Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Late last night we heard a thump on our front porch. Jazzy started barking {she's a great guard dog}. Gavin woke up crying {just for a minute}, and our neighbor {a recently retired NYC cop} leaped onto the porch just as a mystery car sped off. He was very concerned about a suspicious package left by the door. Buby's Daddy assured him it was fine, but we didn't really know. Turns out St. Nicholas left us a surprise on the eve of his feast. How very exciting! Yes, we peeked inside. But when we saw a wrapped gift addressed to Buby, we put it back together. This was Buby's to open. As soon as he woke up this morning, I threw the bag back out on the porch and grabbed a sweater and hat for him. We walked downstairs, and I said "Did you hear that??" He said "HEAR WHAT?" I said "That noise outside." We opened the door. "OH WOW!" he shouted. He pulled the bow-tied pillowcase in and began to inspect. His first words... "ORANGES, MAMA, ORANGES!!" There were 3 clementines. Then he saw Santa cookies and pistachios, a bar of Toblerone {which totally gives away the friend who pulled off this surprise!}, a tree branch {now sitting pretty on our mantel}, and a wrapped something. Buby handed it to me and said, "MAMA, READ ME THE BOOK!" He hadn't even opened it yet. I said, "How do you know it's a book?" Unwrapping revealed not just 1, but 2 books. Buby screamed "WOW, LOTS O BOOKS, MAMA, LOTS O BOOKS!!!" It was "Tootle" and "The Little Red Caboose," two Little Golden Books we did not have. And read immediately. So THANK YOU St. Nicholas!

Buby's first December 6th surprise! I see a tradition brewing. I've heard of kids putting carrots in their shoes before bed on the 5th and placing them on the hearth or outside their bedroom doors. The next morning the shoe is magically filled with treats from St. Nick.

Buby tries desperately to get at the loot. Alas, he realizes by pulling both ends of the bow it unravels quite nicely. Then he drags it into the playroom and dumps it onto the floor.