The Christmas Spirit...I guess

On our way back from spending Christmas in Mesquite, we stopped in St. George. While driving around I explained to Afton that Mom and Dad used to live in St. George and that it was actually where she was born. This is about how the end of the conversation went:

Me: "This place is called St. George. It is wear you where born."

Afton: "Yeah. I was baby Jesus."

Me: "Um, well, not really. You were born in the hospital, like Mya when she was tiny. You were born here in St. George when Mom and Dad lived here."

Afton: "Yeah. I was baby Jesus."

Crawling Never Tasted So Good

Getting tired of sitting in the same spot. Ready to go find something new.

Headed towards the tree...now gotta make sure everyone is watching just how cute she's being.

Found it!

Mmmm!! Just a wee bit better than those mushy peas.

Merry Christmas to you indeed!

Tuesday Top 10 - Worst "Christmas" Songs

10. "Silent Night" by Jingle Cats

I strongly urge you to not attempt to listen to 3 Jingle Cats songs in their entirety...I will not be held responsible for how you treat that stray cat next time it comes to your house if you do.


9. Anything by the Chipmunks

Sorry, folks, but having someone sing a song at regular speed, then amping up the tempo and passing it off as having been sung by small rodents just isn't on my list of Christmas season must-haves.

8. "Hard Candy Christmas" by Dolly Parton

If a song by the Chipmunks isn't going to work, neither is anything sung by a sheep. Oh, wait...what? This was Dolly and not a sheep? I'm leaving it on the list anyway. You can't ignore the opening line lyric of "Hey, maybe I'll dye my hair". By the way, what is a Hard Candy Christmas anyway? I can't ever listen long enough to find out".


7. "The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot" by Nat King Cole

"I feel so sorry for that laddy, he hasn't got a daddy, the little boy that Santa Claus forgot." Not even the soothing crooning of Nat King Cole can make up for those abominable lyrics. Nothing shouts "Merry Christmas!" like a warm mug of depression.

6. "Little Drummer Boy" by Jessica and Ashlee Simpson

I used to have a roommate that played the drums. He played them a lot. And he'd play them in the wee hours of the morning. And if my choice is to spend Christmas Eve listening to Ashlee Simpson belt out "pa rum pum pum pum" or those old drums from college, I say grab me some eggnog and let Dan set his drums up by the tree. This is one of those moments where things are so bad it starts to venture into comedy gold. And if there is anything Britney, Jessica, or Ashlee have taught us, it is that when you can't lip sync, put one hand on your stomach while you sing. I haven't figured out what it does exactly, but Jessica apparently gets it.


5. "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey

All I can say is Mariah and her voice have seen better days. And that hitting big notes doesn't a seasonal requirement make.


4. "Merry Christmas, Darling" by Karen Carpenter

...
...
Oh, sorry. I feel asleep. I can't ever seem [yawn] to ...make it...through...

3. "8 Days of Christmas" by Destiny's Child

The 8th day was of course some chloe shades and a diamond belly ring, the 6th day brought a cropped jacket and dirty denim jeans, the 4th day was a candlelit dinner, and of course the triumphant 3rd day their baby gave to them...(wait for it)..."a gift certificate to get my favorite CDs". Wowzers. You think Kanye would be standing up for Beyonce if he knew about this holiday hit?

2. "Christmas Shoes" by Newsong

So let's walk through the premise of this song: This kid's mom is dying of a massive sinus infection (inferred from the huge bottle of nasal spray by her bed), so his dad sends him off to beg for some shoes so she can look good when she meets Jesus? Cute. And pretty much a smarmy manipulation of the Christmas spirit to sell some CDs. The best part is Mr. Newsong singing in his breathless whisper to add the drama, and the other four Newsongs just standing in the video, no doubt wondering, "Why is he singing like that?"


1. "Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time" by Paul McCartney

Where do you even start? I counted at least 15 musicians in the video, including Sir Paul strumming along on his guitar, yet all you hear is the synthesised madness and Linda McCartney's masterful work on the jingle bells. I personally don't understand the need to repeat the title phrase 357 times...I can clearly tell from the video that Paul is having such a great time. And yet I'm not sure which I hear more: that phrase repeated in one playing of this song, or the song itself replayed ad nauseum by radio dj's each December.

Here, There, and Everywhere

Little Mya-pya has sure gotten the hang of this crawling thing. I was quite surprised when I stayed at home with the girls on Saturday at how quickly she was moving from room to room in the house. After being quite content to just sit around and go nowhere, as soon as she realized moving around was a legitimate option she really picked it up quickly and now rarely stays put for more than a few minutes.

Decorating

Afton "helped" us decorate for Christmas last year, but of course this year has been more entertaining with her being one year older. She was pretty stoked when we got out her Christmas tree. The decorations for the tree consist of "teddy bears, presents, litte white bows, big red bows, and CANDY CANS!" She loved putting up the candy "cans", even if they did all end up in one particular spot before Stefanie moved them around after Afton went to sleep.

Afton's New Punishment

We've been trying to figure out a way to discipline Afton to try to prevent the full-on metamorphosis into an emotional diva. We've considered timeouts, positive reinforcement for good behavior, forcing her to wear a University of Utah shirt when she acts up, and a few other ideas shared by friends, family, or baby rearing texts. But a visit to Alison's house gave us our answer...

Holding her cousin, Brooke

Afton was excited about the chance to hold Baby Brooke...and doesn't it look like she was having so much fun? But she didn't want to let her go, even though her answers to any questions made it sound like she was having trouble breathing. We'd ask if she was done holding the baby and Afton would offer a muffled and breathless, "Not yet."

She'll be sure to finish her veggies next time.

Tongue in cheek

One of Mya's many new, cute habits...