Monday's list...

So. I have a good bit to say today. I'll break it down into a list for ease of reading, lol:

1. BIG BOY BED. Sigh. This was the biggest thing over the weekend. Micah moved into his own "big boy bed." Here's the story. Earlier last week, I found a great deal on a comforter (in "boy" colors). Micah had been giving the other two a hard time about how when he moved into the Blue Room (what we call the boys' bedroom) he was going to have pink sheets. Their horrified reaction only fueled him further in his insistence that he have a pink bed. ;) Noah and Asher continued to argue strongly for "boy" colors and had been constantly lobbying Micah to change his mind and pointing out "boy" bed displays everywhere.

So, even though we'd decided we could and would wait on the whole bed issue, I bought the comforter and Micah quickly assumed ownership and dubbed it his "big boy blanket". By Saturday, he was requesting/demanding that we get him a big boy bed (something we've talked casually about for months but hadn't really pushed). So. We bought a twin mattress and set him up in the boys' room (now truly all three boys'). And without blinking an eye, he slept through the night in his big boy bed and is happy as can be about the whole thing..shoo'ed us out of the room and everything. This is him pretending to be asleep right after we'd gotten things set up (it's just a mattress on the floor right now, as that's easier than bed rails and all that):

I, on the other hand, am sad. I don't remember being sad when the other two moved to their big boy beds. Not that I disliked sleeping with the other two when they were with us, but I just really loved snuggling with Micah. And now our room just seems so empty. Don't get me wrong, I know it was past time and that we'll appreciate the change, and I'm grateful for the ease of the whole thing. But, right this moment, I'm sad. My baby is growing up. This transition has actually been rougher on me than when I weaned him. Sigh.

Oh, and for the record, since it's a big *BOY* bed, apparently I'm not allowed in or on it. Because I'm a *girl*, Micah says. Stinker. :)

2. MORE SNOW PICTURES. It's supposed to snow more tonight/tomorrow and is overcast and cold again. But. Yesterday the high was in the 60s, the sun was shining and it was beautiful. So, of course, we spent some time outside putting up Christmas lights and decorations and enjoying the snow. Here's Asher, delighting still in his new gloves...just before discovering that if you put a snowball into the puddle in the middle of the street and *then* throw it at Daddy, well, it's just way messier. (Guess he was really wanting to test the water-proofness of his gloves...happy to report that his hands stayed warm and dry, lol.)

When not attacking Nathan, the younger two seemed to gang up on Noah. Micah even caught up to him a few times:

Yup, all around fun times. :)

3. MORE ORNAMENTS. Not all the way caught up on the ornament a day pics and whatnot, but here are days 4 and 5. On Day 4, we made the beaded snowflakes I mentioned earlier. The boys had fun making their own patterns. On Day 5, we rediscovered the joys of Shrinky Dinks! The boys were amazed at how cool their ornaments turned out and want to do more Shrinky Dink ornaments...which will probably happen. :) In case you're wondering, here's how we did them...

- Printed out Christmas dingbat art that each boy selected (just had them pick a dingbat that was already in their countdown books).
- Traced that onto the Ruff & Ready Shrinky Dink stuff with American Crafts Slick Writer. Older kids could do this themselves. For expediency, I did these.
- Had the boys color the "ruff" side with colored pencils.
- Cut around the design in an oval (way easier than cutting the actual design, lol) and punched a hole at the top.
- Baked them in the oven and added a ribbon. Voila!

Here are Noah's:

And Asher's:

And Micah's:

I must note here that I love how the shrinking makes even less than perfect coloring look awesome! ;) (And, really, Micah does a stupendous job with crayon and pencil control for his age. Yes, he really colored this all by himself.)

4. ORNAMENT DROP. Oh, and speaking of ornaments, check out this fun project! Methinks the boys and I will definitely be participating in this. :)

Whew. Okay, I probably have more to say but need to go get Micah ready for the day. The boys have their Christmas Program at Options tonight!