The holidays are here!

Stop!  I need a pause button stat.  How is it possible that my little man is going to be 5 next month?!  I think the hardest part was enrolling him in kindergarten last week.  I got a little weepy at one point, but then I realized Milo was in the corner trying to make prank calls on the conference room phone so I was quickly snapped back into reality. Ian will (hopefully) be attending Hygiene Elementary School come fall.  He can't wait - he asks me every day when he is going to start kindergarten.  It is so wonderful to see him so excited about school!

He is becoming such a lovely young man.  The stories he tells, the way he sees the world...I love it.  His new thing is saying goodbye.  He likes to sit on the step and wave goodbye to our guests until they drive out of site.  So cute:)  He has also decided that he should start using the guest bathroom to brush his teeth since he is a "big kid".  But then I remind myself that he is still the one who will cuddle up on my lap with his blanket and ask me to read him a story, he is still the one whose eyes light up when it is my day to be the helper at school, and he is still the one who loves to give me kisses before bed each night.  I will choose to focus on the latter for just a little longer;)

We went to get our tree on the 4th after Casey got home from work.  We always try to get our tree the first week of December.  I prefer to enjoy it for most of December and then take it down soon after.  I don't have the luxury of leaving it up throughout January because I have birthday parties to plan!  Teaser...Ian's 5th birthday party we will have;) 

Grandma Jane made Ian a special treat for him and his classmates to enjoy - she crocheted these cute little reindeer and we stuffed them with candy canes.  Ian was over the moon that day because he got to bring treats (which makes him the special person that day) and I was the helper.  It doesn't get much better than that in his sweet little world.  Before the snack break, he brought one up in front of the class to show all of his classmates.  He was so proud standing up there talking about them - adorable!

Friday night was Santa's Workshop.  The city hosts it every year and it is so much...if you can get over the crowd!  It is a bit too much for me, but we had to check out Santa!  We stopped and said hello to his reindeer first.  

  The line for Santa was ridiculous, but worth it.  Fortunately, we had our besties in line with us so it went pretty fast.  I wasn't sure how Milo would do, but he hopped right up and said, "Cheese!"  Ian was so excited to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas.  Any guesses?  Hint:  He has one on his shirt.

After Santa, we headed outside to check out the lights in the park and we ran into Frosty!  I love Ava's expression in the picture below.  Ian is busy checking out his threads.  Ha!

They had night skydivers - so cool!

Once Santa landed, the entire crowd started running.  Ian took off in a flash and I had to run after him.  It was insane!  I am not even sure Santa was prepared for the rush of fans.  I had Ian on my shoulders so he could check him out.  Thankfully he was okay with not being any closer than this.

Saturday night was the downtown parade.  We got a pleasant surprise - the Frazier clan joined us!  I am so bummed this picture didn't turn out more clear because it would have been perfect.  Colleen was out of town for business, so it was just Brian and the kids.  Maggie joined us too!  It was so cold, but I was determined to make the best of it.  Thanks to the chilly weather, Milo was a little cuddle bug.  Yay!

After the parade, we headed to the park for a fireworks show.  Who needs fireworks in July when you can have them in December?  I guess I will take what I can get.  

We finally got around to decorating the tree on Sunday.  Ian couldn't wait to get started.  I put Milo down for a nap and when I came downstairs he had already started decorating.  Love this kid!  

And voila!  Our beautiful tree.  I just love it.

Oh, and my lovely 'lil wreath for the front door.  Pretty proud of it!  I got my inspiration here.

We got another shot at Santa on Sunday!  I LOVE this picture - so much happiness:)  We ran into him @ Ace Hardware of all places...and the best part.  Free!  They printed an actual photo for us on the spot and emailed a copy to us.  Awesome!

Whew.  What a busy weekend we had.  It was so much fun and I can't think of a better way to end it.

Story time with Daddy-o!