'tis the season

to be jolly! Fa la la la la la la la la.... After being sick for 2 weeks Dennis is back to his normal-jolly-self. Don't get me wrong... he has his moments of being a toddler... (yes, his opinion is STRONG) but it sure is nice to see his dashing smile often! Today as we were going shopping at Target, Dennis was talking up a storm... people would come up and say, "boy, he has a lot to say!" So nice to hear... sometimes we worry that he isn't trying to talk enough. I suppose it will happen and then he won't stop. :)

Dennis LOVES oranges. Whenever he sees one, he points at it and says, "uh, uh, uh" (I want one!) He will eat the whole thing! Peel and seeds included. I am trying to get him to realize that the inside is the only thing worth eating... but he hasn't caught on yet. Tangelos, tangerines, clementines, and navel oranges.... he loves them all! He will eat them like an apple right on through the peel!

He also LOVES goldfish... I think he eats them a lot at daycare because when I picked some up at the grocery store, he was begging for the bag as soon as he saw it in my hand. I gave it to him and by the time we were at the check out the bag was soggy... thank goodness for the plastic lining. The bag was opened before we got to the car.

Poor kid was playing with one of the christmas ornaments that had a wire connecting two bells. Well, next thing I knew he was bleeding. No, this next picture isn't lipstick--Yes, it is blood. I think it scared me more than him... actually I don't think he even noticed! No more wires...

Our first day back from Thanksgiving in Utah we got a christmas tree. We decorated it after Dennis went to sleep that night and in the morning he had a big suprise.

At first, he was a little intimidated... and tired... and sick (he came home in the middle of the day from daycare with a fever that day) but it didn't take long before the bottom of the tree became bare and the bottom of our laundry shoot all decorated! We put the kid friendly ornaments on the bottom just for that purpose.

I LOVE our tree this year. Tall, and skinny... the perfect Balsam Fir from northern Michigan!

While we were in Utah, Nonnie (Maree or Dennis's Grandma) gave Dennis some Christmas books to start off his season. One of the books looked familiar and after talking with my mom, I remember that it was a book from my childhood too. Dennis LOVES it! I'm not sure if he is actually smelling the pictures or if he is blowing on them, but he thinks it is pretty fun. Thanks Nonnie!