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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

The Small Moments

"Treasure the small moments, for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big moments."

The holiday season is kicking off in full force here in the Dawson household. I'm really trying not to let the little things stress me out.

I'm painfully aware that Zach and Allie, who are 4 now, are in prime "Christmas is so much fun" mode. Painful because I know in just a few short years that -- although Christmas will always be a wonderful celebration -- it is never so magical as it is through a preschooler's eyes. And really, it's not just about Christmas, it's just the growing up as I watch my two youngest round the corner, leaving toddler-hood behind.

I love watching Zach and Allie see Santa Claus with those wide eyes and shy smiles. And the sugar cookies we make with globs of frosting -- half of which lands on the cookie and the other half in their mouths -- and those snowmen made of cotton balls, the everyday ritual of examining the gifts under the tree, the excitement over reading Christmas books. Every once in a while you get a horrible wake-up call that reminds you that these are the moments that matter most.

***

Backtracking a bit, we had a great Thanksgiving with Brett's parents and his cousin Cory, his wife Amy and their two daughters, Hanna and Hailey, who, thank goodness, live here in Arizona.

We had a rainy Thanksgiving morning -- unus
ual for here -- but the fellas kept up the family tradition of going out to a nearby field for a little football. They came back muddy, bruised and sore. We gals stayed back, babysat the turkey and sipped on some tasty merlot.

We helped celebrate Grandpa's birthday while he was here. Brett, Blak
e and Nick helped him blow out the candles on his birthday cookie. I LOVE this picture.


Getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner:


A very Dawson Thanksgiving. Still loving my red dining room walls. I thought I'd get sick of them, but I still like the boldness. Zach's ready for some Guitar Hero.

You know when Grandpa's in town, there will be all kinds of spoiling of the grandchildren.

Here's Allie with her Rudolph and Zach with his "Born to be Wild" motorcycle Santa. Thanks, Grandpa! Really ... we needed to hide that Santa after a few too many times of "Born to be Wild." I love the profile of Allie's cute little smile in this picture. And Zachy so into his Santa. So cute. How many
more years will they let me put them in cute holiday PJs?

My Allie ... looking so ... so ... not a baby anymore.


My sweet Zach -- the only one of the four kids who helped us decorate the tree from start to finish. The others wandered in and out, hung up some lights here, a few ornaments there. But Zach was a trooper, enthusiastically hanging the ornaments as fast as he could. Zach had the lowest 2-foot section of the tree covered ... literally.


"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other."
~Burton Hillis

1 comment:

chellekay said...

what wonderful pictures! I can't wait for Gwenith and Gilbert to get to that age. They are just now learning about Santa.