Recap of the Holidays: Part 2

This year, we spent most of our free time in December gathering up gifts for our families in Boston & Detroit, so when Dec. 23rd rolled around, we found ourselves at Toys R' Us with Carly in tow (for those who haven't ever tried to get a babysitter that close to Christmas, it's nearly impossible). So we were the pathetic parents dragging our confused toddler up & down each row of the toy store, waiving potential Santa gifts under her nose to gage a reaction. We got past the legos, the dolls, the dress-up clothes (is she my daughter?), and the leap frog ensembles without as much as a smirk.

Then, my friends, we strolled by the bike section. Holy Toledo, who knew the kid could say "bike" or comprehend the freedom this little machine could bring her? Yet, she promptly climbed out of the shopping cart and trotted over to help herself on a little radio flyer model, where she sat and said "biyyyyahhhkkk" (her accent is reminiscent of Borat's) over and over and over. The scene leaving the store--without the bike, as it was December 23rd and, of course, there were none left except the store model--was a disaster. And, yes, we felt like the worst Santas in the world.

On Christmas Day, Carly finally connected the concept of Santa/HoHoHo/YouBetterBeGoodOrSantaWon'tCome to the pot of gold tucked underneath our tiny tree (my mom always insisted on the largest tree in the lot, while Greg buys the cheapest in the lot). At first, she was confused by the eager expectations of her parents each time she touched a present. After just 2 unwrappings, however, she became a pro. She even helped Sully and Greg unwrap their gifts.

Here are the highlights:

Our tree with all the loot.



Carly meticulously combing Strawberry Shortcake's luscious mane of hair. Some may say this was a mean gift to give her (for obvious reasons).



A new book.



The little people farm, the most exciting of the Toys 'R Us purchases.



Her first Cabbage Patch kid, courtesy of Auntie Bridget & Uncle Kevin. Her name is Allie Luz and her birthday is February 1st (no pressure Bridget, but Carly and I plan on having a birthday party for her next weekend).



And, a week later........courtesy of Amazon Santa.....THE BIKE!!!

Greg's classic fatherhood moment of assembling his oldest child's first bike:



Carly's excitement was only tempered by the realization that it was too icy to take the bad boy outside for a real drive.

Recap of the Holidays: Part 1

I am admittedly behind. I blame each of you who sent us a gorgeous photo of your child, self, or family last month. In mid-November, we (and by "we" I mean "I") actually began the Christmas Card Photo Process. Eventually, I gave it three, freshly-shampooed-and-coiffured, 4pm-clean-outfit, make-the-dog-happy-with-peanut-butter sessions and still failed. You simply set the standard too high.

Why do I even try to do these things myself? I need to realize that to produce the perfect holiday photo of a toddler and a mut, minimally it takes a hint of talent and, ideally, it takes two fully engaged adults. Alas, we spent the month of December receiving beautifully staged photos while becoming increasingly panicked about our own situation.

If you have yet to receive our 2007 Christmas card, you are not alone. Our amateur photo card is actually on it's way. For anyone who needs proof that I indeed made a good faith effort to get a good photo, here you go, our holiday bloopers 2007:

Exhibit 1: The Baking Shots
Problem: I couldn't get Sully in the photo without grossing out all the people who received some of these cookies.






Exhibit 2: Tree Trimming
Problem: This clearly was going to be a staged shot because we didn't actually keep any ornaments within Carly's reach. The subject refused to play along.




Exhibit 3: Taking It Outside
Problem: We were doing good with this photo shoot until Sully had a mild panic attack on the slide steps.





Exhibit 4: The Cozy Fireplace Shot
Problem: (A) We don't have a working fireplace (see faux logs); (B) Someone put ants in Carly's pants.

After a few shots, she had to take a quick drink break.

Then she tried to get her dad's drink & a few of his cheezits.

Then I had to fire my assistant.

Then Carly had to take a call.

I later realized that teaching her to hop up on the furniture for the photo shoot later was going to bite me in the you-know-what.

Several little gems

Folks, the tree is up and Carly is in the Christmas spirit bigtime. Anyone like the Marian skirt?




Does anyone else recognize these dance moves from Greg's late night routine? (mom, hit "play" below and turn up the volume.)



