Chinese Lantern Festival

The Sunday night before Christmas we went out to Fair Park to see the Chinese Lantern Festival with J's parents and brother and our niece.  Ironically, my sister-in-law who lives in L.A. was the one who saw a promo for it during a Cowboy's game, and since she and Justin's brother and their daughter were coming into town for Christmas, she suggested that we all go.  I don't know that I ever would have known that this even existed, and even if I did, I probably wouldn't have purchased tickets on my own, but I so glad we had a reason to!  We were able to get a Groupon for half-off which sweetened the deal, and we really had a good time. :)

 P was mesmerized by the lights!  In this picture, he's looking at the tunnel of lights in the picture directly above.

As luck would have it, my SIL ended up getting sick 3 days after she got into town, so she didn't even get to come with us! :(  We did our very best to have an extra good time for her.  I should point out that the number of people who had out their phones taking pictures (yours truly included) was absolutely ludicrous.  I tried to find a good balance of living in the moment and enjoying what I was seeing while trying to snap a few pics here and there...it was amazing that people weren't falling all over each other since it's hard to pay attention when you're viewing life through your phone screen. :)  I should have taken a picture of all the people taking pictures...oh well.  I guess I was too busy living in the moment.

A Trip to Santa's Village

Right before Christmas the whole family (and I mean the WHOLE clan!) went to Santa's Village to watch my cousin, Blake, perform with his high school's western dance group.  They were really awesome - great performers and really fun to watch, and I've decided that there is seemingly nothing that my cousin can't do. :)  P didn't want to sit still in a chair, so he ended up grooving on the sidelines with my aunt while watching the routine.

 Blake's in the center. :)  I really am so proud to be related to him.

 

 P LOVED the fountain at the center of Santa's Village.

 Here he is petitioning his dad to let him go for a swim. :)

 On our way out we saw a fire truck...this is a big deal.

Afterwards we all went to dinner over at my aunt and uncle's house.  It was really fun to get together with everyone in the middle of the week during such a busy time of year and support my cousin.  :)

Pictures with Santa 2012

Addiction. noun. The fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity.  

I am addicted.  It's true.  I have the condition of being addicted to a particular thing/ activity: ONLY taking Santa pictures with the REAL Santa at Northpark Mall.  I can't help myself.  I had my picture taken with this particular Santa from the time I was about 8 years old, and since P's first Santa picture was with him, I now feel an extreme loyalty (a euphemism for addiction) towards this particular Santa, and like most addicts, will go to extreme lengths (including getting to the mall before the shops even open to get a number to then be told to come back 5 hours later) and pay silly amounts of money ($15 for a 5x7?) to get my fix.  But it is SO worth it! :)

This year I got to the mall around 9:50 AM, and here's what I was met with:

Young college guy working the Santa stand:  Good morning.

Me: Hi!  I need to get a number to see Santa.

YCGWTSS hands me a number.  It says 105.  I try to act like I totally expect this and accept the fact that 104 other parents showed up before me that morning because, well, they're better parents than me (or maybe just more addicted than yours truly).

Me: (As nonchalantly as possible) So, what time would you suggest coming back with this number? 

YCGWTSS: Well, with 105, we would suggest coming back around 3:00 or 3:30.

What I'm thinking in this moment:  Yeah right, mister.  I'll just wake my child up early from his nap so we can come take a picture with your Santa to then get to drive home in rush hour traffic.  This sounds like a splendid idea.  This system really takes advantage of crazy addicts like me.  Shame on you for preying on our weakness.

What I really say: (with a calm, cool smile on my face) Oh, okay, great.  That should work out just perfectly. :) 

Thankfully, we were able to jump in line about 1:00 after lunch with some friends, so it really wasn't so bad.

Last year, P's picture with this Santa was very Norman Rockwall-esc.  He was looking up and studying Santa, while Santa looked down at him.  So sweet.  Now, this is not to say that it didn't dissolve into tears after the picture was taken, but the moment that was captured was priceless.

This year he knew that Santa said "Ho, Ho, Ho," but that was about it.  No real understanding about who this guy is or what the hoopla is all about.

Remember the Christmas Tree Monkey?  Well, he was with us for our visit to see Santa.

You know things aren't going well when an Elmo (Parker's favorite thing in the world) is being waved around, and he won't even acknowledge it.

Continuing to look weary of this whole thing.

 
The final product.
Bless the kid's heart.  We decided he was concerned that Santa was going to take his Christmas Tree Monkey. :)  I think P has a death-grip on the thing.

Maybe next year we'll have a better understanding for who this guy is and why we should smile when we meet him.  A pretty classic picture, none-the-less.

Christmas Tree Monkey

Have you heard of Flat Stanley?  You know, the cute little paper cut-out that first graders around the country mail to friends and family to take him on adventures which are to be documented in pictures?  Well, we had our own version of a little buddy this Christmas season that P had to take with him on adventures and that I had to document in pictures...except he wasn't flat, didn't go anywhere very exciting, and played "Jingle Bell Rock" and lit up when you squeezed his right hand...that's right, you guessed it - it was Christmas Tree Monkey.

