'Tis the Season

for visits with Santa, meeting reindeer, zoo lights, and cookies!

We always end our Thanksgiving weekend with putting up all of our Christmas decorations, watching Polar Express and enjoying some hot chocolate.

We even had Happy the Elf arrive at our house this year.



He’s been keeping an eye on the kids!

And you better believe the toy catalogs are being checked out – lots of circling going on!

We also have our Advent calendars that we open daily!

And St. Nick made a stop at our house bringing Christmas pajamas and ornaments.

Everyone wants a turn holding Ty!

 We are excited to have this little babe celebrating his first Christmas! 

Our first main Christmas activity this year was breakfast with Santa on the 7th.  Both Luke & Paige were really excited, although you can still sense a bit of nervousness from Paige when you mention sitting on Santa’s lap.

We were greeted by Frosty!

We had a great breakfast buffet,









and then the big guy arrived!

Luke and Paige went up to see him first and put in their toy requests. 

Then it was Ty’s turn - 2 jolly men! 

Luke was sure to tell Santa what Ty would like too.

They were doing so great that the lady said we should take a family picture!

They even had an Olaf ice sculpture outside that the kids loved!

Next up for the day, was a change from our “fancy clothes” so we could bundle up and head to downtown Frankfort for some more Christmas fun. 

First up there was the chance to meet some real reindeer.  The elves said that the reindeer were only 2 years old so they were still in training – you can’t fly the sleigh until you are three ;)

We enjoyed some hot chocolate and a horse-ride around downtown. 

Before we left, we wrote and mailed some letters to Santa just in case he forgets what was requested that morning!

Did you know that you can never visit Santa too many times before Christmas?!?!  Last Friday night, we headed to the Oak Brook Mall to see him again.  This time Fiona came along for the Adventure to Santa (http://www.mykidlist.com/2014/11/adventure-to-santa-at-oakbrook-center/)!

This was an interactive experience that is free, but you needed a reservation for.  Our reservation wasn’t until 8:15 but we met around 7 to walk around to make sure no one fell asleep before the adventure started!







Once we were let in, we were able to take a picture with Princess Fiona and Shrek and they greeted us on the screen too.

From there, we went into another room where we needed to design a sleigh to take us to the North Pole.  Santa was super busy and wasn’t able to make it to Oak Brook so we were going to him!







After designing the sleigh, we headed into another room where our sleigh was waiting!  This was a 4-D experience that was pretty cool.  There wasn’t room on the sleigh for Wally & I and before take-off, Luke asked if we were coming.  He was a little worried.  I told him we would hang on to the side of the sleigh.  Once the video started, I think he understood what was happening a little more.  Fiona was hilarious though.  Her reaction to feeling the breeze and chill was awesome!



And just like that, we arrived at the North Pole and waited our turn to see Santa!

We made it!  So fun!

And the “free” part of the experience ends if you want to buy the pictures.  It certainly isn’t cheap, but it helped that we could split the cost.  It was a fun way to meet Santa this year though!

Saturday we were able to get a little bit of baking in!  Paige was my helper this year!

And then we were off to Brookfield Zoo Lights!  Last year was our first year going and we enjoyed it enough to go back again!  The good thing about it being 50 degrees in December is you don’t have to freeze during these fun outings.  The bad thing is all of Illinois will be right there with you!  To say it was crowded is a complete understatement.  BUT the kids had fun, especially Ty.  He couldn’t get enough of all of the lights.







And it didn’t take us as long as we thought it would to get out of the parking lot to head home!

And this week was full of Christmas parties and programs at school.  More to come on those!

This momma elf is all finished shopping – now on to the wrapping!

Luke {Six Years Old}

Luke is 6 years old!  It’s truly hard to believe and I have to admit this is the hardest birthday for me thus far.  He is SIX!  It just seems so much older than 5.  I don’t know if it’s because he’s in “real” school now or because I remember when he was just as little as Ty and how quickly the years have flown by or just because this momma doesn’t want her babies to get too big!



As sad as I am that he is growing up, I’m excited for him too!  It is so fun to watch and help him learn to read.  It truly is amazing to watch someone learn to read and be so excited about it.  It’s just as exciting as when he learned to walk and talk and ride a bike and all of the other firsts! 

It’s also fun to watch his personality continue to blossom.  One of my favorite days of the school year so far was when I got to read to his class.  The actual reading part was fine, but seeing him in the classroom setting & interacting with all of his new friends, made this momma’s heart very happy.  You can’t help but worry when your child heads off to kindergarten.  Will they be alone all day?  Will anyone talk to them?  Will they make new friends?  I always worried that Luke would be the quiet one in the classroom, but I was wrong!  He is super outgoing and is very well-liked in his
class.  He enjoys school and is making friends and is loving learning!   



Another thing about Luke that gives me a big huge puffy heart is seeing the big brother he has become.  Believe me when I say we have moments when he is not a very nice big brother and those moments are sometimes on a daily basis, multiple times a day, but those other moments, which also happen on a daily basis are the best!  I can honestly say that he and Paige are best friends.  The way they use their imagination together is awesome.  Luke is an amazing teacher to Paige!  He is pretty good about sharing his toys and gadgets, and I truly believe he likes being in her company.  She is the best playmate he has!  I also love that he doesn’t mind sharing a room with her, in fact, I think he loves it!  You can find him laying in bed with her at least a few times a week.  And the giggles that come from that room are the best giggles you will ever hear!  They are true partners in crime!

He is also a fabulous big brother to Ty.  Luke gets the biggest squeals and smiles and kicks out of  him.  And he is still amazed when he makes Ty smile.  I can’t wait to see their relationship grow!

Luke is super creative.  He is really into Legos right now and he amazes Wally and I everyday with the things he builds – no direction is necessary.  It all comes right from him.  He also enjoys watching other kids build things with Legos on You Tube – crazy!  He is also into drawing and coloring and writing little stories.  There isn’t a night that goes by that my kitchen table doesn’t look like an art studio.  He is loving Star Wars right now and as always is a tv/movie junkie. 

At 5, he still liked us to read to him and rub his back and hold our hand and spend time with us.  I know those things can start to change as he becomes even more independent and is influenced more by his school friends but this momma will adjust and continue to rub his back and hold his hand as long as I can!

Having a December birthday can be hard with the holidays surrounding it, but I LOVE it!  December has always been such a magical month for me and to have your first baby in this month makes it even more special.  I’ll never forget the ride home from the hospital with Luke…I was riding in the back seat with him, we were listening to Christmas music and I just couldn’t stop crying (I know, I’m sure it was hormones), but life just felt different and so much better and bigger!  I always think back to that day whenever I listen to Christmas music now.  The last line of one of my favorite Christmas songs, “A Baby Changes Everything” is “My whole life has turned around. I was lost, but now I’m found.  A baby changes everything.”  This little boy has changed our lives in ways he will never understand until he is a parent himself.  We couldn’t possibly love him anymore!

Happy 6^th birthday to the little boy who will always be my Christmas baby and the one who gave me the best title in the world!