Deckin' the Halls and Whatnot

RoboBlogger Stacey asked where we've been the last week or so. I've been getting ready for Santa's visit! This month has flown by. I've been busy at home and work, but a good kind of busy. Since the boys (Chip, Connor and Andy) are giving me the gift of sleeping in, I've got time for a quick visit to blogland before going back to neglecting my duties at chockley.com.
We've done a lot of things that don't photograph well since day eleven, but having "the box" (still no good name!) has definitely been a lot of fun. Connor looks forward to finding out what we're doing each day, and seems happy with it no matter what it is. We've driven to Nashville, wrapped presents, made cards, colored in Christmas coloring books, driven around checking out light displays, and eaten dinner at the dining room table, complete with cloth napkins and lit candles. Connor tried, but did not succeed, at burning down the dining room. (And that's how I spent my 7th wedding anniversary!)
Tuesday was the Christmas program at Connor's school. He had been practicing "I Saw Three Ships," "Happy Holidays" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" for weeks. I'm happy to report he has his mother's aptitude for remembering song lyrics, so he was ready when the big day came. Connor knew Grammy and Tiffany were going to join us, but when he hit the stage and frantically scanned the crowd for familiar faces he was surprised to find Bwana had come all the way from Nashville to see the show! His reaction was wonderful- pointing, screaming, aw-shucks-ing, and repeatedly tapping the head of the kid next to him and declaring, "There's my Bwana!" After the program Connor was bouncing off the walls, introducing his entourage to all his friends and generally doing a lot of yelling. He calmed down a bit when we got to Huey's (Day 19- eat at a restaurant), even though his best bud Max and his family were there. Thankfully we couldn't sit right next to them, but we did sit next to one of the teachers from Connor's school. That definitely had a positive effect on his behavior! Connor ate a whole chicken strip, plenty of fries, and ALL of his ice cream, and managed not to put anyone's eye out blowing toothpicks at the "ceiling." (The wall by my head would be a more accurate description his target.)
Tonight we are reading Christmas stories together (His belly is like a full bowl of jelly!) and tomorrow we are going to church with Grammy, and after that we will go back to our normal, non-box-dictated family activities such as begging Connor to eat something besides Tyson southern-style chicken nuggets or repeatedly picking up whatever Chloe is currently dropping (cause-and-effect is soooo overrated).