Cookies and Crayons

In Dallas, we have lots of special ornaments that go on the tree each year. There are several I made in Grade 1 (including a very pathetic looking popcorn and cranberry string). We haven’t let Dougie get too involved in decorating because he has played with the various things and broken several of them. We didn’t bring any of our special ornaments out to Calgary though so we had to get something new. Since the new ornaments have no sentimental value at all – enter Dougie, the decorator.

We started off by letting Dougie have full creative control of where the balls went. But he put them too low.

Too low is defined as anywhere that Connie can reach. So, we asked him to put them higher.

Better, but we weren’t going to get a lot on that way. So, in stepped Dad to help.

That was better, but apparently, Dougie felt his creativity was being stifled. So, he dragged his learning tower over to the tree and took matters into his own hands.

There we go, high enough to be away from Connie but still allowing for that “Dougie Flair.”

We would move the tower occasionally to give him access to another area but it worked out perfectly. Here is Dougie showing off his end result.

The whole tree

Hang on, let’s get a better look at those branches.

Hmm, that’s certainly some ornament density. On the average branch, there were at least 5 balls. We’re not even sure how he managed to fit them all on there.

After Dougie went to bed, we made a few modifications – purely for structural and safety reasons – honest.

Time for a classic Sharabura family tradition… making Christmas cookies! By this time, Dougie is an old pro at making cookies (heck, he has his own apron!), but this was Connie’s first shot at it. We’re happy to report that the cookies were delicious, nothing burned, and we only had a couple of over-sprinkling incidents (see below). First, we make the dough:

Measuring the lemon extract requires a steady hand:

“How does this thing work anyway?”

Salt — another tricky ingredient:

“Making snow” (also called sifting flour for those not used to baking with Dougie)

“I’m going to eat FIVE cookies!”

“Man, this is hard work…”

“Oh, gee, I’m not sure Daddy… let me taste one more!”

“Umm…. Daddy, I’m not so sure about this stuff…”

“Wait… you mean I can eat this??”

“That’s more like it!”

Then, we put the dough in the fridge for a couple of days (hence the costume changes for those who are paying attention!) Onward to cookie-making!

“I can make just one big cookie, right?”

Making cookies for the Cutie Pie Ranch

“I’ve got seven teeth… I can eat all KINDS of cookies!”

“What, these aren’t toys?”

“We can TOTALLY fit more sprinkles on here….”

If it’s Christmas, we need lots of green, right?

Once the cameras stopped rolling, Dad applied a little bit of sprinkle equalization. The things we do to uphold a family tradition…

We’ve been a bit slow to get into the Christmas mood around here. We moved, we travelled, we unpacked… In truth, though there are lights on the tree, there are still no ornaments (this is more due to our lack of finding hooks). Anyway, the real sign that the season is here is that the stockings are up.

Connie has her official stocking so she’s is officially a Sharabura now. We’re a bit light on the “Woof” stockings – it’s been a hard year for us in that department. We forge on though.

Happy Holidays!

PS – for parents or pet owners – those stocking holders came from Rona and are THE BEST! They are totally stuffed. We had a stocking holder hit Dougie in the head last year and were thrilled to bits to find something that would hold the stockings and not cause bruising if they were pulled down.

Connie would like to share with you her latest favourite food.

Perogies!

She loves their potato/cheesy goodness.

Clearly, Connie got more from her great-grandmother than her middle name.

It is almost impossible to believe that Dougie is already four. I can remember holding him in the hospital when he was just a little tiny thing. He’s still pretty tiny but he sure is a lot bigger!

This year, we kept Dougie’s birthday pretty low key. We’ve only met a few people here and didn’t want to plan a party like last year for just a handful of kids. So, we decided to just invite family and keep things calm.

The day started like most of our days do. I tried to get a picture of Dougie holding up 4 fingers but he wasn’t quite into it – so we settled for a sweet smile instead.

We spent the morning playing and hanging out. Dougie inspected the gifts that were out. This one in particular caught his attention. He was convinced it was a cake.

He hasn’t learned the skills involved in present guessing. I assure you, it wasn’t a cake.

Dougie selected his own clothes for the day. His fashion sense is really developing.

Then, he counted the minutes until Auntie Lou arrived.

A small aside here, we told Dougie that he couldn’t open presents until Auntie Lou got here. Somehow, that got her associated with Santa Claus. We’re going to have to work on clearing that up.

Anyway, once Auntie Lou got here we had some hors d’oeuvres and then had some cake. Shockingly, we opted for a Thomas theme.

Connie hung out with Auntie Lou while Dougie blew out the candles.

Even Connie got into the cake experience.

Then it was on to presents. Dougie is a lot more into opening gifts now that he’s a bit older.

Connie and Auntie Lou helped a bit too. Dougie was so excited with every gift. He wanted everything removed from the packaging immediately.

It was a great birthday! We’re so excited to see what the next year holds.

Tomorrow, Dougie is four years old. The future is so bright, he has to wear shades.