Merry Christmas!

Christmas morning was a blast! The first bonus was getting to sleep in until 8 AM:) We were slow to rise, but excited to bust into all the gifts. Ian had no problems warming up to the unwrapping experience - each gift a new distraction! Gift bags were his favorite because all he needed to do was turn them over and surprise! We received many wonderful gifts and spent most of the day playing with our new toys.

We did head out before Ian's nap to take him sledding. What a joy! We got bundled up (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Andrews for the new coat!) and headed to Garden Acres Park - only a few blocks from our house. I haven't been sledding since I was in college and I forgot how much fun it is. We all loved it and had the hill all to ourselves. Ian wasn't sure what to think at first, but by the end of the first run he was shouting, "More!" After a few tries, we let him go by himself toward the bottom of the hill. He loved it! Thanks to Grandpa Conkright for the awesome sled!

Taking me back

I love Christmas - once I get over the hustle and bustle of it all, I truly love it. I have fond memories from childhood and I hope to pass that along to Ian. Last weekend we bundled up in the car and headed out in seach of Christmas lights - complete with delicious hot chocolate! I really wanted Ian to wear his PJ's, but he thought that meant bedtime and wanted nothing to do with it! Atleast I coaxed him into wearing the antlers long enough for me to get a picture. He would rather chase Apesen around the house and try to put them on her, but she likes them even less than he does!

We drove around for about an hour looking at a few houses. Our local paper publishes a listing of local homes worthy of a peep. Well, some were worthy anyway. It was so cute to hear the "aaaahhhhs" from the back seat as we passed by the homes. Now each night on our drive home he points and shouts "lights" as we drive thru downtown. It is too cute!

My great aunt and uncle would always decorate their home for Christmas. It was over the top and I always looked forward to the drive to New Market to see it each year. It was so much fun and I can only imagine the hours of work that went into creating that winter wonderland. We saw a couple of houses that came close, but this was my favorite. My photo isn't that great, but you can atleast tell that they left nothing untouched.

Ian has also picked up a new hobby - he loves to vaccuum! And to think this is the same little boy who was terrified of the vaccuum as a baby. He would cry everytime we had to break it out. I got this video the other morning and I just couldn't resist sharing it!

Getting ready for Santa!

It is such a busy time of year - get your tree, decorate the tree, buy some gifts, wrap your gifts, visit with Santa, buy more gifts...it seems to never end - until December 25th actually arrives. We are excited for Santa in our house this year. Ian squeals with delight whenever a package arrives at our door, but is quickly saddened when he is told we have to wait to open it:(

We headed out a couple of weekends ago to get our tree. I like getting our tree early because I want to have a few weeks to enjoy it! We headed back to Flower Bin since we have had such good luck in the past. I have to admit I was a little disappointed in their selection this year. It seemed like every tree I liked was $100 and they typically have a good selection of affordable trees. Not so much this year. Oh well - it was also colder than I thought it was and I was feeling like the worst mother ever because my child was not dressed appropriately. We did some quick browsing and picked the first one in our price range. We all needed to get out of the cold! Ian didn't mind though - he was having fun catching snowflakes on his tongue.


My co-worker told me about this mixture she used on her tree last year to help preserve it and I wanted to give it a try. Our tree is usually dried out by Day 2 so I figured anything that might help us is worth a shot. Maybe you'll want to use it next year on your tree:

2 gallons hot water

2 C. Karo syrup

2 oz. bleach

2 pinches epsom salt

1/2 t. Borax

1 t. Chelated Iron

Combine these ingredients in a large bucket and let your tree soak for at least 24 hours. Ours ended up soaking for almost 48 hours and the mixture even froze a bit in our garage. Didn't seem to matter though. We truly noticed a difference - especially in the first week.

Ian was very excited to help us decorate this year! We decorated in phases just because it was too exhausting to try and get it all done at once when we had to keep all eyes/hands on him. It was fun though! We put the lights on first and Ian helped Daddy put the star on top before heading to bed. The next night we tackled decorations and our countdown to Santa. At first I didn't like our tree - it is the shortest tree we have ever had and it just wasn't that pretty. But you'd never know with a few strands of lights and some ornaments.

