Hanukkah, Haircuts, and Model Trains

The title of this post pretty much sums up our week. It started with Hanukkah, both in the crafts the boys did at K-K's (yes, Aaron does the projects now too), and in family visits and presents. On Friday we went out to Western Mass to visit Grampy Michael. Mudgie was very excited to go, and was really looking forward to going to a restaurant for lunch. On the way out there, he told me that I was his "greatest Mommy ever," which melted my heart (until I realized it probably had something to do with the 3 munchkins I had just got him from Dunkin Donuts)! He was SO excited about the presents at Grampy Michael's, and I got a little preview into what Christmas morning is going to be like. Aaron was really into the bows on the gifts, but not so much the unwrapping. He did, however, love the baby doll Grampy got him! That evening my Aunt and Uncle came over for dinner, and the boys got even more gifts. I think it's a good thing that they are getting stuff before Christmas because I have a feeling they will get SO much on Christmas that they won't even be able to process it all.

On Saturday, the boys and I ran errands all morning. First they came to the grocery store with me, something I usually do by myself on Friday nights after the kids go to bed, but since we were busy with guests, it became a family outing. They were both SO well behaved, and were very nice to an old lady who was oogling over them both. Next up was haircuts. Mudgie is a haircut pro these days, and happily sits in the little plane to let Mindy cut his hair. Aaron, however, was a colossal screamfest, and I was afraid we'd scare off the small children in the waiting area. Luckily, when it was finally all over and he got his first lollipop, his mood improved considerably. At least until I had to take it away when we got in the car (silly choking hazard).

That night we went to a friend's Christmas party. Mudgie spent much of the evening off playing with the other kids or playing by himself. It was really nice to not have to worry about entertaining him. Aaron also did very well, especially since he's still not really comfortable in large crowds of strangers.

On Sunday, after Daddy let me sleep in until almost 10am (which was amazing), the boys and I went to a model train show. It was just a giant room with a huge model train track set up in the middle. There were lots of different areas (a city, a ball field, a train station, a quarry, etc.), and the different trains just went around and around. It was packed, but both the boys were mesmerized by it. We were there for an hour and a half, and I had to drag Mudgie away so they could eat lunch and take a nap. I really think he could have stayed there all day!

Aaron is really starting to figure out the word thing. This week I heard him add words like "juice" and "baby" to his vocabulary. And to hit that point home, as we were headed out to the train show this morning, I asked the boys, "Who wants to go in the car first?"

Mudgie: "Me!"

Aaron: "Me!"

Mudgie: "Mommy, Aaron can talk! Good job Aaron."