Here is Christmas Tree Monkey riding with P in the back of the car.  See?  Exciting stuff!  Christmas Tree Monkey (CTM, as he shall henceforth be known in this blog entry) was a gift from Pops and Grandma Judy.  Ironically, the first time P saw CTM, he was pretty unsure of him, but after spending an evening getting to know him while Pops and Grandma Judy babysat, they became bestest friends.

 In fact, the next day, CTM had to be at P's tray for him to eat...

 That's right...had to.

 One of these things is not like the other. (And I believe CTM is shunning the photographer.  Maybe he was tired of the paparazzi constantly trying to document his every move.)

 P showing CTM his favorite Elmo ornament.

 CTM helped dad rake leaves.

 This is hard work...especially with one hand.

 Can you spot the imposter?  CTM brought out P's love of monkeys that sing annoying songs that I thought we had gotten over.  Remember this post?  So our loyalty to CTM began to wane, but our need to have a singing monkey with us at all times did not...as you will see from this year's Santa picture, which is forthcoming.

 Please enjoy this video of P casually eating his dinner while being serenaded by CTM. :)

Cousin Time!

In December (don't worry - we're not caught up yet!) we were able to take advantage of a beautiful day out at the Arboretum with my cousin, Linda, and her son, W.  We had a great time walking around the grounds, playing with bubbles (thanks to awesome cousin Linda), and checking out the wooden cabins in the old "Texas Town."

 How stinkin' cute is W? :)  I LOVE his hair.

 P loved the bubbles.

 Checking out the grass.

 

 We did LOTS of running.

 Sweet boy...who needs a haircut. :)

 Cousins!

 Sweet, tired face. :)

 The many faces of the Peanut...

 Ohhh...

 Hi.

 Cheese!

 Sweet feet. :)

Nap time.

We really enjoyed our time out there and look forward to our next outing together! :)

Thanksgiving at the Ranch

For Thanksgiving this year we headed out the the ranch for some good family time and some good food.  We added a couple of new events to our "schedule," and I think they're going to be keepers for years to come. :)  

Everybody arrived on Wednesday and instead of having a big dinner, we enjoyed cocktail hour and appetizers in the barn.  Now, I'm sure we ate more than we would have if we had just eaten dinner, but it was fun none-the-less.  We worked off all the calories we ate by taking turns playing dancing games on X-box...we have some hidden talent in our group. :)

The next morning our little family woke up and got all dolled up (it was truly the nicest we've ever looked out at the ranch - except for my cousin's wedding :)) to try to take  a few pictures for our Christmas card. (I should also note that this was the BEST that P has ever slept while at the ranch!  Maybe it was because we were in the main house for the first time???  It was so nice to not be exhausted! :)) So we ventured out to get just one picture of the three of us.  I'll spare you the out-takes...it didn't happen. :)  It turns out two year olds aren't very agreeable when it comes to taking pictures...if they don't want to be held and look at a camera and smile, they're not going to.  Thankfully, we were able to catch a few solo shots of Mr. P. smiling.

 Beautiful fall colors.

 P was constantly carrying this ball (or a variation of this ball) around the ranch...watch for it in the pictures.

 Our family.

 Sweet boy.

 Love his wrinkly nose.

Ahh! :)

 Cheese.

 Love that face.

 Aunt KiKi was cracking him up!

 I think this looks like an Olan Mills backdrop. :)

 Playing on the mule...his absolute FAVORITE part of being at the ranch this time around!

And here's the ball again...

Trying to get a family picture.

As J says, "Nothing says 'our family' like a picture on the mule." :)

Here is one way to successfully get your pants dirty.

Hi guys.

Another new addition was a "Favorite Things" party...no boys allowed. :)

Uncle K. took care of us and served us some Brennan Vineyards wine.

Cousin Ash brought socks from J. Crew.

Mom brought chocolates from Graham's in Geneva, IL and a snow mint candle.

Emily brought Essie nail polish in "Wicked."

Sister brought mulling spices from William Sonoma.

Aud brought Pure Volumizing shampoo.

Auntie Jan made bath salts with Epsom salt and essential oils.  Very crafty.

Whit brought many mini things. :)  Some fun Philosophy body wash, Origins face scrub, and mini Vaseline pots.

Aunt Ann brought Bernie and some yummy chips.

Grammy brought a super cute Christmas ornament.

Martha brought a Jim Brickman CD...and I brought scarves from World Market, as can be seen by our model, Martha. :)

The beverage of choice at the party.

Here we all are. :)

Group 1 with their loot.

Group 2 with their loot.

Me with my loot. :)

Cookin' in the kitchen.

Son-in-law and Father-in-law.

K & B.

Emily, Ash, and Mable.

Grammy, Martha, and Charlie.

P watching some football.

Don and Gramps.

P with K and B.

Charlie and Ellie.

The newlyweds.

Dad and me...dad is still swollen from all the fluid he got via IV after going to the hospital the night before for a kidney stone...poor dad.  I told him his need for attention was completely inappropriate.

J and me.

P playing with his ball on the stairs.

Thankfully, this was as high as he was willing to go.

Turkey pumpkin.

P loves his Auntie Jan.

Having some fun!

Getting ready to boom the balls.

Mom and me.

Grammy's painting of Ellie from Whit's photograph!

Happy (EXTREMELY BELATED) Turkey Day!