So Fun, Santa!

Christmas has alrady come and gone and it's safe to say that it's been restored to its rightful place as one of my favorite holidays. Last year's Christmas pretty much imploded so my expectations for this year's celebration were not particularly high. Lucky for everyone involved, everything went smoothly and fun was had by all.

The highlight was definitely Sam's reaction to all of the hubbub. He was absolutely getty with excitement and loved it all - the candles, the music, the packages, the cookies, the countdown calendar, and especially Santa. Santa's looming arrival had him on his best behavior at bedtime for weeks, and the arrival of Elf on the Shelf on Dec. 23 made it all the more exciting.

Elliott went along for the ride. Like any other one-year-old, he was just thrilled to be surrounded by smiling faces and lots of new things to pick up and touch. I was so relieved that he was healthy for all of the celebrations, and in fact, I think he was the healthiest he's been in months.

My very favorite moment was when Sam opened a package from Santa and kept muttering, "he got my message, he got my message!" That alone made all of the prodding and planning worthwhile. What a genuinely sweet reaction.

I can't wait for next year!


Here's Sam spying the tree decked out with gifts for the first time. We knew that the wrapping paper would not withstand Elliott's eager hands, so we waited to put everything out until Christmas Eve.



Here are Elliott and Sam testing out the kitchen set from Santa. It's a big hit with both of them.

Deck the Halls

Christmas prep is in full swing at our house! We trimmed the tree weeks ago and we've been counting down the days since the first snow fall. This weekend we made the requisite trip to see Santa. It was a fun outing -- Macy's auditorium that depicted a day in the life of an elf was very well done, but Santa was down-right creepy. He had a real beard, which I think is a real faux pas and he wasn't the slightest bit jolly. I think if you're going to sign up to be Santa you need to be prepared to do it all -- a big full fake white beard and a deep "Ho, Ho, Ho" are mandatory.

Lucky for us, Elliott is too young to know the difference and it happened too fast for Sam to get a good look (they ushered us out in record time when they saw that we brought our own camera).

Nevertheless, the big day is drawing near and I think it's safe to say that Santa (the real Santa) will be good to all the boys in our house (and Mommy too, I hope!)

Birthday with a Side of Yuck

Elliott's first birthday came and went, and unfortunately it was marked by yet another ear infection. He was diagnosed with his ninth by 10 a.m. and spent most of the day in bed. We postponed his celebration until Saturday,which worked out well because Sam started puking at about 3 a.m. Sunday.

Illness aside, Elliott (and Sam) were thrilled to dive into the cake and rip into the gifts. The celebration was smaller and quieter than anticipated, but still very fun and memorable.

Now that Elliott's ear infection is on the mend, he has been hit with his second bout of the stomach flu since Thanksgiving. He and I spent much of the day covered in puke, which pretty much says it all when it comes to how much I love this kid.

Staring Down at ONE

I just read a story about a journalist’s accidental home birth and it has me thinking about Elliott’s first birthday on Friday. I can’t believe a year ago we were scouting locations to buy a bassinet so he’d have a place to sleep when he arrived home from the hospital. It was such a crazy time – I was completely anxiety ridden about becoming a mother of two and every time Sam had a tantrum I’d burst into tears too. Thank goodness those days are over!

As it turns out, the first two days of Elliott’s life were by far the most peaceful. Delivery was a breeze and I remember thinking that our time at Northwestern felt like a vacation. In retrospect it truly was! Since then it’s been a complete whirlwind of a year. It’s been chock full of ups and downs including 8 ear infections and a big brother who can’t grasp the concept of personal space. Elliott has been a real trooper throughout and I’m not-so-secretly hoping that his even-keeled attitude over the past twelve months is a window into his temperament overall. We’ll see.

So our baby days are quickly coming to an end. In no time at all, Elliott will be walking and talking and the teeny-tiny diapers and the miniature clothes will be a thing of the past. I’ve come to peace with that, but I keep finding myself trying to soak up all of the “babyness” he has left. I kiss his squishy cheeks incessantly and I’m constantly touching his perfectly soft hair. He still has a yummy scent and at least a few times a day I catch myself trying to breathe it in and commit it to memory.

