Santa?

WARNING: if you are under 10 years old PLEASE do not read this post. It is really boring. I promise.
I'm taking a cue from my friend Kara B and throwing up a post that I hope will promote some discussion (maybe controversial?). I really would like to hear your opinions on this matter.
With Christmas coming up we have had many adults ask Cadie what Santa is bringing her and if she has been a good girl this year. Although she has no idea what they are talking about (she is 13 months old!) this is starting to worry me. Why so much Santa? Wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to deal with Santa at all?
I've started to think seriously about a Santa-free Christmas. But how to do this?
I have no problem explaining to Cadie that Santa represents the spirit of giving, the biggest roadblock that I see is how to keep her from explaining that to others kids.
So there you go - has anyone done this? Any suggestions? Am I totally crazy? Is it impossible?

My Little Monkey
Cadie picked up the sign for "monkey" this week. It is hilarious! For her birthday she got a stuffed monkey that she likes to wrestle with because it makes funny sounds. She kept calling it a dog (doing the dog sign) and we would correct her with the sign for monkey. Sunday she busted out the monkey sign and won't stop. Anything that she doesn't know the sign for is now a monkey. This morning I entered her room and she was running back and forth in her crib signing "monkey" and making monkey sounds. Eric and I both started laughing.
We started signing to Cadie at about 8 months and she picked up a few basic signs but wasn't totally into it. This past month though it seems she has really taken off. It is great to be able to communicate with her!
My favorite example of how great baby sign language can be is this story: We had been showing Cadie the sign for "bed" for a couple weeks every time we put her in her crib. One day I was sitting on the couch watching her play and she stopped, crawled into my lap and did the sign for "milk" and then the sign for "bed." I knew exactly what she wanted - no tantrums or waiting for fussy/cranky mode to kick in. It was time for a nap!
Here is the monkey sign (and the monkey wrestle) caught on video:

Turkey Day in Chicago
Thanks to the Brooks for a fun weekend in the windy city! Loved the food, loved the city, loved the lights at the zoo, and loved being with good friends. Cadie loved following McKinley everywhere.

Happy Birthday Cadence Abigail!

Cadie had her first birthday on Sunday! We were all sick so we canceled the party but still let her dig into that cake. It was neat to have family join us via webcam. She wasn't so sure about eating the cake but enjoyed throwing it on the floor. Molly enjoyed that part as well.
The bath afterwards was almost as fun.

New Addition to the Toman Household

We have great neighbors. Within the first hour of moving in we had a plate of brownies and within the next couple of weeks many of our neighbors stopped in to say hi and introduce themselves with more cookies and treats. Our next door neighbors decided that with three kids and three fish tanks their home was a little too crowded so last week we adopted a 10 gallon tank with guppies and platies. We now have a fish room and Cadie loves watching them. She learned a sign for fish and wakes up in the morning doing the sign.

Knitting Again
A Hanna Andersson catalog that came a few weeks ago had the most adorable sweater dress on the cover. It reminded me of the hand-knit Norwegian sweaters that my grandmother made. I was inspired to dust off my needles and start some new projects. The first: Cadie's leggies.
This is my first attempt at creating a pattern and I'm "publishing" it here so I can link to it from ravelry.
Cadie's Leggies, size 12 months.
Materials.
Set of size 5 double sided needles.
Sport-weight yarn, I used a "baby soft" cotton/polyester blend.
Stitch Glossary.
k=knit
p=purl
Pattern.
Cast on 60 stitches, divide among 3 needles.
Row 1: Join round, *k2, p3, repeat from * to end.
Row 2: *k2, p1, k1, p1, repeat from * to end.
Rows 3-20: Repeat rows 1 and 2.
Rows 21-60: k60
Rows 61-80: repeat rows 1 and 2.
Bind off and weave in ends.
Changes I'll try next time
These turned out a little short and stubby for my 11-month old's long skinnies. Next time I'll decrease the total stitches from 60 to 50 and add about 20 rows to the middle section.

Shoe Obsession
She likes heels and furry ones the best.

Yummy for my Tummy Halloween Style

Dinner in a pumpkin

1 smallish pumpkin
2 lbs. sausage or ground meat
1 onion
3 cups cooked wild rice
8 oz baby bella mushrooms
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz sliced water chestnuts
Good glug of worcestershire sauce

Cut off a lid on the pumpkin and clean out. Slice onions and saute until tender, add meat and worcestershire and brown. Combine meat mixture with remaining ingredients and spoon into hollowed pumpkin. Put lid on, place pumpkin on a baking sheet and cook at 350 for 1 hour or until the inside meat of the pumpkin is tender.
Enjoy eating the pumpkin meat as well.