You Better Watch Out, You Better Not Cry...

Thanks to a husband who loves to plan ahead, budget, and avoid wasting time trying to find parking spaces that don't exist in crowds that don't spread Christmas cheer...we tried to get a jump start on Christmas, getting all those tedious things done a little bit earlier so we could just enjoy the season with our family.

As a result, Max got a healthy dose of Christmas anticipation. In addition to learning 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town', one line of 'Jingle Bells', and 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas', this is how he and Luke got ready for Christmas:Making sure the white stuff was in perfect place...
Max carves out a path for Santa and his reindeer

Only one trip to the mall this year, Max throws his pennies in the fountain and makes a wish

The boys were not interested in seeing Santa (bad experience last year), but were all-a-go for Build-a-Bear browsing.

Luke loved people watching at the mall. He was so content and happy to sit facing the crowd and just take all the Christmas chaos in.

Funny side note: Mom's Christmas fantasy included Max watching and loving the Christmas classics from her childhood...Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, Santa Claus is coming to Town, etc. He gave 2 thumbs up for Frosty and 1 thumb up for Polar Express.

He gave a roaring round of applause for the stupidest Christmas cartoon ever made...Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer.

9 months and some

LUKE is just over 9.5 months old now.23 lbs (82%), 27.75 in (25%)

Just before he turned 9 months old his top two teeth sprouted. He just had two more bust through for a total of 6 and I think two more are on their way. He bites everything, including us. He's picked up speed in the last month and can get to everything very quickly, especially the Christmas tree which is now bare on the bottom half. He has an obsession with trying to climb the stairs and can get up the first three steps so far. He is pulling himself up on everything and has started to take steps around the couch.

A few of his favorite things include:

Undoing all Mom's folded laundry. Time with Dad is still a huge favorite

He likes his Mom too, particularly when he's hungry and sleepy. His best buddy is of course Max. He has started to annoy Max as he can now get to all Max's toys. We call Max the "Luke Police" because he is constantly monitoring his every move and making sure we know about it. Max is especially perturbed by Luke's fussing when he is trying to hear his shows. But they are buddies for sure. They love to give each other kisses and laugh together. Loves to clap...

...and Dance (favorite song is "I'm the Map" from Dora)

Luke had a rough go the last 1 1/2 months. He had a cold, double ear infection, swine flu, and a secondary respiratory infection. On top all that, the four new teeth decided to come. Through it all he has been such a trooper. We even left him for the first time overnight and he did pretty well. We love this chunky little boy so much. He is growing up really fast and learning new things every day.

Sleepovers & Snowmen

Every year, we put in for the MoTab Christmas Concert lottery. This year Natalie Cole was the guest performer, so we were really hoping to win and we did! 4 Tickets. So we swapped babysitting with Jolea so they could go on Friday and we could go on Saturday. We only ended up keeping Sarah, but it turned into a sleepover and a fun filled Saturday. It was the first time that Max had a friend sleepover and it sure was nice to have her around her for a day. She kept him very entertained and taught him all kinds of new fun games to play! I loved it. Jolea & Ryan (& Sarah) all dressed up and looking good!Dad takes snowman building very seriously.Max's favorite was sticking in the sticks!The finished product! A successful first snowman (until it rained!)

Later that night...our turn! Natalie Cole was awesome and we had a lot of fun with Jeff & Elizabeth!

THANKFUL

a LITTLE thanksgiving post...

I'm thankful that my mother-in-law thought to fill these little turkeys with pillow mints...

Pillow mints were the main course of Max's Thanksgiving feast.

I'm grateful for rice cereal. This is the Thanksgiving rice cereal coma. I'm grateful for Paul's seating arrangement.
My place was right behind this big ol' platter of turkey...first dibbs!I'm grateful that Emily could come...she helped our team steal the win with the word 'Velveeta'I'm grateful for Paul and JoAnn who put in all the work to make holidays together so special...and delicious!I'm grateful for a house full of cousins who love to hold and play with my boys...which allows me to spend some down time with this guy (the older one...).And I'm grateful, so very grateful for the other two loves of my life...

What a great LOVELESS thanksgiving it was.

Tears for the 'Teeple'

A week ago today was our anniversary and just before we went to bed we decided to watch our wedding video with Max. We thought he would enjoy seeing his Mommy and Daddy on the TV and since he recognizes the Temple, we thought he would enjoy even more seeing us together at the Temple.
That's what we get for assuming... he cried. For some reason it made him sad. He wouldn't tell us why he was sad, but I've never seen those big blue eyes so full of tears.

Riddle me this...everyday for the past week he asks to watch the 'Teeple' show at least once a day, usually more. And everytime he watches it, he gets teary eyed. One of the most joyous occasions of our lives brings our little boy to tears.

Why he wants to watch it over and over I'm not sure. Perhaps it's because he thinks he is the little boy in the photo-montage at the beginning (all pics of Ryan when he was little) of the video. Or maybe he likes seeing our reflection stay in the reflection pool as we walk away? Or maybe our little guy is actually likes making himself sad?
It's a sad sad mystery...

So Happy Together

We celebrated 5 years together yesterday... To the love of my life...may the next 5 be as great as the first. I love you.

We Got Away

In our 5 years of marriage Ryan and I haven't had a "get-away" of our own...we have never left our kids overnight with anyone. So to celebrate the best 5 years of our lives (and fulfill much needed time alone) we decided to go to San Francisco a few weeks ago. It wasn't relaxing, but it was really fun. In fact, we wore ourselves out. Now I know what everyone means when they say that it is really good to get away, just the two of you, every once in a while. I was reminded of how good of friends Ryan and I are, how much we love doing things together & how much we trust each other.

Highlights from the trip were definately our tour of Alcatraz (Ryan's fav) and biking the Golden Gate Bridge (my fav). We did a lot of walking as we shopped, shopped, shopped. The best part was just being with him. He still makes me laugh...everyday.