Oh, and I forgot to post these last week after our first snow of the season. Of course, the storm came just in time to ruin my 3 hours of freedom with a babysitter, but who wants to Christmas shop when you can sit in traffic listening to Christmas music? Greg may have some competition at Costco on Dec. 24th.



Poor Sully. So much snow, so little time. He was devastated to discover that the snow melted the next day.

The photos say it all

Leafing Fall Behind

As a new parent, I have endless internal discussions about all the life lessons I'm responsible for teaching my child(ren?). This includes the concept of peer pressure, in all its glory. So when I found myself succumbing to the neighborhood peer pressure to rake my leaves into the street on this rainy afternoon so that the city can come vacuum them up whenever they happen to get around to it, I couldn't help but feel like an idiot. Raking is a thankless job with a lot as small as ours (did I mention we have no trees?), especially when Monday's forecast states: Windy, 40 degrees. Fantastic. Anyway, I could have done the raking earlier in the week, but Carly and I were having such a great time playing hide-and-seek in the piles that I never got around to finishing the job.



Anyone want an update from Thanksgiving? We had a great time and here's the proof.....





To be honest, it probably isn't fair for me to post this shot because CQ was balling about a half second later, but the first attempt at a [last name omitted due to internet weirdos] cousin shot should be duly noted:



Friday night at Bridget & Kev's home....I think Carly is smiling at Auntie Michelle's cute shoes:


The second cousin photo went much smoother:



And finally, Carly loved the attention at Grammy & Grampy's house and promises to be back soon:

Big Girls Don't Cry, they give Thanks.

Like millions of other Americans, we are heading out of town today for Thanksgiving. This morning, CQ and I dropped off Sully amidst some huge (HUGE!) crocodile tears and a coinciding guilty indulgence of 3 playtime sessions (that's right Greg, they are $8 a pop). Now we just await the glorious fun of holiday travel.

While I was chatting with my mom the other day, she reminded me that our holiday tradition is to say what we are thankful for before eating dinner (I do this every day, mom, before I sit down with my peanut butter toast). Thinking back, I'm pretty sure she is right. We can probably even prove it with the horrendous Thanksgiving meal that Dad videotaped, but I trust her that we've been doing it since the beginning. Unfortunately, I won't be celebrating with mom this year, so I thought I'd give it a shot so she knows I'm keeping the tradition alive.

Here we go............(one for each of my years)..I'm thankful for:

33) the ability to upload photos on my blog, after several hours chatting with the Mac "geniuses" (?)
32) the Rock
31) Carly's frog
30) that next year, I'll be thankful for my new niece (fingers crossed)
29) my new screened porch
28) all my friends with little kids who get me through the crazy times
27) crazy times
26) calm times
25) knowing that when we return this weekend, Sully's nemesis (another golden visiting the folks who live behind us) will have returned home
24) my blackberry (at least I didn't say tivo)
23) Mom
22) Scott
21) Grandma Rita
20) Julie, Judd, Nick, Charlie, & Joey
19) Grace & Werner
18) Dan, Michelle & Jack
17) Bridget, Kevin & Colin
16) having the ability & means to travel to see all of the above
15) their ability to come see us (Feb is booked, but we are open NYE & MLK Jr. weekend....anyone?)
14) having a great time celebrating both Werner's 60th and mom's 60th this year along with all their great friends and family
13) All the 2007 babes: Sienna, my nephew Jack, Owen, cousin Michael, Aidan, Bella's little brother Jack, my nephew Colin, & cousin Joseph...holy Toledo!
12) the February ski trip weekend & not feeling stupid arriving with a car packed with pretty much everything Carly owned
11) "The Office"
10) Friday happy hours
9) the Pit playground
8) my massive new cutting board, which has turned 2 of my 3 feet of counter space into a dream kitchen
7) living in the USA, despite its many flaws
6) my 11 morning donut runs with Nick this summer
5) winning the ipod contest at Irwin's wedding
4) our beautiful fall
3) Sully, even though he has recently developed a bold new love for the green chair
2) Greg, and
1) Carly Quinn!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

Today was CQ's last day at swim class with dad, so I hauled myself out of bed and went along to take some photos & videos (hit 'play' button below). Now I just need a frame for her swimming certificate.