Festively Fun Family

A few days after Christmas, Nana and Grandpop come to our house to open presents. They prefer to do this one on one with individual grand kids/families so as to avoid some craziness that occurs on Christmas Eve. This year they brought Aunt Courtney with them- and I think they brought a little bit of craziness too!! This came in the form of, well- Aunt Court for one...but some super cool dress up animal masks as well! The ladies and I donned the face wear- but Grandpop and Daddy quite smartly declined. (They must have known I would blog about it.!!) I opened up more presents and that is when the silliness really began. Aunt Court got me the coolest dinosaur construction kit and we were clanging and banging the swinging parts together. I also was pleasantly surprised by lots of dino goodies and the marble maze set (like the one in Cape May that I adore) that Nana and Grandpop a gave me. This is one game that I will play with for hours on end...so mommy is super pleased with this gift too. Their stay was brief- but it was a quality fun filled time that capped off the end of my Christmas celebrations!

Part Time Employee

I got to go to work with daddy today!!!! Mommy loaded up my brand new backpack with everything that I needed and daddy and I were off to "bring home the bacon!" I can only consider myself a part time Maaco employee because I only went in for the morning- but it was a lot of work. Nah- just kidding, it is FUN at work! If this is what work is like- then I wanna follow in daddy's footsteps. I got to play with lots of people, eat pizza and even got to watch a video on the huge wall projector with my buddy Ava- who's daddy also brought her to work. I would just ask that if the powers that be at Maaco want to hire me on a full time basis, could they please accommodate a mid-day siesta, because I am still a napper and feel that I just would not be as productive without one!

To Infinity And Beyond

 Mommy and daddy thought it would be fun to take me to Toy Story On Ice and decided that for it to be REALLY fun for me- we needed to call in reinforcements. So- Nana and Owen rounded out our day with Disney. What was even more special was that Owen got to sleep at our house the night before. I just don't know which was more fun- playing with O or seeing the show. Nana splurged and treated us each to a super cool Buzz  light twirly toy which we both played with almost the entire show.  Owen did fall asleep during the second half- but I guess that was just because he was overtired from all the fun we had! So glad that he & Nana were there...it was a great time with great people!!

In case you need a translation- we are screaming "To Infinity and Beyond!!!!!"

White Christmas

Well- not quite, I guess...But we were only one day off!!!

Here I am watching the snow fall

Chilly view from a window

Christmas 2010

All I can say is that I must have been one REALLY good boy this year because not only did Santa bring me some wonderful presents, but so did all of my family. I know that this season is not really about the presents- but they sure are a fun part of it!!! The most fun part, of course- was spending it with beloved family and friends. Christmas Eve was spent with Daddy's family, where I got to run around like a banshee with Owen, Rileigh and Aunt Court & Uncle Joe. Nana and Grand pop organized a wonderful dinner (of which I had none) but I did partake of the sweets! I love the holidays- mommy lets all the rules go out the window- I even got to stay up until midnight!! Then on Christmas morning the festivities continued (bright and early, I might add) with Mommom, Poppy, CiCi, Bud, Hoover & Patches. We all opened presents and I was super overwhelmed. I did not know which toy to play with first. My phrase of the day was "Oh My Gosh!!!" I was so excited by every present that I would repeat that with each unwrapping! Mommy made me special chocolate peppermint pancakes and then I just got to play play play. Luke, Sam & Jenna stopped in for a bit. I had so much fun with my l'il cuz that I got SUPER upset when he had to leave. There is just not enough time in one day to fully celebrate with family the magic of Christmas. A big shout out to the big man dressed in red for making my Christmas wish come true. Dragons galore was the theme in our house this year. It was wonderful to see everyone and  I thank all who made it my best holiday EVER!!!!

Official Holiday Taste Tester

I figured I would give you one more blog post to tide you over until after Santa comes to visit me. Our Christmas Eve Day consisted of me helping mommy out in the kitchen. Mamma always second guesses her cooking skills when she is cooking for anyone other than me & daddy- so she had a dry run of her "flat bread" appetizers for tomorrow and I got to be the official taste tester.  Instead of the fancy ingredients that she will be using tomorrow- she just made me a pizza type flat bread with sauce & cheese. Then she also let me taste her potatoes that will for Christmas dinner become potato croquettes. She was worried that they were too lumpy because her hand mixer broke & died halfway through her mashing- but she just finished up with a good old hand  masher. Both flat bread and taters tasted good to me, mamma- as I am sure you can tell by the amount that ended up on my face!!!

Sweet Little Lukey

And when I say sweet- I mean his sweet tooth!!!! Poor little Lukey had fallen asleep on the drive from his house to ours and was having a tough time adjusting to the new surroundings. He had trouble, that is- until mommy offered him a mini Christmas jimmy doughnut. Literally the minute that sweet confection hit his lips he was ALL smiles!! For the rest of the day we played and played- ate lunch and played and played some more. I had a wonderful time hangin' with my adorable cousin. There was only one problem...I kept calling him Owen. Thank goodness I am gonna see him again in 2 days- I promise to get your name right on Christmas, Luke. Thanks for hanging out today- I loved every minute of it!!!

Santa

Mommy and daddy were a little nervous to take me to see Santa this year after my crying fit last year- but they worried for nothing. While standing in line waiting with all the other eager (or petrified) little ones, mommy and daddy prepped me as to what to expect. They told me that Santa was going to be a "big" man in a red suit with lots of bushy white hair all over. They also told me that when it was my turn, I had to run up to him & jump right in his lap. Well- I did that one with style. The minute the other kids that were on his lap started their departure, I was right there. I kinda galloped up the step and thrust my arms out so Santa could life me up onto his expansive and soft lap. He asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I responded just as mommy had told me to- telling him only 1 item that I wanted. Well- I exuberantly told him DRAGON when he asked me. He then asked if I wanted anything else and I said NO...I listened to mommy and told him only 1 item!!!! Santa was so impressed that he even giggled to mommy how cute I was. He said that was the first time a little kiddie stuck to just the one special present request. So- even though I only ASKED for 1 present, Santa...feel free to bring more if you think there is anything else in your workshop that I would like!!!!!

Christmas Cookies

Mommy is a self professed horrible baker. She does not enjoy it, nor does she feel like she excels at it in any way. The few things that she can bake are cupcakes, muffins and cookies- and never from scratch, mind you!! Well- she had absolutely no plans to bake cookies this holiday season- but lucky for me,Trader Joe's came to my rescue. They had this wonderful "Cookie Workshop" that was a no-brainer. Not only was it easy peasy but it was only $0.99!!!  This wonderful kit  included the cookie mix, frosting, colored sugar and 3 holiday themed shapes. We had a blast! Even daddy joined in on the fun. The cookies tasted wonderful- and even though I was only supposed to eat 2 of them...every time mommy would give me one to decorate, I would "taste" it when she wasn't looking. I managed to get to eat 4 cookies this way- then mommy put her foot down and said if I ate any more then Santa might not come to visit. Well- I did not eat any more after that!!! Definitely the best dollar ever spent!!!! Licking the beaters was the best...