A farewell to November, hello December, and the words of Max and Eli.

 November has been the month of big and important things. 

Our trip to St. Louis, Chris and Jenny's wedding, my 30th birthday, Thanksgiving, holiday preparations...we have been busy! 

It's been a great month, and I wanted to do one more look back before we embrace December. 

The professional pictures from the wedding are back, and they are gorgeous! I wanted to share a few...

Photos by Emily Weis

It was such a great time with family. We miss Chris and Jenny, Max often asks to watch this little video...

It's these little moments that we really miss out on with them living so far away. 

We miss you too, cousin Indy doog. 

With that, we say farewell to November, the month of big and important things. 

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December has arrived, the arctic temperatures are here as well. 

We have a little visitor in the house, he knows all about the arctic as he is from the North Pole. 

Meet Sleepy the elf. 

Yep, we are trying out the whole Elf on the Shelf thing this year. 

He is here on a trial period, but so far so good. 

At three, I was completely terrified of Santa. I did not like the idea of a random guy coming into our house, so I asked my Dad to stand out on the porch and wait for him...because I still wanted my presents, of course. 

I was concerned the boys would find our elf creepy, but they love him so far. 

We read the book about how he flies to the North Pole at night to report to Santa (I personally find this part unsettling), Max proceeded to pick him up and said,  "that's impossible, he doesn't have any batteries."

 He may be a skeptic, but at least he isn't scared of our little friend Sleepy. 

I think it is fun to participate in some of these cultural traditions, depending on how it goes this year, Sleepy may become a December staple. 

So far, he's made a tire swing in the playroom...

Had a marshmallow bubble bath in the sink...

And he even put up the 'Where the Wild Things Are' decals in the playroom, we've been meaning to do this forever. 

Sleepy is earning his keep around here. 

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Finally, I have been meaning to jot down some quotes from the boys, they are at such fun ages. 

So many people told us that three is more terrible than two, but I have just loved this age and the things that come out of Max's mouth lately. 

Here are a few I hope to never forget...

"I don't like BEDS, I like PLAYGROUNDS"

Yelled at us as we sat downstairs during bedtime. 

"I have a GREAT idea.."

Almost always followed by things that are not in fact a great idea from a parental standpoint.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

But then he never tells us what he was thinking. 

At Thanksgiving dinner, Julian asked him if he could chew a bit quieter, his response:

"You need to give me quiet foods if you want me to chew quieter, if you give me crunchy food I will open my mouth and CRUNCH IT."

Well, okay then. 

On the drive home from preschool the other day, we stopped at Starbucks to grab a snowman cookie to split between the three of us as a special treat. Max had the biggest piece, and was sharing with his brother until it came to the last bite. He held it up, inspected it, and sincerely said. 

"Eli, this piece just won't fit in your tummy. I'm sorry. It just won't fit."

Eli looked down at his belly and said "Okay."

Max ate the last piece as he caught my eye in the rear view mirror. 

That kid. 

And Eli, he has had some very obvious "second child" behaviors lately. When he wants something he automatically says "Me too" or just "too", regardless of if anyone else wants the same thing. 

He insists on two or three applesauce cups (or other similar foods), before he has even taken a bite out of one. He wants to make sure he has at least his fair share right from the start. 

Also, somewhere along the way we started calling him Ilya, the Eastern European variant of his name, I think it started because we had a friend from college named Ilya. 

In any case, he loves it, so he is called Ilya about half of the time now.

To be fair, he does eat it all. 

As he approaches two, we have started to set more boundaries with him, showing him natural consequences, as well as using short time outs and 1-2-3 counts. Disciplining him is proving to be such a challenge. I thought Max's stubborn, defiant nature made him a challenging child to discipline. 

But Eli. 

He is deeply sensitive, and even a gentle "No-no" to smearing applesauce all over the counters results in a face at least this sad.

No no Ilya. 

And he just holds that sad sad face, sometimes even with a lip quivering, until you reassure him that all is well and he is of course forgiven. 

But then he will go right back to smearing apple sauce, coloring on the walls, whatever the problematic behavior might be...

This boy has a way of tugging at your heart, even when he is being a little bit naughty. 

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Welcome December, we are so looking forward to continuing many fun holiday traditions this month.

P.S. About once a year I find myself back in a Damien Rice phase. It's happening again right now.