Christmas Cheer

Merry Christmas!!!

The out-of-town family arrived and brought with them loads of good cheer...and presents! Grandfather & Grandma were their usual overboard selves. The United States thanks them for singlehandedly saving the nation from a recession. I'm also fairly certain that Toys R Us stock rose as a result of beating their projected sales goals. I know 3 little "wise" men that weren't complaining!

After Christmas Mass, we made our way back to the house to enjoy our traditional Christmas eve wine tasting! This year, we sampled wines from 3 different price points and determined that our palates are simply not sophisticated enough to differentiate. I guess that's a good thing, right? Bring on the cheap wine! Ha!

The boys passed on the wine, but not the presents.  Grant's new wagon was a HUGE hit! Good job, Grandfather & Grandma!

Even the bike left by Santa couldn't top the wagon!

Jaxon & Baylor received the much coveted Wii U. They disappeared within seconds after this picture, and I don't think they reappeared for a number of days.  I'd say Santa did good!

The other half of the family arrived the following day extending the Christmas celebration. Again, no complaints about the good cheer, great cooking, and additional presents. Life is good!

We tried our hand at cookie decorating this year. Some of us are better than others, but a little competition definitely yielded some impressive results!

The Jayhawk cookies were the most popular to eat. Probably because of their MASSIVE size!

I much preferred the ninjabread men!

This year brought us so many blessings. The greatest blessing being Grant, of course! We may lose control with the presents and overindulge in the wine & treats, but the true meaning of Christmas is never lost. As we celebrate the birth of our Lord, we are united as a family. Memories are created and traditions formed.  This amazing life and the people in it are the greatest gift! Don't ever forget it!

Blessed

Anh & I know we are blessed. From the moment that Grant arrived and completed our family, we have been incredibly grateful. Actually, let me clarify. Anh & I have known we were blessed since Jaxon was born in 2005. Healthy baby Grant is just the most recent of our three blessings, and on a bright and sunny day in early June, we gathered as a family to thank God for his many blessings and to Baptize Grant.

It was truly a special occasion and being surrounded by family that made the trek from out of town made it all the more meaningful. Everyone has active, busy lives and the fact that they took the time to gather and celebrate with us is a true gift. Of course, being able to spend some time with 3 adorable little guys isn't exactly a hardship.

We're all very lucky to have Grant as a part of our lives, but I'd say he's equally lucky to be surrounded by such a loving group. Now, he can officially include two more admirers, Dr. Scott and Ms. Geraldine, who gladly accepted the role as Grant's Godparents.

Of course, it wouldn't be our life if everything had gone 100% according to plan. We had been told that Grant's Baptism would take place during the celebration of Mass. This was new to us because both Jaxon's and Baylor's Baptism had taken place after Mass with only family looking on. Well, we arrived early for Mass as instructed and took our seats in the front two rows, but no one ever came over to provide additional instructions. I told myself everything would be fine. Surely, we've celebrated the sacrament twice before and knew the routine. Surely, we'd be able to wing it when called up in front of the other parishioners.

The second clue that something wasn't quite right was when Father Ed and our visiting Deacon appeared and lead the congregation in the celebration of Mass. Father Tom is ALWAYS in charge of Baptisms. Odd...I reminded myself that Father Ed is completely capable of performing a Baptism. The third clue that somebody had dropped the ball came when Father Ed and the Deacon concluded Mass and exited the church. Yeah, we're all smart cookies. Ha! Still unwilling to fully accept that the Church had forgotten our special occasion, I told myself that it must be Father Ed's preference to conduct Baptisms after Mass, and I ushered our group into the smaller chapel where Baylor had been Baptized while Anh went to speak to Father Ed. Then, the lights were turned off in the church. Okay...confirmation that we were forgotten!

I was not happy. I was especially unhappy considering that the Catholic church doesn't make it easy to receive sacraments. No, they make you fulfill requirements and jump through hoops. We took everything in stride and completed all the requirements and even confirmed the date twice with the office. Yeah, I wasn't happy. In the end, Father Ed pulled together a lovely and intimate Baptism and all was right with the world and for our little Grant. It's a good thing because I had already decided nobody else was leaving that church until my son was Baptized. Thank goodness everyone realized that and willfully made it happen.

