We dressed up for trick-or-treating at T1′s second preschool (yes, he’s attending two different ones!) and so I’m able to post our costumes on the day of Halloween.

I’m Ann Romney, Circa 1970 (her kids were born in the 70s so she would have been pregnant then). I’m looking forward to taking this awesome dress in to a tailor and have the neckline made into a boatneck and the length shortened to my knees. I think it’ll be really great! For now I barely squeezed into it, haha.

T1 is Mitt Zombie.

Shoutout to my favorite show, 30 Rock! You are free to take this as an endorsement of Mitt or some fun with his name/political reputation. It’s up to you.

Growing up we never, ever had store-bought costumes and I think I’d like to do the same for our kids. We’ll likely have to explain the costumes to everyone we see, but Mitt Zombie has been a hit so far!

This past weekend our ward had a Valentine’s Day Dance and it was… killer. This ward is one of my favorites ever and I’ll be so sad to leave. (If you come here for UofC, don’t live in the South Loop, live down in Hyde Park specifically so you can be a part of this completely-unique, completely-fabulous ward).

I mad this cake. It was a chocolate beet cake with beet cream cheese frosting. No one ate it. I’m not sure if this is because of the color (did they think it was out of a can and the color scared them?) or because they tasted it and hated it. Oh well, I liked it and I like challenging myself to try new things.

After dinner they brought out a laptop and some lights and we had a little dance. Yes, I was one of the first ones out on the dance floor. I’m not a good dancer by any definition but I love doing it and it was one of the first times I’ve danced since I left BYU (a place where dances are meat markets and you feel like everyone is watching you). Here I could bust out my mom-dance moves and it was okay because I am a mom now. Did you hear that Megan? I can dance with my arms up by my side all I want now because I’m a mom and that’s how moms do it.

That Husband did T1′s hair in a new way, and it was a big hit. We have got to master those cowlicks on either side of his head though.

I have some darling videos of T1 on the dance floor, but my computer is acting up and I can’t open the video editing program so pictures will have to do for now.

He started off shy.

But once he got going he was all sorts of crazy, chasing balloons, jumping, pounding his chest. I was the stereotypical proud mama who considered everything he was doing to be the cutest thing I’ve ever witnessed a child do.

When he went back to picking his nose and staring off into the distance again, I knew it was time to go home.

I have not one, but two Sweethearts this year. I am a lucky girl.

This year I tried to simplify a little bit (it was still a lot of work, Christmas cards are always a lot of work). I wrote up the letter below, printed it on printer paper, folded it into third, and tucked in a filmstrip of three photos, two of which you can see below.

Last year I wrote you our letter while surrounded by views of snowy Chicago. This year I am writing our Christmas letter from my childhood home in central Washington. No, we haven’t moved back for good (although I know my parents are always keeping their fingers crossed), we are currently enjoying a three week stay with my parents during TH’s holiday break from school. This is the last long holiday break we will probably ever have to spend as a family, and we are enjoying every moment.

Highlights of our year include a whole lot of traveling. In February T1 and I flew to Washington for my great-grandmother’s funeral, and 3 days after returning we boarded another plane for a wedding in Dallas. Another wedding in Dallas one month later, this time without the baby, which gave TH the chance to see what it’s like to spend 48 hours with a baby all on your own. He survived, but let me know he wasn’t interested in becoming a Stay-At-Home-Dad anytime soon.

We took a little travelling break until June, when T1 and I went to Washington for the summer, with TH following a few weeks later. Two months of the baby, and my mom still cried when we left. Our son has two sets of grandparents who love him more than anything. We visited TH’s parent’s in Poland during the month of September, and during that stay TH and I had an incredible time in Italy without the baby (thank you, thank you, thank you J and K). November’s highlight was a visit from my sister, and we finished off the year with one last flight to Washington. Although it’s nice to not have to pay to fly with him, we are happy that in the near future we will be forced to buy a seat for T1. He is a handful-and-a-half.

If it was a competition to see who accomplished the most this year, T1 would easily win. Over the course of the year he started walking, eats solid foods, can pick up small items by pinching them between his fingers, and though he’s a bit delayed, he has finally started talking. “Bye bye”, “Ball”, and “Shoe” are his current favorite verbalizations. Those who care for him consistently describe him as a sweetheart, and we wholeheartedly agree.

I met a few milestones this year as well. I ran my first 5K since high school (and actually enjoyed it), officially made a profit via my photography business, and put up advertising on my blog (www.thatwifeblog.com), which I think officially makes me a “blogger”. My biggest accomplishment will come August 2012, when I plan to graduate from BYU (finally), in the hopes of proving to myself it can be done after marriage, even with a baby in tow.

TH has stayed very busy studying and developing relationships while working toward his MBA at the University of Chicago (he graduates June 2012). Surviving finals with a demanding toddler who craves daddy-time 24/7 is one of the biggest milestones he conquered this year.

We’ve been blessed, and have much to look forward to in the coming year. We hope to be able to share 2012 with each one of you in one way or another. Much love, TH, Jenna, and T1.

I originally intended to get this post up before Christmas, but I also wanted family and friends receiving them in the mail to not think “Oh yeah, I already saw this on her blog.” , so I waited about a week to be safe. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

I’m not crafty. How many craft tutorials have you seen on That Wife. 1, maybe? This is why successively completing even the simplest crafts make me feel rather clever.

Here is my Christmas card wreath. You’ve probably seen a similar one by Martha Stewart on Pinterest, which is where I got the idea.

