Holiday Heights

We didn't do much during our holiday gathering which was a refreshing break from the insanely busy weeks leading up to Christmas. Parties and a whirlwind trip to Atlanta to shop and visit with family takes a lot out of you. I wouldn't change a thing, but it was nice to have a few days of downtime to recover. Watching movies and playing board games was just what we needed.

However, after 2 days of family time at home, we all needed to get out & about and enjoy some fresh air. On Saturday, we wandered the streets of the historic district, checking out the little gift shops. I've never been in most of the stores because the boys aren't at a gift-shop-friendly age. I like to buy things because I want or need it, not because one of my kids broke it. I'm weird like that.

Today, we decided to squeeze in one last adventure before the South GA family departed, a climb to the top of the lighthouse. Grandma and I stayed on the ground with the boys who still don't meet the height requirement to climb. Grandfather, Aunt Kelly, Uncle Travis, and Anh all made it to the summit. That's no easy feat, people! As you can below, everyone survived, and they even brought back some pretty pictures to share.

2009 Post Christmas Wrap-up

We wish you a Merry Christmas! We wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!!! Our wishes are a few days late, but better late than never, right? To say that things have been a tad crazy around here would be just a bit of an understatement. Insane might be the better adjective...But also fun...lots & lots of fun involving 500 million toys.

What? You think I'm exaggerating? This is how the living room looked on Christmas Eve, and that's just the beginning of Baylor's pile. Yes, that's a toy shotgun. We are Republican and value our NRA memberships. Kidding...sort of.Jax (with his OCD tendencies) piled his goodies on the couch next to Uncle Travis for safekeeping from his little brother's curious hands.Grandfather & Grandma made out like bandits too. While they lacked quantity, hopefully the quality of the gifts made up for it.Aunt Kelly scored this season's must-have gift...the zebra print Snuggie!!! She made fun of it endlessly on Christmas Eve, but she's been using it pretty much non-stop since she unwrapped it. So while it was intended as a gag gift, it looks like it will get some use during the cold NYC winter.I could go on & on about all the wonderful gifts that the kids (and the adults) received, but I certainly wouldn't want to make anyone jealous. Let's just say that every single member of the family was spoiled this year. Next Christmas, we'll have to dial things back just a bit or hope that someone wins the lottery between now & then.I can say that Grandfather was envious of the construction themed dinnerware that Baylor received from Aunt Glenda & Uncle Robert. I had to double-check the cabinet when he left to make sure it wasn't smuggled out when we weren't looking. I guess we know what dinnerware Grandfather will use during future visits.

The boys' gift display was so impressive, I wasn't sure whether Santa would feel the need to leave anything for Christmas morning. Luckily, Santa felt a need to recognize Jaxon's excellent behavior in 2009. In the morning, this was waiting for Jax under the tree...

Unbelievable! Now, we have no option except to search for a house with a 4-car garage because we've officially outgrown our current 3-car one! Ridiculous! What's even more ridiculous is that this new set of wheels doesn't have a second seat for little brothers. Such an oversight! I see yet another vehicle making it's way into the household in the near future because of this design flaw.

Wow! The toys have completely taken over this blog entry, just like they took over on Christmas Eve. I need to rewind a bit more and mention that we kicked off the festivities with the 2nd annual Bottle of Cheer wine tasting. As you can see, it was a blind tasting of 6 varieties. Yes, 6,! That's basically one bottle per taster which resulted in lots of "cheer."The boys have proven to be party animals from day 1. So you know they weren't going to miss out on any of the fun.Jax taught Baylor to "cheers," and Baylor took an instant liking to the tradition. He was spreading his cheer around the room with each and every one of us, multiple times. He was a cheers-ing addict!I guess he's nice & warmed up for New Year's Eve!

Party Time

Wednesday, Jax had his school Christmas party, and the whole family joined in the fun. Baylor was especially excited about spending the morning at school with his brother. Every afternoon when we pick up Jax from school, Baylor races to the classroom to see the kids. To say that he was excited to actually participate as a classmate would be an understatement.Baylor joined the class on the rug for story time, but quickly lost interest in Ms. T's reindeer tale. The shelves packed with toys seemed waaaaaay more interesting. I guess he's lucky that he was only a visitor. Otherwise, Ms. T probably would have forced him to rejoin the class and finish listening to the story. Ms. T is a wise woman though with 30+ years of experience. She knows when to pick her battles.

Jax wasn't terribly interested in the story either, but perked up during the pin the nose on the snowman competition. The boy is competitive!Snack time was a hit with both boys. I can't say I blame them...cake, cookies, Jello, and some fresh fruit to make it seem like nutrition wasn't thrown completely out the window!

After refueling with sugar, Ms. T called the kids back to the rug and began to tell another story, but she was interrupted by...

SANTA!!! As an added bonus, he came bearing gifts, a book for each child in the class. Jax received a Lightening McQueen book. How did Santa know that is his favorite subject?!?

Full Speed Ahead

I feel like that's the speed I'm operating in, and I don't really know if I'm doing it successfully. Somehow, I've transformed into one of those "sleep when you're dead" type people, and I don't think I like it. I don't even know exactly when our lives turned into the current whirlwind, but I know I can't blame the holiday season because we've been living in the fast lane since at least October. Maybe this is just how life is, and before we weren't living it to the fullest...or something like that? We would have busy periods, but they never lastest 3+ months!