But I’d be totally lying if I didn’t say that a part of me is a little relieved to see the treacherous first year come to an end. I just love to sleep, and the first six months in newborn land are brutal. But for all of the angst I had about having a second son, Elliott has been nothing short of magnificent.

Here is Elliott at 11 months as well as a couple of other good shots from this month...

THREE

Sam is three! We spent last weekend celebrating – when all was said and done, he had five birthday celebrations! It was great fun to watch him revel in all of the attention, but by the time all was said and done, I was exhausted. Three year olds really know how to party!

We had his well-baby check on Wednesday and he checked out as a completely normal kid. He’s growing just fine, and he’s now in the 60th percentile for height and 75 percentile for weight. Potty training is the only major hurdle we still need to overcome on his road to becoming a little kid. We’ve owned a potty since he was about 20 months old and we’ve been talking about it for what seems like forever. We started training in earnest this week, and so far, it’s been ups and downs. A couple of big accidents (including one in the doc’s office), but a couple of big victories too. I’m focused on making it work and will have five celebrations of my own when we finally crack the code.

Goodbye Fall, Hello Winter

Before diving into celebrating Sam's birthday we said goodbye to fall and hello to winter. In typical MN style, we were in the upper 60s at the beginning of the week and making snowmen at the end of the week.

Sam was ecstatic about the whole thing - when we noticed the snow on Saturday morning he immediately starting jumping up and down and yelling, "I get to build a snow man!" I felt like crawling deep under the covers, but I couldn't help but get swept up in his excitement. That's the beautiful thing about children. Seeing the world through their eyes gives almost everything (even a wet and soggy blanket of unseasonable snow) a certain amount of wonderful.

Happy Halloween

Despite Elliott's ear infection and Steve's cold, we eeked out a decent Halloween. Quieter than I would've anticipated, but there was plenty of sugar-induced fun. Elliott was the cutest creepy crawly thing ever and Sam was all too happy to bring his monkey costume to life.

Boo

Preparations are underway for the big day. Just a week to go. Here's hoping Sam is more interested in trick-or-treating than pumpkin carving. After the first five minutes he was ready to move on to a new activity. That left Steve and I on our own, and quite frankly, I had forgotten how much muscle goes into pumpkin carving. Obviously I need to get to the gym.

Elliott at 9 and 10 Months

I have really been falling down on my monthly Elliott updates! I just realized that I missed his 9 month update all together! OOPS! It's not for a lack of action. Elliott is growing and changing every day. Last month was marked by a bunch of new teeth and a newfound love of waving. Every morning Elliott sends Steve to work with a hearty wave and a smile -- and I'll speak for Steve and say it's a great way to start the day!

Now that he is 10-months-0ld, he is crawling and climbing like mad! He's up and down and in and out, and keeping us on our toes. He started clapping yesterday, and couldn't be more pleased with himself.

He's a real doll!

Waving at 9 Months:

10 Months

Teeth!

A is for Apple

We topped off a glorious fall weekend with a trip to the apple orchard with my mom. We were there the moment the doors opened, which is the way to go on a picture-perfect fall day. By the time we were leaving the place was crawling with people. We loved it all - the hay, the hayrides, the tractors, the goats, even the apples. We didn't notice the wine samples until we left - next year that might be the first stop.

Como Town

Today was a glorious fall day so we decided to check out Como Town before it closes for the season. It was a big hit all around! Elliott was in awe of the rides, the music and all of the lights, and Sam enjoyed testing out his driving skills on a few of the rides - each a take on a different moving vehicle.

The adjacent Como Zoo left us missing the expansive and meticulously maintained Lincoln Park Zoo. I found myself actually looking away from a few of the exhibits, but I suppose the kids don't know the difference -- looking up at the giraffe still got lots of ooohs and ahhhhs.

Can't wait to go back in the spring when Elliott can really get in on the action!