastation. Cruelty.

Love that Emerson smiles through it. Maybe next year, Scarlet. Or maybe not.

In other news, we found the best Santa to visit. He makes special stops at a lawn and garden nursery near our house. He was a delight. Very sweet with our darlings. The kids even received a little goody bag, complete with a homemade, vintage reindeer ornament. See you next year, Mr. Claus!

You remind me of someone...

Scarlet is very much her own person, but so many times, her goofy little acts and faces remind me of others. Below are just a couple examples.

She has a baby doll stroller that she pushes around the house with whatever is handy...babies, books, sippy cups, etc. And it is a stroller, so she sometimes takes the opportunity to seat herself in it. I couldn't help it...this one reminded me of someone we all know and love this time of year...

Buddy. Buddy the Elf.

Here's our not-so-little girl dancing and singing pre-pajamas in her Santa hat. She insists on wearing this hat.

And here is big brother, at this same age, doing his thing.

Emersonisms - December Edition (Yes, cows have butts.)

On our way to school this snowy morning...

Emerson: Who was the first person to have a car?

Me: Probably Henry Ford.

Emerson: Who was the first person to have a house?

Me: Probably Adam and Eve.

Emerson: Who are they?

Me: The first people God put on Earth.

Emerson: Then yes, it was them.

And after a few seconds of silence...

Emerson: The workers make a lot of our stuff. They make the roads, houses, electricity. But God makes everything else. He makes the snow, trees, branches. But he doesn't make milk. He just makes the cows. Then the cows push milk out of their penis.

Me: Em, those are actually Mama cows, and those are nipples, not penises.

Emerson: Oh. Do cows have butts?

Me: Yes, cows have butts.

Emerson: Do cows have penises? Really?

Me: Only the boy cows.

And that's how I started this Thursday morning.

This photo, although taken a few weeks ago, seemed fitting. He doesn't like sweets. Ice cream, cake, cupcakes, etc. He likes the idea of them, but then after a single bite, moves on. Apparently, blue slushies on a road trip are another thing. He made me take this photo a couple times, until he got this face just right. And this is the seat in which he's setting while analyzing this amazing world we live in.

Christmas Traditions

It's the most wonderful time, OF THE YEAR! We love Christmas. The hustle. The bustle. Everything about it. We're just over two weeks away, and I feel pretty prepared this year! Shopping is 95% complete. I have an upcoming Saturday afternoon dedicated to wrapping, wine, and "Love Actually." It's an annual tradition where I lock myself away, and TCB. I have a couple days off work before Christmas when I can shop for food, prep meals, and bake. The stars are aligning quite nicely.

Jason and I both have lots of time off work later in the month, and can't wait for it! There are a few house projects we'll be tackling (Get excited, Jason!), but I also plan for plenty of down time, slow mornings with coffee and cinnamon rolls, and loads of Christmas music belting through the house.

Below are a few snapshots of some of our other traditions we love...

Scarlet "oohs" and "aahs" every time we plug in the tree. This is the artificial tree that went up the day after Thanksgiving.

Here's my sweet boy, during our outing for our real tree. The smell. The nostalgia. There are so many reasons to love the real thing.

Scarlet...running away. Not the first time, and surely not the last.

She's a beaut, Clark.

We also celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas every December 6. We leave our shoes by the fireplace, and in the morning, St. Nick has filled them with sweets, treats, and the like. "It is in giving, that we receive."

Scarlet, decorating one of our two Advent calendars with each day that goes by.

Every year since Emerson was tiny, we've decorated gingerbread men, houses, and trains. Scarlet seems pleased with her work.

A masterpiece.

Poor, Gingy.

Emerson's house. He's since eaten about half of it.

Another annual tradition, is creating homemade Christmas ornaments for our loved ones. Emerson loves this, and I'm sure Scarlet will. If she ever stops eating the beads.

My little sweatshop, cranking them out. And possibly throwing a few gang signs?

Grover Cleveland Rex Zielinski

Jason, with the help of Uncle BF, Poppy, Dzia Dzia, Uncle Jared, and Bill, completed the fence encasing our back yard. The whole reason for this, was to prepare for a puppy. So for the past few months, we've been researching, and searching, for the right puppy to add to our household. We referred to this project as Operation Scarlet Needs A Puppy. Of course Emerson would also love one, but Scarlet's interest, and love, of animals is on another level. We were really super excited to have a dog in the house again. We've missed Sheffield the last year and a half, and looked forward to having a puppy to grow up with our kids.

We found a breeder we decided to work with, and on Sunday, brought home the newest member of our family, Grover Cleveland Rex Zielinski. We call him Grover. The naming was an interesting process. Scarlet, of course, had a lot to say about it. Although no one understood what she was saying. Her two favorite words are "Noooooooooo" and "Twooooooo," and we quickly decided those wouldn't work. Emerson had lots of great ideas. Three were sticking with him for a while though: 1) Sparkle, 2) Buckeye Colt, and 3) Canker. We weren't loving Sparkle for a boy. Buckeye Colt felt just a little too sportsy. And Canker...well...it's gross.

So on our way back home with this adorable puppy, Emerson tossed out Grover. Jason responds to him, "Grover Cleveland?" And Emerson yells, "YES! Grover Cleveland!" Well, apparently that wasn't long enough, so Emerson thought he should also have the same middle name as him, and of course our last name.

Emerson's excitement is so contagious! His ear to ear grin just makes me melt.

One tired puppy.

Eskimo kisses. She could not get enough of her new friend.

And this is my household. This poor puppy had no idea what he was getting into!

Cornered with love and affection.

We love him so. Scarlet and Emerson can't get enough of him! As you can see.

Emersonisms - November Edition

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...I can't make this stuff up. Enjoy.

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"I didn't eat my meatball sandwich for lunch because I only like my meatballs with cheese and missketti."

Really, "missketti"? I have no idea how we screwed up that one. Also, for the record, he ate two the night before.

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And just a week later, we were having missketti's culinary cousin, beezahnia. Yes, lasagna. I corrected this one, and he then corrected me, back to beezahnia. Now I don't feel so bad about missketti, since there's clear intention to his errors.

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Another recent food discussion he and I had, while he was sampling chocolate no-bake cookies.

Emerson: "This cookie tastes like brains."

Me: "How do you know what brains taste like?"

Emerson: "I had some last night. In California."

Me: "What were you doing in California?"

Emerson: "Dancing."

Me: "What kind of dancing?"

Emerson: "The cha cha."

Me: "Just throw the cookie away, Em."

He used to love no-bake cookies, almost as much as I do. Also, I have no idea how he knows what the cha cha is. Or why he thinks eating brains has anything to do with dancing.