Because this last quarter of the year has been so incredibly hectic, I feel like a break is long overdue. I know things will relax a bit during the days leading up to Christmas & the few days after. Partly because we're only hosting half of the family this year, as opposed to the full 14 people, 7 dogs, and 1 cat. I know! It sounds crazy, and it is. BUT, it's also a lot of fun. I'm sure the downsizing this year will do everyone some good though. We'll all see each during the week of Christmas, but not necessarily on the 25th. So, we get the merriment (is that even a word? I guess so because spellcheck didn't flag it.) without the crowd. (See! This how my mind works now. I'm all over the place!)

However, the chaos will hit full steam again prior to New Year's Eve thanks to my decision to host my very own "New Year's Rockin' Eve." On that note, allow me to share a few words of wisdom. Next time you find yourself at a workplace holiday party surrounded by people griping that they have nothing to do on New Year's Eve thanks to a massive babysitter shortage, do not under any circumstances open your mouth and volunteer your home as a gathering place. I wish I had remembered that, but at the time, the 5...6...maybe more glasses of wine that I had enjoyed translated my hesitant thoughts into the following statement, "Hey! Why don't we all hang out at our place instead of going out?!"

Oh well. I do truly enjoy hosting people, and I'm sure a good time will be had by all, myself included. On a positive note, I will have plenty of help that night. Aunt Kelly, Aunt Nguyen, and Uncle Al will all be around to share in the hosting responsibilities. I'll just have to assign them a task related to their special talents. Aunt Nguyen = bartender. That's not a slight, by the way, or a jab. She's actually not a big drinker, but possesses the talent to make a really good one. Al & Kelly will require more thought.

And now, to make up for my ramblings about there not being enough hours in the day, I present the most important task that we accomplished yesterday, a trip to see Santa for the year's official photo.

While not the "official" photo that you'll find in your Christmas card, I must say that I think I may actually like mine better!

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

Jax is such a character! Of course, I'm sure everyone is already aware of that very well known fact. Here are just a few examples from the last 2 weeks.

• Anh and I are "supervising" as Jax and Baylor decorate their Christmas tree. While Anh is unwrapping new ornaments from Grandfather and Grandma, Jax is digging through the box of decorations from last year looking for the bag of ornament hooks. As soon as he found the bag, he exclaimed, "I found Christmas hookers!" Oh my!

• Later that same day, Jax turned to me with a very serious face and asked, "Is Santa going to bring me toys?" To which I responded, "I don't know. Have you been a good or a bad boy this year?" After a brief pause, Jax shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sometimes good and sometimes bad. I guess we'll see." If you earn Santa points for honesty, then I think it's safe to say that he'll be happy on Christmas morning.

• During our recent Kansas trip, we were driving from Lawrence to Kansas City when I remembered that I would need to stop to pick up a few items from Target. Knowing that Jax likes to know the game plan, I told him, "Jax, Mommy has to run a quick errand and stop by Target. Then, we'll head to the Davorens' house." Jax let out a huge sigh because he was beyond ready to see his buddy, Jack, and said, "Awww, man! Let's just go to the Davorens'. The car is full!" Indeed it was, and now, you know what how much we typically buy during a trip to Target!

Delayed Preview

Last week, we kicked off the Christmas season with a visit to the lighthouse for the annual luminary display. The grounds were beautiful by candelight, but that wasn't anything the boys cared about. Nope, they only had one thing (or maybe I should say person) on their mind...Santa!

Luckily, you can barely see Baylor's injured forehead which was still fresh and ugly at the time. It's almost completely healed, by the way. I'm doubtful there will even be a scar. How lucky are we?!After visiting with the big guy and putting in a special request for a top secret Christmas present, Jax was able to relax a bit and enjoy the scenary. I'm not sure why Jax is being so secretive about his desired gift. I believe he thinks Christmas presents are like wishes, and they won't come true if you tell people. Who knows? Maybe he's right. Therefore, I won't spill the beans on what he wants even though I already know that Grandfather has it taken care of.Oh, and just in case you're on our Christmas mailing list, don't worry. These aren't the "official" Santa photos for 2009. There's more to come!

A Holiday Tradition

Last night, Anh & I took Jax to see The Nutcracker. Not only was it Jax's first time seeing this holiday classic, it was our little friend Hayden's opening night performance as Little Snow. She did a wonderful job, and I think it's probably safe to assume that we'll be seeing Hayden on stage a lot in the future. The girl likes being in the spotlight, and that's not a bad thing.Jax also seemed to get caught up in the magic. Minutes into the opening scene, he was up & out of seat dancing along. Since we were in the front row, I told him it would be best to leave the performing to those on stage. We wouldn't want to steal anything away from their months of hard work. Luckily, Jax understood and watched the rest of the production with remarkable restraint.The show did deviate a bit from the classic story because it included some religious content. The director's version incorporated the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus which seemed a bit out of place when you consider the fact that at Christmas we're celebrating the birth of Jesus. So, I'm not really sure I appreciated the artistic liberties that the director took with the production. If they wanted to incorporate the story of Jesus, I think focusing on the Nativity would have been a better choice. Oh well! I guess the arts are meant to stir controversy on occasion.
The important thing is that the production, liberties included, gave each of the performers a chance to showcase their talents for their friends and family, and therefore, it was a great opening night! Congratulations on a job well done, Hayden!