As if decorating a tree wasn't enough to cram into one holiday weekend we also decided to take Ian to see Santa. Last year we took him to our local mall and while that was fine, the cost of the pictures was ridiculous. I decided this year I would try to be more proactive. Thus, Bass Pro Shops for a free photo with Santa! I saw an ad on TV and thought we should give it a shot. When you arrive you get a Bass Pass which gives you a time to start lining up. Fortunately, we got there rather early but it was still a 3 hour adventure by the time all was said and done. They had a Santa's Wonderland to entertain the kids while waiting for their picture. Most of it was geared towards older children, but Ian did enjoy playing with the fake snow and hanging out in the snowball tent. That is until one of the older kids knocked him down - it was game over at that point. So, we ventured throughout the rest of the store. It is huge! Ian loved the Arctic Cat display and all he wanted to do was climb on each one to test it out.

Finally at 10:30 it was our turn to get in line. I knew this was going to be the toughest part because there was so much activity around and he wasn't interested in waiting. I tried to appease him with snacks and that worked for a little bit. The line did go quicker than I thought it would and after all, I was doing this for a free picture so it wasn't like I could do a lot of complaining. I thought they did a great job organizing it so you didn't have lines wrapping around the entire store. Plus, there were tent displays and a giant aquarium that helped entertain as well. We were rapidly approaching nap time and I just kept praying that we would make it in enought time and sure enough - as soon as Casey sat Ian on Santa's lap he knew what to do! Smile:) All the craziness was definitely worth the free picture with Santa and his reindeer!

Ian is an absolute joy these days - his vocabulary is exploding and so is his personality! It is so fun to have these little conversations and know that he is getting exactly what I am saying. It makes you want to be a good role model because you know they are absorbing every word, action, etc. We bought him a backpack a few weeks ago and he loves it. I love this picture of him, waiting to go to Kristin's one morning while Aris was visiting. He had to show her his new dinosaur backpack! He wants to see everything - making sure not to miss a beat. It is fantastic! I look forward to new adventures with him everyday. I love seeing the world through my child's eyes.

As you can see, the potty is the latest and greatest in our house! We busted it out a few days before Thanksgiving. Ian has really started to show an interest in the potty and loves reading his books about the potty. We aren't in any kind of training mode just yet - just breaking the ice if you will. He likes to sit on it from time to time, but mostly he loves that he can use it as a stool to get to all the goodies on the bathroom counter. Man, he has a serious reach! I guess I should look at it as a motivator to stay clean and organized. Right...

For those of you wondering when I was going to finally bite the bullet and get his haircut, your time has come! I know why I waited so long - I just couldn't bear the thought of him truly looking like a little man:( Sappy, but true. He did such a great job! We couldn't believe how calmly he sat there while Mike the Barber trimmed his baby locks. He was so into it. All the men in the barber shop were charmed by him as well. I made sure to get some pictures and some locks for the baby book! For a minute I thought I could just trim his hair on my own - I am so glad I quickly talked myself out of that one. Ha! Not only did he get his first haircut, but he also got his first sucker. A win-win for all.

I love the amazement in his face...

We are halfway there!

And after...what a cutie! He was probably wondering what all the fuss was about - he just wanted some snacks!

Grandpa Conkright was in town for Thanksgiving. He stopped by on Saturday and Sunday nights to visit. Ian was happy to see him! Grandpa won't be here for Christmas this year so he brought our gifts over early. Ian was the luckiest though because he got to open a present early! He knew just what to do when Casey brought it up the stairs. Christmas and his birthday are going to be so much fun this year!

His first snow sled...now all we need is the snow. I am sure it won't be long before it is here. Casey and I spent a few minutes gliding him across the living room and he thought that was the best. Oh just wait little man, it gets so much better than that!

We avoided Black Friday, but were pleasantly surprised to learn a lot of stores still had good deals on Saturday and A LOT less people. I was able to get a lot of our holiday shopping done this weekend. Now if the gifts could just wrap themselves we'd be all set. Anyway, we stopped at Culver's for lunch and I couldn't resist taking a picture of Ian in this bib. He needs a shirt with the same logo, "I'm as cute as a Butterburger is delicious!" I love Wisconsin.