Naughty, naughty

Guess who's getting a big lump of coal for Christmas? Somebody forgot to tell this child that you are supposed to be extra good right before Christmas. Yesterday after church I went to put Blake and Ty down for their naps, and I came down to find Michael playing in the mud in the backyard---in his church clothes. Nothing like doing laundry and cleaning carpets on a Sunday afternoon. FYI: I did this last week too because Michael threw up all over the floor---twice. At least last week he didn't mean to make the mess.

Speaking of Christmas, I'm a bit worried that Michael is going to be disappointed with his Christmas presents this year. We finished shopping for him a couple of weeks ago, and now all he can talk about is Transformers. He hardly even knows what Transformers are, but he wants a "Transformer hard mask" and "Transformer dress ups" which, BTW is different than a costume. I've finally decided that I'm not going to go out and buy him all different presents, but I think I am going to pick up some Transformer party masks at the party goods store. Hopefully they don't fall apart the first time he puts them on. Grandma is planning to give him a Transformer for Christmas, but he won't be getting it under the tree first thing in the morning, so hopefully he is not too disappointed.

I am going to get Michael some art supplies for Christmas. He has creativity oozing from his pores. He must have inherited it from my mom, but apparently it skipped a generation. First thing this morning, Michael had me write another Christmas list for him. Then he said, "Mom, what are we going to make today?" We spent the next hour creating this dinosaur head thing we saw in a book. It wasn't quite big enough, but Michael got a kick out of it. He thinks I am the "best drawer ever." He's easy to impress!

I was so excited to get our tree up right after Thanksgiving. Our front room is so bare, and a tree really brightens the room. Reed told Michael that we have to turn off the lights when we leave the house because it could start a fire while we are away. Michael took this quite literally, and started freaking out every time we turned the lights on because he thought we were going to start a fire! He has finally calmed down about it. It honestly took a while before we could convince him that it is safe the have the lights on.

One of his new words lately is "freak'n." Can't imagine where he picked up a word like that!

Michael has developed a new fear of dogs. Any dog---even little harmless ones. He seriously is terrified of them. A couple of months ago we were out on a walk and my neighbor came outside holding her teeny tiny little dog and Michael literally jumped into my arms. He was on the verge of tears. Is he afraid the dog will bite him? That would be the logical guess, but it's not the reason he's frightened. He is afraid the dog will LICK him, and that would be "the grossest thing ever." I have to agree with him there. He was so excited to go to our family Christmas party last week, but when we got there he remembered that my grandparents have a dog (a very sweet, old, and sick Pug). He was hyperventilating and ended up spending the entire evening in the basement with Reed (who was enjoying the excuse to watch the game on ESPN). Today I took him to play with his little friend, and when we got to the door he suddenly remembered they had a dog, and almost started to cry. I don't know what to do for him, and this is getting old real fast. I hope one day he can learn to relax a little!

A few weeks ago Michael got his very own job chart with Ninja Turtles on the top. He has been so excited to do his jobs an pick a treasure from the treat bucket. I wish I had done this a long time ago. He is very motivated by rewards---not so much by screaming and yelling. He is turning into a great helper. My favorite job on his list is setting the table, because it keeps him busy while I make dinner. He is also very good at helping out with his baby brother. No one can get a laugh out of Blake the way he can. He is a smart boy and a great big brother.