Baby, it's cold outside

The other bonus to hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year was that we got a jump start on picking out our Christmas tree! Before we left the house, it seemed like the best weather to-date. For Ryan's first Christmas two years ago it was so blistery cold we had him wrapped up like Ralphie's brother in A Christmas Story. We didn't even bother cutting our own tree down. We found the closest, nicest pre-cut tree there was and hightailed it out of there.

Last year, Nate was traveling - his last travel opportunity before Lindsey was born - so my parents came down to help Rye and I pick out a good tree. It snowed. And not the pretty, fluffy white snow that almost makes the whole experience seem more magical...it was wet, heavy, messy snow. To boot, Rye fell asleep on the way there. So my mom stayed in the car with him while me, my dad and my brother caught a (wet) hayride out to the fields, found a tree, cut it down and sloshed on back to the parking lot. 0 for 2.

This year, the sun was shining and the forecast seemed rather promising. Things were looking up! My parents were still down from Turkey day, so they once again joined us for the trek out to Schmidts Tree Farm. The coolest part about this farm? They have actual reindeer! Sadly, we learned when we got there that one of them had died. So there was only one - and he seemed lonely - but they're getting another one in from NY sometime later this year.

Reindeer are certainly a magical aspect of Christmas. Things were looking good. As we stood there talking to one of the workers, waiting for our (dry) hayride to the fields, we noticed it was pretty chilly. And though the sun was shining, the wind was brutal. "It's not that cold," he said. "It's not cold unless your snot freezes up between your nose and your mouth." Well...that's one way to measure the ambient temperature. It may not have been cold but it certainly wasn't warm either.

Luckily, we have two awesome kids who were so excited about the Christmas tree, they didn't even mind the temperature. In fact, Ryebread got to use his muscles and help Nate chop down the tree! And, when all was said and done and we found the perfect 2010 tree, we got to go inside to pay where free hot warm chocolate awaited us. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

It's Turkey Day!!

Before our basement was finished, the idea of hosting a Thanksgiving dinner at our house with both of our families was as likely as Nate cheering for the Cowboys. Never. Gonna. Happen.

But the basement is finished, so host a joint Thanksgiving dinner we did! It required several purchases, some rearranging of the family room and family members who were willing to drive all the way down 95, but it worked.

The basement looked awesome. Ryan's pilgrim and indian hats were great centerpieces, we finally had a great excuse to use our fine china and, thanks to google, we even made our napkins look all fancy. Another plus - almost every seat had a good view of the football game.

This was LP's first turkey day. She's been a picky eater lately - either because of changing tastes or teething - so I was a little concerned we might have a repeat of Ryan's first Thanksgiving. He had been projectile vommitting right before the big day, so he was on a bland diet. The only thing he was able to eat that day was mashed potatoes and bananas.

Luckily, Lindsey found her appetite and indulged like the rest of us!

Though - her hand-to-mouth skills are still a work in progress and most of the food ended up in the highchair canyon.

 

And before I go on, you need to see the best part of her outfit - check out that Turkey!

And to ensure equal respresentation, a couple quick pictures of Ryebread, whose shirt that day listed out what he was thankful for: 1. My mommy and Daddy 2. Yummy turkey 3. Football. Have I mentioned he's SUCH a boy?

Thankful

It seems fitting, on the day of giving thanks, that there be a post about things for which I am thankful. The list is endless, really, but here are a few items near the top:

1. My husband. We balance each other out perfectly. Our most common thing to say to each other besides "I love you" is "I love our life." We've been blessed with two amazing children (more on them in a second). We have families who love us and support us. And most importantly we have an unwavering love and endless amount of respect for one another. It makes for a happy home.

2. My kids. The inspiration for this blog and the two neatest people I know. Not clean, neat (they're kids, you know), but fascinating, surprising, unique neat. They have a way about them that let's me know they're going to be great people and do great things. And I'm so thankful to be their mommy and have a front row seat on their journey.

3. My friends. Some I've known for awhile, some I only "know" through the facade of social media. Some I see often, some I haven't seen in years. But each of them is important to me because each provides a different perspective on life that affords me the opportunity to continually grow as an individual.

4. Coffee. Let's be real, here. Coffee is awesome. It's not just a drink; it's an experience. And it goes great with pumpkin pie. Just sayin.

Just for fun and because not many people post comments - what are four things you're thankful for?

Thanksgiving: Practice Round

Ryan has been telling us for nearly a week now that "it's almost Turkey day!" Us - and anyone else who will listen. Though he doesn't fully appreciate the awesomeness of Thanksgiving (his dad will teach him, I'm sure), he had a chance today to get a glimpse of what's to come. Ryan's class had their own version of Thanksgiving, with each family bringing in a different item. They had quite the feast - turkey, green bean casserole, sweet and mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and corn among a plethora of other T-day staples. We brought bottled water. Don't judge. Between hosting our first Thanksgiving ever and knowing these kids would need something nutritious to wash down all that food, water seemed like the ideal item to bring. Besides, we got cool ball-shapped bottles for the kids. So we deserve some parent points, right?

