The First Real Snowfall of the Year

So it snowed a little bit earlier in the week, but this morning we woke up to a good 3 inches of snow. By 8:30 we were all ready to get outside to play in it!

Off they go!








Down he goes....the question is - can he get back up????


With a little help from Daddy he can!




Daddy got him with a snowball!


Now it's time to get Daddy back!




Even Nala was having lots of fun running around!


Unfortunately, the gloves didn't last too long. Seriously, how do you get your kid to keep the mittens on????? Actually the question is how do you get them ON so that your kid can actually use his hands??? I can make them tight enough so they don't come off, but he can't function very well...sigh...we'll figure this out!

Luke took a trip down the slide into a pile of snow.


Time to shovel and/or rake!


Then I asked for him to pose in front of the house - this is what I got!


Then he tried to get Nala to pose too!


Then it was time to head to the front so Daddy could shovel. Luke helped too!




Luke thought he could brush the snow off the driveway.


We had lots of fun enjoying the first 'real' snowfall of the winter and it's STILL snowing! Then it was meltdown city when it was time to come in. He didn't want his coat on any longer so I told him we needed to come inside, but then when we were in the laundry room to undress and he wouldn't take his snowsuit or boots off and was throwing a fit over, well, just about everything...is this what happens when kids turn 2 (or are about to turn 2)? Yikes! By 11:30 Luke was asking us to go lay down in his bed...good idea Luke :)

A Cubs Loss

Ron Santo passed away last night. I got the news via text message from my mom this morning. It was very sad news for me to hear. This is the second announcer for the Cubs that I have felt very sad having lost. The first was Harry Caray. I remember being quite upset when I heard he was gone in February of 1998. Harry and I spent many summer days together when I was younger. I used to create my own scorebooks at home (I used notebook paper and a ruler - I am sure my parents would have bought me a scorebook, but I never asked) and I would watch the games, keep score, and listen to Harry Caray and Steve Stone announcing. During Speech class my senior year of high school, I even wrote a eulogy to Harry Caray for one of my speeches. I wish I knew where that speech was! So now, I must do the same for Ronnie (this will probably turn into rambling as I am not being graded this time around!).

I have been a life-long Cubs fan! I will admit that over the past 2 years, the number of Cubs games I have actually sat down and watched has significantly decreased, but that is because life just got busier, not because I was any less of a Cubs fan. But there was nothing better than listening to a Cubs game on the radio. Ronnie and Pat made many long afternoons at work go by a little quicker for me.

Not everyone was a fan of Ron being on the radio and many questioned whether or not he should even be in that seat. But to me, and many others, Ron embodied a Cub fan in every way possible. He was full of emotions and they were real. When a Cubs player made an error or when a player hit into a double play with the bases loaded, Ron's reaction was exactly the same as the way I was reacting. The only difference was that he was being heard by millions. When a Cubs player would make an outstanding play or hit the ball out of the park, Ronnie's reaction again was exactly the same as every other Cubs' fan out there. He didn't really have a filter - some would say that is not a good thing for a sports announcer, but that is what made Ronnie so likeable. He was just like us and wanted a Cubs win just as badly as we did.

Ron went through many hard things in his life, but I believe that the Cubs made his bad days better - whether they won or lost. I think that is a great thing to have in your life. Baseball can be a long, drawn out sport, but sometimes allowing yourself to just get swept away in America's favorite past time is just what the doctor ordered.

True Cubs fans love the Cubs whether they are winning or losing. True Cubs fans are not fair-weather fans. After a Cubs loss, Ronnie would often say to Pat at the end of the broadcast, "let's go get 'em tomorrow Patrick". There is always hope for a winning season for a Cubs fan and Ronnie certainly had that hope.

I will miss the ridiculous things Ronnie said during the broadcasts. I will miss hearing his love for the Cubs through his unfiltered reactions during the game. Cubs radio will not be the same...Ronnie truly is irreplaceable! RIP Ronnie - you will be missed :(

Thankful

So I know Thanksgiving has passed, but I just wanted to express how very thankful Wally and I are for our families. These past 2 weeks have been kind of crazy and our family has been there for us, no questions asked and more than willing. It is nice to know no matter how near or far we are from our families that they will be here anytime - even if they have to leave at 5:30 in the morning to be here by 7 AM!

So thank you, thank you, thank you to my parents, Wally's parents, both of my sisters, and the rest of the family that was more than willing to help out if we needed you! Luke thoroughly enjoyed his 2 weeks with family babysitters in his home!

So one final thank you, but I am also going to be very thankful to get our routine back and get everyone's life back to normal!

Boys & Drama

Who says boys can't be drama-filled?!?!

This happens on a very frequent basis! My little faker!

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This is how I dress when Papa watches me...

Daddy's Bears hat, last year's red snow suit jacket, and this year's orange mittens!

The Beginning of Christmas 2010

I am not skipping right over Thanksgiving this year, but I forgot my camera when we headed back to LP for the holiday! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of lots of family and fun.

We came home on Saturday afternoon and slowly started pulling out the Christmas decorations. When we were downstairs, Luke found the movie Polar Express so we decided to halt all decorating and put in the movie. Then one of the most amazing things happened, Luke sat and cuddled with me for the ENTIRE movie! I have to say that was one of the best moments I have had as a mommy. Me and my little boy, snuggled up, watching one of my favorite movies during my most favorite time of year - it was the best!

Sunday we were in full-on decorating mode. Luke was as helpful as we needed him to be, which was great!

And here are some snapshots of some of our decorations!

This was the first year we hung lights up outside. Here is the big reveal - part of a strand shorted out so we had to fix that. But all in all, it looks great!

Church

Luke has been to church just about every weekend of his life. There are very few weekends that I can recall him not going. He generally is pretty good. In fact, 3 weeks in a row now we have made it through the whole mass without taking Luke into the children's room.

He really gets the routine. He knows he is supposed to be quiet, but we have to remind him of this quite frequently. He points out "Fadder" multiple times throughout mass. When we walk in, Luke really looks forward to dipping his hand in the holy water. He makes a pretty good attempt at the Sign of the Cross and usually very loudly says "Amen!".



When it is time to stand up during mass, which of course is multiple times, Luke lets everyone know by saying "sand up". He LOVES putting the envelope in the basket. You can see the anticipation in his face as the basket gets closer and closer to us. And if there is a second collection at the end of mass, Luke asks us for money so he can do it again!

Luke is also very friendly to the other parishioners. In our church, we all hold hands during the Our Father and Luke very willingly will hold one of the other parishioner's hands. He also makes sure he shakes hands with everyone around him during the Sign of Peace. Everyone just loves shaking hands with Lukey!

The main reason I decided to blog about church today though is because this morning Luke did something at mass that we had no idea he even knew anything about. After mass was over, we guided Luke out of the pew and at the end, he genuflected! It was the cutest thing I have ever seen! I was literally cracking up! It's so funny the things that kids pick up on that you don't even realize. I think we usually are carrying Luke out of church and genuflect with him in our arms so he knew just what to do when he walked out on his own! One other lady saw him and was also laughing pretty hard!