Dominick's Christmas list

If Santa were to ask Dominick what he wants for Christmas, this is what he would say (as of last night, anyway):

Bertie bus

Ball thing that shoots balls on you

His very own paper clip

Batman

Years from now, when Dominick's gift requests total hundreds of dollars, I'll wistfully look back upon this first Christmas list of his. It's so modest. Awesome. Unfortunately, we don't know what ball thing Dom is talking about. And I didn't know he cared for Batman. Batman isn't Thomas!

Just a virus, thank goodness

Noel suddenly got sick yesterday morning with symptoms that mimicked those he had the night he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Fortunately, a doctor visit and chest x-ray confirmed it was only a virus. He's back to normal today. We'd just been to the doctor last Thursday for his two-year checkup. Everything looks good. We've got a 26-pound, 5-ounce boy who measures in the 25th percentiles for length and weight and still has a much bigger noggin (75th-90th percentile). All that gray matter requires a lot of space.

When Noel and I got back from his busy afternoon yesterday, Dominick was excited to show us the handmade Do Not Enter sign hanging across a doorway. Two chairs had been set up in front of it so that, as Mike told me, he and Dom could sit and look at the sign. Next, Dominick wants to make a Wet Floor sign. To each his own, I guess!

Greetings, December!

How lovely to wake up on the first morning of December to a blanket of snow on the ground. It's the perfect kind, too: just enough snow to give everything a pretty wintry look without sticking to the streets. Nice! Today was the first morning for dropoff at the door at preschool. We pull up, and a teacher comes out, unbuckles Dominick and takes him inside. It's a wonderful thing.

Thanksgiving was spent at home. When you have little kids, you know what a luxury that is. Christmas, with its annual around-the-state trek, will be here soon enough, so why make the trip twice? Mike took Thanksgiving week off, but Dom had school through Wednesday. I had all these grand plans for getting stuff done while Mike was on vacation, but in reality, my lengthy to-do list was barely touched. We had a nice Thanksgiving meal, just the four of us. I had a close call when Mike told me Wednesday night that the bird I had defrosting in the refrigerator was a chicken, not a turkey breast. Had this been discovered Thursday morning, it would have been too late, but I thawed the turkey in the sink instead. It cooked beautifully.

And now that Thanksgiving is over, the Christmas season is officially here. We've started decorating, and the Christmas music is on heavy rotation. I love it.