Books of the Week – December 5, 2009

Christmas books this week – of course! :)  These are two favorites from last year that I put on hold for us two weeks ago so we could enjoy them again this year.  M was very happy to see these beloved books again!
Little Owl and the Star, by Mary Murphy
I think this book is perfect for very young toddlers, even babies.  The text is very simple and it evokes the feeling of expectation and joy well.  Little Owl has a “waiting feeling”, then comes a star and Little Owl follows it.  He finds baby Jesus and is filled with happiness when the baby smiles at him.  Then the star shines so bright it fills the world with light.  M still loves this book, even though it’s a bit simpler than the stories he is used to now.  I really recommend this one, it’s super-cute and sweet!

The Little Drummer Boy, by Katherine K. Davis
I have to admit, I’ve always loved this song.  And after reading  (er, singing) this book last Christmas, we have pretty much been singing it all year.  M loves the song as much as I do and while I normally am not a fan of books that are really just songs with illustrations, I LOVE this one.  I literally get chills in the last few pages.  
For more reviews, go to Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns!
Have a beautiful day! :)

Our First Week of Advent

I’ve been seeing so many great posts about Christmas crafts and Advent wreaths… so many good things out there!  M is still not really into crafting, but I did sneak a couple of things in, so thought I’d share with you how our Advent is going!
First off, here’s our Advent wreath, made totally from Dollar Tree finds (at one time in my life I would never have admitted this, now I’m proud of it.  Go figure!): It’s very simple… but we snazz it up a bit when Christmas arrives.  There are pretty iridescent red berries in the middle surrounding the white candle (which won’t be lit until Christmas Eve), which is sitting on a round mirror – it’s hard to see in the picture.  Also, each taper is in a star shaped holder which is also really hard to see.  Hm.  Just take my word for it, in real life it’s prettier than in this picture. ;)
Here’s our Jesse Tree so far: Yep, not a single ornament is actually on the tree.  I’m not sure why M has them in the “air” but I’m sure he has a good reason in that 3 year old brain of his.  Next year we might use a piece of felt shaped like a Christmas tree – ornaments on a Christmas tree is easier to understand, maybe??
Here’s the little box we use to hold his nightly treasures, as well as the little manger with it’s daily pieces of “hay”: He calls it “The Jesus box”, hee hee.  And checks it multiple times per day hoping some candy has magically appeared in it.  (He gets a chocolate kiss in it each evening.)
Also, the little tree we have on the fridge that he puts a sticker on each evening (sticker also “appears” in the Jesus box :) ): Obviously it is not big enough for 22 more stickers.  Someone judged wrong when she cut it out.  So, it should be interesting-looking by the time Advent is over.
Now, for the crafts…
Wrapping paper with glitter mixed into the paint: See the glitter?  I wish my camera could capture it better:
And, he’s been begging to do sand art, which I swore would never, ever again be done inside after our first time.  Well, he talked me into it and made these: He really had a lot of fun with both of these little projects, and well, it’s something Christmassy, just not the cute crafts I was hoping for. However, I am glad that we will have these to look back on as the things he wanted to do this year.
Have a beautiful day! :)