Andy's Christmas Performance

On Wednesday, we had Andy's Christmas performance at his school. It was pretty stinkin' cute.  My mom and Cal came with me (Eddie thought it was Thursday so he missed it--whoops!!!). 

The older kids come out first and tell the story of Baby Jesus's birth.  As they wrap up, we could hear some noise in the back of the room so we knew they were bring out the little guys.  I love this fist few picture.  Andy is just kinda walking along... woah, there are people in here. 

 Then he sort of froze, so Ms. Stephena took his hand to lead him to a spot...

 I wish I could cut this teacher out of this (sorry, Mr. Mike), because Andy's face is hilarious in it.  If you can, click on it to see it larger.  It's like he's thinking, "okay. soooo....now what are we gonna do?"

Love his hands in this one...

The little guy next to Andy, Charlie had a big brother taking pictures (walking in front in black).   Andy was just kind of looking around.  Not singing, not really smiling... just taking it all in....

 And then, he spotted me. 

 It was like he wasn't sure if it was really me, or just someone who looked like me.  So he just stared and got a little grin.

And then he came running.  In the middle of the song.  See all the other kids still sitting nicely?

He was SO excited to see us! I mean, I don't think I've ever gotten a picture like this before with both of us looking at the camera and smiling!

After hugging for a minute, he ran back to the class.  Then, as I started taking pictures again, he stood up, held up his hand like a stop sign and started saying "no. no. no. no." But he waves his hand as he does it.  Again, wish I could make this one bigger too... it cracks me up!

He would walk back and then peek back at us to make sure we were still there.  How cute is this little nugget??

After the "performance" (and I will use that word loosely), the class had a little lunch back in the room.  I love seeing them sit at the little table.

Andy has such a sweet little class.  I am friends with most of the moms outside of school, so it is always fun to have something like this where we all get together.  It's also great knowing he's around such great kids. 

Even though Andy didn't really "perform" I thought it was pretty spectacular.  But, hey, I am slightly bias.

 

Christmas Cards

I LOVE getting the mail this time of year.  Christmas cards make me SO happy.  And I can't bring myself to throw out the old cards, which, I know, is just ridiculous.  I sat this year and looked at all of the cards from last year, smiling at how much the kids have changed in a year. 

Our cards have gone out already, so I figured I should document them here as well...

Merry Christmas, y'all!

 

Dinner with Santa!

Every year our country club holds a dinner with Santa.  We have been doing this since Cal was just a 3 month old and it is a highlight for me (and now the kids) every year!

This year, we sat with the Conner's-- Brad's family.  Cal was SOOO excited to get to sit with Brad!

 It starts out a little chaotic every year- people are trying to make plates from the buffet, kids are running everywhere and it is just wild....then, the doors open and you hear bells ringing.  Santa walks in and everyone just freezes and stares at him.  I caught this picture of Cal and Brad right as he was walking in...

After Santa makes his grand entrance, he sits in a chair for kids to go up and see him.  I took this one of Brad and his baby sister, Jane:

 Brad asked Santa for a trampoline.... hahahaha


While we were waiting in line, both boys were hovering nervously around me.  I had my hand down and they each grabbed a finger on the same hand.  We stood in line like this for a while. I couldn't stop staring at my hand.  It sounds so cheesy, but it was so special.  How much longer will they do this? I am guessing not much, so I am going to enjoy this!

 Andy was Mr. Personality that night... he was all about getting as close to Santa as he possibly could, but then he would run away.  In playing this game, he managed to photo bomb several family pictures...

 Then, it was our turn.

As a reminder, this was Cal last year:

  And this was him this year....

 He was very serious and very sweet to Santa.

He told Santa he really wanted an airport and a football game.  Santa asked him what his favorite team was, he said the Giants (which isn't true-- he's obsessed with the Packers).  Santa asked him if he was a good boy and Cal said, "yeah. I am!" Then Santa asked Cal what his mommy wanted for Christmas.  Cal told him a Tinker Bell (I was trying to get him to say shoes! Boots! purses! but don't worry, Santa-- I send you my list).  Then he changed it to a Jingle Bell. 

