Feeling Crafty...

As a teacher, I am lucky to have 2 weeks off for Christmas and with all of this time on my hands, I have been feeling a little bit crafty! I follow several artsy blogs and this one caught my eye. Ashley at Lil Blue Boo has created patterns for reusing old t-shirts to make the cutest dresses, skirts and hoodies for kids. When I saw her recycled t-shirt hoodie pattern for sale in her etsy shop, I thought to myself, I can do that! And I did! (And I am so proud since I don't claim to be anything more than a super-beginner seamstress!)

I started with three t-shirts from Goodwill - just in case I totally messed up, I didn't want to cut up some of Cooper's shirts that I liked!

And after just a few hours of cutting and sewing on my 1970's Singer, this was the result: a super cute hoodie for my Coop!

I had the best time learning how to sew this shirt - it was so much fun! And because I was sewing recycled t-shirts, I wasn't worried about making a mistake. And it was seriously easy! I think I may have created a monster... pretty soon all of Cooper's shirts will be recycled hoodies!

Christmas

We had such a wonderful Christmas! It's become a tradition for Cooper and I to "travel" (5 minutes!) to my parents house and stay for Christmas Eve. We baked cookies for Santa (although Cooper really wasn't interested in anything but licking the dough!) Our annual Bates Family Cookie Decorating Contest has been postponed, but not forgotten... Results will be shared! (See here for last year's competition)

Sweet Cooper slept until nearly 8 o'clock, making him a favorite nephew among uncles! I have a feeling this may be a one-year-only thing due to the fact that he doesn't fully understand the 'Santa is coming' thing!

Cooper's favorite gifts were his GeoTracks - a beginner remote control train set and airplane with airport. He played happily ALL day without complaint!

Cooper and his Pop - - best buddies!

My personal favorite gift for Cooper was the "Crocodile Dentist" game. It requires no batteries and no skills, except basic turn-taking. : ) Players take turns pushing down on the crocodile's teeth and sooner or later the croc's mouth snaps shut on someone's finger! Cooper thinks this is HILARIOUS!

In fact, he made everyone play...

More than any gift we could open, we rejoice in the gift of Jesus, whose life was sent to save ours! It is because of his precious birth and death on the cross that we can live with HOPE and PEACE knowing that we belong to the Lord. Merry Christmas!

Meeting Santa

No Christmas Eve is complete without a visit to Santa Clause. Cooper was really excited to see Santa and sit on his lap. When I asked him what toy he would like for Christmas, he said, "I get a TOY!?"... Needless to say, he doesn't completely understand the concept of Christmas quite yet. But he was very anxious to see Santa and could hardly wait in line outside Santa's "Texas Workshop". I can almost hear him saying, "Let me in!!"

Although he was a teeny bit wild in the long line, Cooper did so well with Santa. He willingly sat on his lap and answered all of his questions. When Santa asked about what Cooper would like for a present, he excitedly answered, "A train - a big, big train!"

Leaves!

It seems like we have been raking leaves non-stop for the past few weeks. Leaves are EVERYWHERE!! I kid you not - I rake for 2 hours and then take a break, only to see the wind has blown and my favorite tree has dropped another bazillion leaves onto my poor yard. At least we got a few pretty pictures from the ordeal!

Christmas Sing-A-Long

You know kids are growing up when they are old enough to be in a Christmas program! I couldn't believe that Cooper was big enough to participate in his school's annual winter open house. "Lolli" and I both got to see Cooper play with his friends, show us around his classroom and sing Christmas carols.

Here is Coop with his very favorite Lolli:

He showed Lolli all of his collected treasures in his cubby: usually there are 4-5 sheets of paper with pencil scribblings, a few "color-changing" leaves, and his prized possession- his Bubba (blanket)


This is Cooper's special buddy -Thomas. He was in Cooper's class last year, but since has graduated to first grade at public school. Yes, he and Cooper were in the same class! One thing I like about Montessori school is their multi-age classrooms. There are pros and cons to having children ages 3-6 in the same room, but Cooper reaped the benefits from having a mentor like Thomas in his class. He helped Cooper learn how to potty like a big boy and was so patient with him!

Another buddy - Riley!

Passing the time until the singing began...

Not the happiest performer...

But Mommy was proud!

Uncle Colin

We do love our Uncle Colin! He is the resident chaser, teaser, and wrestler when Cooper and Hudson are together. He takes quite the beating and usually comes out on top when wrangling two rambunctious little boys. Here are some of my favorite pictures from our latest adventure!

I love that you can see Hudson wrestling with Colin in the background (as Colin is trying to take photos of the boys while protecting his camera from the fury of Hudson!)

Colin is such a trooper! He and I love to whip out our cameras when cute little subjects are around, but the boys had other ideas this time - tackle Colin!

I could have posted at least 20 photos from this "photo shoot" - - we played in the backyard until nearly dark with Lolli, Pop, Adam, Jon, and Dayna looking on and laughing. What fun family memories!

Deck The Halls

A few snapshots of our home this Christmas:

Merry Christmas!

A picture says it all...

This photo sums up kindergarten the week before Christmas. Wow! For more excitement, visit my classroom blog at www.missmeganbates.blogspot.com

Advent

As Cooper grows up and begins to grasp the meaning of Christmas more fully, I want to celebrate the season with much anticipation of Jesus' birthday. This year I was determined to find the perfect advent that focused on Christ and why we celebrate this time of year. There are zillions of advent calendars out there and I couldn't make up my mind about which to make for our family. So I did two!

This advent calendar made from a spool rack and paper-wrapped spools was inspired by a similar advent I saw on justsomethingimade.blogspot.com. She used vintage spools and wrote the clues for her kids to find hidden presents. I adapted mine to show a scripture verse for each night leading up to Christmas Day. (I also spray painted my cheap-o spools red since I couldn't find neat vintage ones)

My second advent calendar was inspired by the "chocolate pocket" advents I remember from my childhood. I wanted an advent that could hang on the back of my hall closet door (since counter space is limited!) and one that could hold tiny treasures that could help retell the story of Christ's birth.

Each of these felt pockets holds a tiny story book that tells part of the Christmas story. Some pockets have little trinkets (like pieces of hay to remind us about the manger or a keychain flashlight to remind us of the bright star)

We've loved making the advent a part of our nightly routine and I think the anticipation of Christmas will make the special day even more wonderful!

Busy Boy

After a busy day yesterday with a bridal shower and a bible study get-together, I was ready for a lazy day at home today. I worked on putting finishing touches on Christmas decorations while Cooper worked busily for the entire morning. I am constantly amazed at how he can entertain himself when he's really engaged with "work".

This train set was worth the 5:45am trip to Toys-R-Us on Black Friday. It has made Cooper one merry little boy! Now only if I could figure out how to disengage the sound function...

"I going to dwive this scoo-bus wight into you camwa!"