"Written by Mama, Illustrated by Dada" Oui?

It's no secret that my husband is an incredibly talented woodworker; I've made mention to this fact several times. In looking back over the last few years, it occurred to me just how much my husband does for me, our son, and our family. 

In our relationship we've often joked about how I'm the "writer" and he's the "illustrator" (literally.) I will come up with an idea and he will make it happen; come hell or high water, he will make it happen.

Allow me a moment to brag about his work:

 

 

The shed he built for us in 2010

Our son's nursery used to be our office. I wanted it completely remodeled... and he did it. He did it while working full-time. He even added a few of his own touches to the room. What he did to the floor in Toby's closet almost brought me to my knees. I had NO idea this was happening (being pregnant, I mostly stayed out of the room while it was being remodeled- especially when the floors were being done.) This speaks to how much he loves me and our son.

He also put a bookshelf into the wall. Granted, I wasn't happy about it at first but, now I appreciate his penchant for utility in our tiny little house.

And one of my favorite pieces (among the many not even mentioned here) is the ticket booth for our little ringmaster's first birthday. When I told my husband I wanted a ticket booth built from wood, to be used for just a couple of hours... just a prop for our son's first birthday.. he didn't flinch. He just did it. And it took him months.

The dude loves his son and his wife, what I can say?

Well, the other morning as I was moving some things around, I flipped Toby's Christmas box over to find this, burned into the bottom:

Again, I had no idea he did this on the bottom. I would never think to look at the bottom. This just speaks to Aaron's style; he does things for us without any expectation of return or praise. (But, you can certainly bet that I'm going to make note of it.)

I don't even really know if I'm making any sense here. I just felt this was something that needed to be documented forever in the archives of this blog; our virtual scrapbook. And, in the spirit of the season, I just have to acknowledge one of the greatest gifts life has given me is the unconditional love of my husband. Loving me is a tall order. Aaron never ceases to step up to the plate and illustrates, on a daily basis, the depth of his love and commitment to us. Therefore, it must be written. Oui?

It's beginning to look a lot...

"Enough with the Christmas posts, Jessi."
"But... but, I can't help it, I'm in the spirit this year!"

Okay folks, I'm sorry. I know it gets repetitive. Perhaps even a touch annoying. So, if you find yourself rolling your eyes already, turn back now! It's another Christmas post. I can't help it. This is really the first year that our little dude gets the concept of Christmas; I'm just so excited. He has completely reinvented the holiday for me and I want to document every single second of it... and share it with my friends and family near and far!

Toby has basked in a couple of fun filled weeks kicking off Christmas. As I mentioned in previous posts, we're pretty much all ready to go; so we are just enjoying everything the season has to offer.

It all began just before Thanksgiving... We made a trip up to the farm and, on the way back to N.H., we stopped in Freeport to hit up L.L. Bean and Johnny Rockets. Have you been to Johnny Rockets? It's a cute old-school diner. The wait staff sing. It's the kind of place you unbutton your pants when you leave, and order a milkshake before your meal. It was awesome.

 

 

We went in the fish bubble at L.L. Bean. He loves it. He kept saying "Fisssssssss"

And L.L. Bean had their giant tree up.

The next weekend (December 1st [the night he got his Christmas box]) We went to story time at Barnes & Noble where they did a Christmas craft, and we heard the story of the Grinch.

 

Disregard the black spot on my cheek. I didn't get a face tattoo. I have something stuck IN the lens of my camera phone.

After story time, we were off to meet Santa!

 

He told Santa he wanted a rocking horse for Christmas. Gee, I sure hope he gets one ;)

The following weekend was the city parade. It was freezing, but we bundled up! Toby loves parades because of the marching bands. 

 

There were some interesting folks "dancing" around the area we were standing... wearing what looked like painted on clothes.

We were pretty chilly but, we warmed up at a local diner... Toby ate an entire basket of chicken fingers, fries, and a milkshake. Crazy.

 

Last Wednesday we brought him to the local school's Christmas concert. He loved it. He was so well behaved and sat mesmerized the entire time. (And we're talking about a busy toddler!)

 

Just this past Friday we decided to let him watch Rudolph (the movie we gave him in his Christmas box.) He wore his new Christmas pajamas/robe/slippers and we made a big batch of popcorn. I was really surprised at how well he sat through the movie. He got antsy a few times but we just let him get up and stretch. He ate more popcorn than I care to admit here... but it was a good night!

 

 

Saturday night we brought him to the "Lighted Wonderland" event at Charmingfare Farm. We went on a 25 minute sleigh ride through the farm and wound up at Santa's house where his reindeer live. Toby was beside himself. While it was really chilly, we ended up sticking it out for about an hour and then went home.

And finally, yesterday... Holy snow! Just the excuse we needed to get Toby's sled out of the cellar.

We promised Toby a snowman. Unfortunately, the snow didn't cooperate; it just wasn't snowman snow. We even (pathetically) took out a water bottle and sprayed down the snow. I was pretty bummed. But, on the bright side, we were able to make a snowman-duck. Totally by accident. We were still aiming for a snowman when it came out looking like a duck. So, I had Aaron make a quick beak out of some wood, and I dug out a seat in the back for Toby. He thought it was awesome.

And after dinner we went back outside, lit a fire, and made some s'mores.

I'm just loving the holiday season this year. While we have a couple more surprises for Toby before Christmas, I have to say I have enjoyed every second of the most wonderful time of the year. We are working really hard to make sure we incorporate a lot of activities into the entire season as I'm not really one to do a ton of gifts; I'm more of an "experience" person... and gifts isn't what Christmas is about. So, we are trying to spread things out over the month to really solidify "Family." Aaron and I are constantly keeping our eyes peeled for activities we can do as a family to make the season all the more meaningful.