 And then, it was time for Andy to join Cal on Santa's lap.  He wasn't real excited about it. At all.

 Then he threw his arms up to try and twist out of his grasp.  Santa said "ho ho ho, buddy! Not making me look so good right now hohohoooo!!!" It was hilarious...hard not to laugh, really. 

 Cal was all smiles.  Andy was all screams. 

After we were done with Santa, Andy would NOT leave him alone.  He would run up to him and touch his knee (while there was another child sitting on his lap) and then run away.  He would sneak up to him and get as close as he could and just look at him...and then he would run away.  It was a mess.  He thought it was just the funniest thing.
 Getting ready to pounce on Santa....

 This little girl is Phoebe.  She is in Andy's class.  She actually has a little thing for Cal. but Andy was having a ball playing with her.

 Someone asked Santa where his reindeer were and he said they were on the golf course.  The boys ran to the window to look for them...

We put some of the many many kids there up on the fireplace for a picture.  From left to right, Brad, Jack, Elle, T, Cal and Andy. 

 More chasing Phoebe....

 And this was a picture from last year's dinner with Santa of Cal and Brad.  It is WILD to me how much they have changed in just a year....

 I keep saying it and I can't say it enough... I have always loved Christmas time, but having a child to share all of this magic with is just so special.  Cal can NOT wait for Santa!

 

Friday 12.14.12

I woke up on Friday morning and fully intended to write a post about our dinner with Santa from Thursday night.  I was actually planning the post in my head-- I am a geek like that.  I was going to write the post at the boys' nap time. 

But Friday was a weird day...

On Thursday, as we were leaving the gym, a fire truck pulled up.  That isn't too odd because the local fire department works out there and we see them often-- they know the boys and let them see the truck, etc.  This time, though, they had their lights on.  I got out of their way with Andy (who was frantically screaming FIRE TRUCK and waving at his buddies) as the guys ran inside the gym with their clipboards and fanny packs filled with supplies.  I didn't think too much of it at the time...

On Friday morning at the gym, I asked the girl at the front desk what happened on Thursday and she told me a guy had a brain aneurism while working out.  Yikes.  I asked if it was an older guy.  It was a 25 year old guy.  I asked if he worked out there often.  He was there 5 days a week, at the same time as me.  I asked if I knew him.  She nodded and described the guy.  Yes, I knew of him.  I do not know his name; we never spoke to each other, both of us tuned out with headsets on.  But we acknowledged each other-- we've seen each other just about 5 days a week for the past year.  He was taken to the hospital and my friend at the front desk said he wasn't doing well.

I got on the treadmill with a heavy heart.  A friend came in and was feeling sad because the friend she was going to meet after the gym for coffee just canceled because they were taking her friend off of life support.  We both just felt so sad right then for these people-- people we didn't even know-- experiencing such hard times right before the holidays. 

Cal and I ran our errands on Friday and I was a little early to pick up Andy from school.  I opened Facebook and saw a friend post "A School Shooting." My heart dropped.  That was before I heard the details. 

I was glued to the TV the rest of the day.  I couldn't stop watching.  I couldn't stop tearing up.  I couldn't stop the sickening feeling in my stomach.  As more and more details were released, my heart just ached. 

This incident felt too close to home.  I am not sure if it is because I was a teacher, or if it's because many of my friends have kids that are in kindergarten, or if it's because I am a mom now, and only now can I fully begin to grasp the amount of pain those parents must be feeling. 

I know everyone has similar reactions to this, and I do not want to write on and on about how awful this was-- we ALL know it was awful.  We are ALL sickened by this insane and viscous act of cruelty. 

Friday night, we had plans with a huge group to go out together for holiday cocktails.  We all debated whether or not we should go.  I felt inappropriate going out and drinking...I felt like I should just sit at home and be with my kids.  But, as one friend put it, "if we start canceling our plans, we are letting him win..." Plus, not to mention, I told Cal his favorite babysitter was coming and he was beside himself with excitement for her to show up.  If I canceled her, he would have been heartbroken. 