In preparation for the feast and in their lessons about why we celebrate Thanksgiving, Ryan's class made very cool pilgrim and indian hats - which also served as table decorations for our feast the following day. He chose to rock the pilgrim hat while noshing on some food.

 

My favorite part of the practice round? These cool, creative Turkey cookies. But my ball-shapped bottled waters are still cooler.

Famous Cheeks!

Lindsey was born with big cheeks. She has her daddy to thank for that.

When Ryebread was born, he had cute baby cheeks, but they weren't super chubby (he compensated his lack of chubby cheeks with a substantial, yet adorable, Buddha belly).

But with Lindsey - there was no denying, from the moment she came out, she had, indeed, inherited this wonderful quality (among many others) from her dad.

We love them. I mean, who wouldn't? They're so much fun to snuggle up against, they're great for kissing and loving on and, practically speaking, Lindsey has built-in pillows in a pinch! So, it was a no brainer when Parenting.com's facebook page was calling for picture submission of kids with chubby cheeks.

Lindsey's had to be shared with the masses.

At the very least, it was fun to see Lindsey's picture on their "others" posting page. And shortly after we posted it, someone commented on how cute she was (unsolicited comments of how cute my kids are = always welcomed!). So if that was the most that came from the effort, I'd be thrilled.

Alas, we got notification that she was selected as a finalist! They wanted confirmation that we were OK with her picture being used on their page and correct spelling of her first name, last initial. The winner, they said, would appear on their facebook page starting Monday morning. How exciting!

Just the thought of Lindsey being potentially "famous" was exciting. So imagine my sheer giddiness when I logged on to Facebook this morning, went to the Parenting.com page and saw our very own Lindsey B. as their fan of the week! In  commemoration of her first brush with fame, I give you the winning entry, along with a "cheeks montage" if you will.

The winning entry - courtesy of our awesome shoot with Dreme Whitehurst

LP's first close-up - just minutes old

At three months, she was already working the camera.

Her first boat ride.
She was probably thinking: with cheeks like these, who needs a floatation device?!

A side view - notice how perfectly round they are!!

Harry Potter's Youngest Fan

Just kidding - they're not even true, circular HP glasses and they're missing an arm, but the good news is, they help minimize the chubby cheeks! Go on with your bad self, Lindsey.

Bumps, bruises and boys

It's no coincidence these words roll off the tongue so nicely. Beyond being a great example of alliteration, these three words belong together.

I went to pick up the kids from daycare on Monday and was met with very concerned faces when I walked into Ryan's room. "Look at his face, mom. We tried to call you."

So I scan the crowd of little people, looking for my little person and locked eyes with the brown-eyed blondie who belongs to me. Right below those big brown eyes? A nice, blue-toned bump.

As they tell it, he was playing with a toy on wheels, standing behind it, pushing it around the room. At one point, he starts charging the wall, full steam ahead and rams right into it, kicking the toy up and smacking him right in the face.

If it wasn't such a nasty welt, I'd probably laugh. But I did feel slightly sorry for Rye. I mean, he's a boy. And not just anatomically...we're talking full-on boy. He's loud, rambunctious, full of energy. He's rough and tough and wants to play sports "with the big guys." He likes to smoosh bugs (or eat them), jump off couches and, apparently, run at top speeds into walls. He can't help it. It's innate boy behavior.

The good news that day? He stayed dry. So in addition to going home and proudly showing off his shiner, he got to indulge in an all-day-dry treat: a root beer lollipop. Which, by the way, is such a boy flavor.

Department Stores and Daycare

It's official. Ryan has turned into a department store. How, you ask? Well, you know how department stores seem to make the years go by faster and faster? Every year it seems they begin setting up displays for holidays quicker and sooner than they had the year before. Like 4th of July stuff is out before the end of the school year and back to school stuff is out before the smoke has cleared from the 4th of July fireworks. It's insanity.

So here we are, in the heart of the end-of-year holiday season. We're still a week a way from Thanksgiving, with plenty of leftover Halloween candy hidden throughout the house (hidden from us, not him, sadly) and all Ryan has been talking about since he stepped out of his Spiderman costume is the fact that "Santa coming to visit soon!"

How did this happen?

I blame two entities: department stores and daycare. Blame may be a strong word, though. I mean some good does come out of their desire to plan (way) ahead. For one, our Christmas shopping is pretty much done, which usually doesn't even begin until Black Friday. Plus, I like when Ryan's teachers at daycare broach random topics of discussion and don't tell us. There's always a moment when he responds to a question I didn't think he would understand or when he mentions something we haven't talked about, that I look at him in awe and think, "Damn...he really is a genius!" Then, I realize they were just doing their job and he was simply being a good student (read: genius) and remembered what he had learned. It's impressive and a proud moment, regardless.

Besides all of that, and this is purely selfish on my part, Christmas is my favorite holiday. The day itself yes, but more the time of year. I love the music, the lights, the magic in the air and the time spent with the people you love.

So what if Ryan has turned into Macy's, using verbal reminders in place of red and green streamers, glittery ornaments and procelain snowangels, to remind us that this is, indeed, the most wonderful time of the year.