Merry Christmas!

 

2011 Christmas card  |  2010 Christmas card

 

my heart is smiling...

Wowee, are we ever busy?!  I don't know why -- I mean, it's not like we're a week away from Christmas and still trying to get last minute gifts (why are men so hard to buy for??).

 

No, that's not me.  At all.

 

No, there's something else...what was that?  Hmmm...

 

Oh.  Right.

 

We're just trying to get ready for a 9-day trip to IL!  Almost all of Jeff's family lives there and we're all going to be together this year at the request of his Grandma Wenzel.  It's gonna be lots of fun but man, the planning and packing!

 

We're flying up on Christmas Eve and back on New Year's day and y'all, I can't even describe to you how excited I am to get on a plane with my toddler!  Kidding.

 

Totally kidding about that.

 

It probably is going to go much smoother than how I'm picturing it going in my head, especially since we don't have super-long flights or layovers, but I'd rather be prepared for the worst.  Everyone believes my son is an angel, and I would say 85% of the time, he is.  He totally is.  But that other 15%...ooo, lawd.  Thank goodness he's cute.  Sometimes that's the only thing that saves my 2 year old toddler.  :)

 

Aaaaaanyways, I said all.of.that. to say that I wanted to share a sweet little instance that happened at the grocery store last week, in the midst of all the busy-ness.

 

Deacon and I went to the grocery store with a pretty lengthy list of things to get.  Deacon usually does pretty well at the store (especially  if he gets a cookie before or after the trip -- God bless Harris Teeter for those free cookies).

 

I believe I've mentioned that my son is a chatter box.  Yes, I'm sure that's come up here once or twice.

 

And he likes to sing.  Have I mentioned that?  I'm sure I have.  We sing a lot, so he sings a lot.  :)  The song of choice currently is Jingle Bells (pronounced Jinga-Bowel, true story.).

 

Those may seem like random facts to mention right here in the middle of my story, but trust me, friends.  They are not.  They are relative to what is turning into a really long-winded story, wow.

 

Focus, Linds.

 

Okay, right.  So we're in the store and I'm heading down each aisle, chucking stuff in the buggy and crossing things off my list.  And Deacon, well, from the time I sat him in the buggy, he has not.stopped.talking.  Or singing, as the case may be.

 

Seriously.

 

I found myself on about aisle 5 or 6 going, "Buuuuuddy!  Aren't you tired of hearing yourself??"

 

Nope.

 

And the chatter and concert continues.

 

Now don't misunderstand -- I love this about my boy.  I really do.  It's just that once we enter the public realm...I tend to be a little more conscious of just how MUCH he chatters on.  Wow.

 

(I promise there's a point.  And I'm getting to it.)

 

So I finally get all my stuff and make my way up to the checkout line.  I put my list in my purse and look up to find a woman looking our way from another checkout line.  She says, "He is precious!  Oh, my heart is just smiling right now..."

 

Yeah?

 

Well, mine has just swelled to overflowing with love and pride, as it so often does when someone mentions the preciousness and joy of my sweet boy...

[Thanksgiving 2012, 2 years old]