We went out and saw a bunch of friends, and honestly, it did feel good to turn off the TV and be in the comfort of other parents, all of whom were hurting the same way, and wanting a little escape from that reality. 

As I was finishing up a drink, I checked my phone to see if I had a text from the sitter.  Instead, I had a text from my friend from the gym.  It turns out, the girl she was supposed to meet was going to the hospital to say goodbye to the guy from the gym, who was being taken off of life support. Neither one of us knew while we were talking that morning that was who she was talking about. 

It is a small and sad world. 

My heart hurts for this guy who I never knew.  I heart hurts for his family who has to go through the holidays next week without him.  My heart hurts for his friends who won't get to hangout with him any more. 
My heart hurts more than words can say for those poor poor victims of Sandy Hook.  Those teachers that risked their lives to save their kids are beyond heroes.  My heart hurts for the parents of those kids-- I can not even imagine the hole they must feel in their hearts. 
My heart literally aches for the children who were not shot-- but who witnessed the shootings.  How in the world will they EVER be able to feel safe in a school again? How does a 5 year old move on from that? How does a teacher move on from that? How does anyone? 

I was thankful that neither kid went to school today, because honestly, I think I would have had a hard time sending them.  I am going to have a hard time sending Andy on Wednesday.  We can't hold on to them in and live in fear because of a crazy person like that...but there are crazy people out there. 

So, I know this was a depressing post, but I had to get it out there.  I want to look back at the blog and remember everything going on in our lives-- not just the positive happy ones.

Hug your family tight tonight! I can't stop kissing on mine!

ps- happier Santa post coming up soon!!!


 

Phone Case

There are a million cute phone cases out there for the iPhone. I love all of the Kate Spade and Tory Burch ones. But, to be honest, I am hard on my phones.  Well, the boys are hard on them.  They are dropped/drooled on/banged up daily.  And those cases crack/break/can't deal with my boys/me. 

Last year, I ordered a case from zazzle.com and I customized it with a picture of the boys, just because I am obsessed...

Would you believe that that case has lasted over a year? This is a miracle to me-- I am that hard on cases. I went all out and went with the more expensive case that provides added coverage and protection.  The entire purchase was $40. Worth it, in my opinion, if it would be protecting my phone! (plus, the other ones that I like are well over $50)

Other sites are making phone cases with pictures now (there are some really cute ones on shutterfly), but I couldn't find any that offered the protection that zazzle did, so I returned there again this year and made this case for my new phone (which we will be getting next week!)

Zazzle also has a ton of coupons-- I am getting emails from the all the time with discount codes, etc... if any of you are wanting to do this, let me know and I can send you the coupon code of the day!

I get compliments on my case all the time.  And also, I can NOT believe how much these munchkins have changed in a year!


 

The Cookie Monster

My great friend, Andrea, had a sweet little baby boy and I took her dinner today. I made cookies for them last night and I put a sign on them warning people from eating them.

I was posting the picture above to Instagram when Andy walked up to me....holding a cookie half in his hand and half falling out of his mouth.  

He reached up to the counter and was shoving one of these bad boys in his mouth. See the eaten cookie? See the guilty kid?

Lesson learned.

 

Play Group Mom's night out

Although Cal's play group rarely gets together any more since everyone is in school on different days, the moms still love spending time together!  We had our annual Christmas dinner/dirty Santa get together on Monday night. 

One of our good friends is pregnant with boy #2 and she is having horrible morning sickness (that lasts all day).  If she was in the royal family, she would probably be hospitalized, just sayin'.  Anyway, she was upset to miss out on the fun, so she sent a picture of Lucy Lu herself.  We promised to include her in the picture. 

Also, I am wearing some crazy heels-- and I am a giant. 

Last year when we played dirty Santa, one girl thought the gifts were supposed to actually be...um, dirty.  So this year we kept the gifts clean, but there were a lot of funny ones tied in.

Such a fun night with such great friends...I feel so lucky to know these people!