Overheard

Gabriel: I'm cold. I want hot chocolate.

Lana: What hot chocolate?

Gabriel: It's a drink. A warm drink. For drinking in the winter, when it's cold outside and you want something to warm you up inside. I need something to warm up my inside, cause it was so cold at my soccer game. But, it's not winter yet.

Lana: What winter?

Gabriel: When it snows and gets real cold. Oooh, and, in the winter, we go to talk to this...person. His name is Santa, and if you are good, you can tell this person, Santa, what kind of toys you want, and he brings some of them to the house, on Christmas, if you've been good. It's awesome. We have to be good, though.

(Gabriel runs to coffee table to grab a picture of himself on Santa's lap and shows it to Lana.)

Gabriel: Here, this is Santa. This is me and Santa. In Christmastown.*

Lana: Why I not in this picture?

Gabriel: You weren't here yet. But, THIS year, we'll get a picture of ME and YOU talking to Santa.

Lana: Yeah! A picture of ME and YOU and Daddy and Mommy! Talkin' to Santa. Awesome!

Gretchen

*Gabriel believes that Frankenmuth, Michigan is actually called Christmastowne. This is because we have always spent Thanksgiving there, and on the Friday after Thanksgiving we take him to see Santa, who is just sitting in the town square. For this reason, Gabe started calling Frankenmuth "Christmastown" when he was about 3 years old.