I found an ugly embroidery hoop (it had a weird pattern) at Michael’s for $2 and decided to add ribbon to it. I bought red and gold, and ended up needing to finish off the top with the gold because I ran out of red. Let’s pretend that was deliberate? As I wrapped the red I added a tiny big of hot glue to make sure it stayed in place, though I’m not sure that was necessary. When I finished wrapping I added hot glued the miniature clothespins onto the ribbon, tied a bow around the top, and felt quite satisfied about my Christmas craft for the year. I’d guess this cost me $7.

The cards I’m receiving aren’t all quaint and little like the those Martha Stewart was sent. You know what though? I like the big huge picture cards even better. Thanks to everyone who has sent us one so far!

Last year I mentioned that we wouldn’t be “doing santa” in our house. I was tweeting back and forth with some people yesterday and enjoyed the interaction so much I thought I’d turn it into a post. This topic, as  I’ve found, is very controversial.  First, because people say that Christmas isn’t magic without Santa, which we’ll get to in a moment.

The other reason seems to be that people don’t like when I say that we won’t implant a belief in Santa, because doing so means telling a lie to our child. This is not a popular thing to say out loud, but I can’t think of any other way to boil it down. It’s really important to me that my kids know when I tell them something, it’s what I really believe to be true. And there is no way to get around the fact that because I believe me telling my kid Santa is real is a lie, I thus think you are lying to your child when you tell them Santa lives at the North Pole and will physically come into your home and leave presents one night every year. We have two options, to agree to disagree or fight it out. We all get to parent our own children however we please, which I really value because one of my favorite parts about parenting is looking at an approach and deciding if I want to duplicate, alter, or throw it out altogether.

This doesn’t mean our children won’t even know who Santa is. The story of the real Saint Nicholas is so inspiring, and I would like our children to know about this man who put such an emphasis on giving to those in need. They’ll know that the popular figure we know as Santa today is make-believe fun, just like dressing up in our living room and pretending to be pirates is make-believe fun. There will certainly be a difficult questions to answer, and likely different ones with each child, but we’ll face them as they come, just like we will face all the difficult questions that come with parenthood. And we’ll let our kids know that Santa is a fun game that other kids play with their parents, and the best way to play is to keep it a secret and let the other kids have fun playing the game.

If you’re wondering, my parents did the Santa thing. I found out he wasn’t real when I was 5 years old. I was standing in the lunch line at the old Red Rock elementary school building, the last year it would ever be in use in our small town. I think my dad was behind me, and my best friend Breinne told me that Santa wasn’t real. I turned around and asked my dad if it was true. That’s all I can remember, I wasn’t traumatized, wasn’t devastated. It was a pretty normal way for a kid to find out, and I still woke up every morning afterward absolutely thrilled to open up the presents my mom bought for us.

There are so many other things I’d love to get into, including what kids learn about money and budgeting from being told they can possibly have anything they put down on a piece of paper, but I’ll save that for next year.

For now, let’s get back to the magic. The question here is, can Christmas be magical even without Santa?

I think it can. To prove my point, I shall list the things about Christmas (past and present) that I find magical:

Bringing out the Christmas music after Thanksgiving
Belting out “All I Want For Christmas Is You” at the top of my lungs while dancing around the house
Twinkling lights
Driving around to see how people have decorated their houses
The strip of interstate near our house filled with light displays that feature characters like Mr. Potatohead and run off power from the circles
Buying a fresh Christmas tree
Getting out the ornaments and laughing about the memories we have surrounding them
Scary tree elf
Drinking Martinelli’s sparkling apple cider
Grandma’s green goop
The way people around town speak up to say “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas”
Talking to other people about their Christmas plans
Service projects
Brainstorming a family to buy presents and be Secret Santa for
Reading the story of the Six to Eight Black Men
Gathering with my dad’s family on Christmas Eve, my immediate family on Christmas morning, and my mom’s family on Christmas day
The greedy gift exchange game that they parent’s played, laughing about someone ending up with the dud gifts
The year my aunt gave me a small gift wrapped in a box, inside another box, inside another box, inside another box, inside another box
The way my mom wraps presents, writing the name of the recipient in code on them and sometimes forgetting the code she used
The Christmas sock
Hot chocolate
The first snowfall
Sledding
Building snowmen
Snowmobiling up to the top of a mountain and looking down
Scarves and hats made by grandma
Caroling on a flatbed with the young men and young women at church
Watching other people open gifts I’ve so carefully chosen for them
The church Christmas program, with narrators and music numbers
The church Christmas party, with nativity performances and a paper bag for each child filled with peanuts, old-time style candy, and an orange (every year the same thing!)
Setting out the Polish nativities we’ve collected over the years
Wrapping up gifts
Drafting our Christmas letter
The new book my grandma Spence gave me each year
Christmas crafts, at home or at school
Finding out what ornament mom bought for us each year
Opening up a pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve
Receiving Christmas cards from other families in the mail
Boxes of apples from our neighbors
Suzy’s tray of cookies!
Grandma’s fluffy rolls
Watching the home movies that Grandma shot over the years, including the video of Colten opening a stuffed cat and being terrified of it
The talent shows we used to put on, believing that we were nothing but adorable (thanks for sitting through all of those off-key performances family members!)
Pumpkin roll
A new Marilyn Monroe calendar from my mom
The Christmas concert at our elementary school
Rudolph the Reindeer, Elf, The Santa Clause, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, It’s A Wonderful Life, and other favorite Christmas movies
Decorating gingerbread houses
Exchanging wishes and wafers a la the Polish tradition
Reading the story of Christ’s birth from the New Testament

Looking at this list, for me magic is about family, and happiness, and traditions and love. Someday I hope our kids will be able to make a similar list. I look forward to writing over the years to tell you how it’s going, but this year T1 is so young that it still isn’t an issue. A reader sent me this link that shows how one family has made it work with two young boys in the house (it looks like the older boy is about 4 and the other is 1) so you can read how another santa-free house is doing things.