Scott, Geraldine, and Grant weren't cheated out of their special day, and that's all that matters. The smiles prove that while initially overlooked the importance of the moment was not forgotten or diminished.

In the end, the day was everything I could hoped for and more. Grant was the center of everyone's attention, and I'd say he enjoyed every minute of it!

Yes, plain and simple, we are truly blessed.

LegoLand ATL

The boys have developed a bit of an obsession with Legos recently. So when I heard that a brand new LegoLand Discovery Center was opening in Atlanta, I knew we would have to go. To say my kiddos were excited would be a gross understatement!
Having never been to a LegoLand before, we didn't know what to expect. Atlanta's LegoLand Discovery Center is much smaller than the LegoLand theme park in California, but that doesn't mean it's any less entertaining. We spent the better part of a day there and thought nothing unusual of it until we completed the exit survey and had to check a box indicating the amount of time we spent at the center. The box we checked was for 2+ hours. We were there FIVE!
I guess it's because there was so much to see. Like the cityscape of Atlanta constructed entirely out of Legos, obviously! All of the major landmarks were represented. Labeling it impressive just doesn't cut it! It was honestly AMAZING, and we even met the Master Builder (his actual job title) responsible for designing and building everything constructed from Legos in the entire center. He won a contest and was awarded the job. I wanted so badly to ask how much they pay him, but I resisted. At least I can rest assured that my boys might one day earn a paycheck for playing with their Legos.

Perimeter Center, Fox Theatre, & the Georgia Aquarium

The Georgia Dome - Home of the Atlanta Falcons

Turner Field - Home of the Atlanta Braves

Stone Mountain Park

CNN Center

A crane that I can only imagine represents the ever-present construction in downtown Atlanta. Scattered throughout the cityscape were opportunities to control various components in the city. You could drive the MARTA trains, control the crane and gondola, scan between CNN television cameras located throughout the city, control the athletes in the stadium, and so much more!
The Discovery Center even has two rides! The boys were in heaven!
Especially when Jaxon and Baylor discovered they could build & race their own Lego cars! The boys' first creations were very "imaginative," but eventually Jax and Baylor realized that simpler usually meant faster. Who knew! I also put in an honest effort to construct a vehicle, but let's just say it's a good thing I didn't pursue an engineering degree in college. I wouldn't have made the cut!
The playground was also a pretty popular spot with the kids. You could run through a maze of climbing walls and slides, and there were large foam Legos scattered throughout for building whatever your imagination could dream.
You know what they say about dreaming...Dream BIG!!! Baylor was crowned King and there was even a throne constructed for him!
However, the real fun came from destruction in the form of a wrecking ball...a human wrecking ball!!!
Luckily, the experience wasn't all about brute force. Jaxon and Baylor had the opportunity to use their noggins and improve their building skills thanks to the construction classes. Our class focused on construction techniques that would result in structures that can withstand the weight of an adult.
So, the 40-50 lb Jaxon and Baylor test was a piece of cake!
The real test came with the "real world" application of their new construction skills. We were challenged to build a Lego skyscraper that would be capable of withstanding an earthquake. Okay...I had my doubts that Jaxon and Baylor could master this challenge.
BUT, they proved me wrong! I better double-up on the college savings account deposits. Engineering degrees won't be cheap.

As I shared before, Anh and I were completely unaware of exactly how much time had passed, but we knew it was getting late and that rush hour traffic in Atlanta isn't pleasant. So, we told the boys that there was time to run a few more races, but then we'd have to be on our way. Surprisingly, Jax and Baylor weren't too disappointed. Maybe the gift shop exit helped ease the pain...

or maybe it was just that our little engineers were EXHAUSTED. Yep, I'd say it was the latter. Both Jax and Baylor were asleep before we exited the parking garage. Success! A great experience for all!