Happy Birthday Nolan!

I cannot believe that my baby is 2! There have been moments during the past two years of his life that were not quite so happy...but today was a special day. I stayed up until 2am with my mother-in-law to complete this famous Elmo cake that I have made for two too many birthdays. Each time I go back and forth saying I am going to make it and then I am not going to make it. And each time at about 10pm I decide that I am going to make it. At 2am I told Hank that I am never going to make it again.

When Nolan woke up this morning and saw his "Em-o" cake he was so happy. He told everyone all day about it and Chase kept telling me that I had done a "beautiful job" on the cake. I guess that is what a birthday is all about...making someone feel loved and special if only for just a day. We love you Nolan!

"Santa is Coming!!!"

I'm sure there has never been two more excited boys to have Christmas come than Chase and Nolan. The night the Christmas tree was decorated, Chase turned to Jess and said, "O.K mommy, tomorrow Santa Claus comes." Unfortunately the tree was put up on November 30th.

The greatest thing about being a parent is seeing the excitement of a small child and the wonder of Christmas as you share stories, read books, and watch Christmas movies. However, maybe even better than that is a tactic I like to call "Don't make me call Santa!"

Whenever Chase or Nolan gets out of hand, we threaten to get on the phone and call Santa. The other night Chase refused to eat his dinner. After a quick call to Santa, (aka Hank Sr.-whose cleverly disguised voice was as funny as it was convincing ) made Chase sit straight up in his chair and completely finish his dinner after Santa threatened to take away all his presents.

So to all those parents out there consider this as our Christmas gift to you...Use the Santa Tactic whenever needed.

PS-You'll need to find your own Santa...Shortly after posting this, Hank Sr. was flooded with over 30 calls an hour wanting the voice of Santa to repremand their children.