Christmas in Chicago

Our Christmas week started on Saturday in Chicago, where we spent a few days at Grandma and Grandpa's new house. We managed to pack a lot of activities into our time there. 

When we arrived on Saturday, it was raining but not too cold, so we decided to visit Brookfield Zoo's nighttime lights event. Grant was thrilled to see the bear area, especially the polar bear up close. We also got to see a new baby gorilla and other apes from around the world.

But no zoo trip is complete without a ride on the carousel, no matter how cold or rainy it is -- and it always seems to be raining when we go to Brookfield.

The next day we rode the train downtown, and then returned to open gifts with Uncle Alex and Stephanie.

Miles' favorite gifts included a new train and a dry-erase placemat. Luckily, it (and his face) wipe up easily.

Grant's favorite was also a placemat -- of the continents. He carried the placemat everywhere we went for the rest of our trip.

We also visited the Field Museum, a first for Grant and Miles. They loved the big dinosaurs and animal dioramas. They also liked a special area for small children, where the boys played instruments from around the world and "dug" for dinosaur bones.

We also got to see Great-Grandma and my cousin Nicole and her son, Kelvin, who is the same age as G.

It was a busy three-day trip without a single nap. The boys were happy and tired by the time we returned home on Christmas Eve.

Conversations With Miles, 2 Years, 4 Months

A recent dinnertime conversation with Miles:

Me: What's your name?
Miles: My name Miles.
Me: How old are you?
Miles: I 2.
Me: Where do you live?
Miles: Asia.
Me: What's your favorite color?
Miles: I like yellow. I like brown. I like cheese.
Me: What other foods do you like?
Miles: I love eat sweet potato.
Me: What else?
Miles: I love Mommy, Daddy, Jamie, Grant. I love Teddy.

Start Your Engines

This is what the boys have been up to lately, thanks to an extra cold December. When they're not running circles around the house, they are riding, often with Grant driving and Miles holding on while wearing a giant smile.

Santa

For the last three years, G has flat-out refused to visit Santa. Miles had done it just once when he was too young to be afraid.

But this year, G gets Santa. There is something at stake--toys. He needed to be sure that Santa delivered what he wanted. So when asked if he wanted to visit Santa this year, he seemed equally interested and terrified.

We decided to visit Santa at my chiropractor's Christmas party, which meant no lines or pressure. G seemed nervous, but he shyly said "Merry Christmas" and sat down next to the {very tall!} Santa. G very quietly told Santa that he wanted a toothbrush, a flashlight and new binoculars. He was all business.

Miles, on the other hand, gave Santa a high-five and stuck his tongue out at the camera. "I want trains, OK?" he told Santa.

G talked excitedly and non-stop about Santa all the way home. And he had lots of questions. "He's really nice, isn't he Mom?" "Where were the reindeer?" "Is he going back to the North Pole tonight?" "How many more days until Christmas?"

The Whole World in His Hands

G is completely obsessed with maps right now. At school, he has been steadily at work "punching out" each of the continents and gluing the countries onto poster board. So far, he has completed North America, South America, Asia, Australia and Africa and is able to identify many of the states and countries. He tells us that he wants to go to New York to see the Statue of Liberty and to Russia to see bears. Given our love of travel, we love his enthusiasm.

"Are you going to do Antarctica?" I asked him last week. "No, Mom," he said with an exasperated sigh. "There are no people in Antarctica. Only scientists." Well, of course.

A Trip to the Tree Farm

We returned to our favorite Christmas tree farm last weekend to find the perfect tree. It was a sunny, warm November day, so everyone else in the entire state had the same idea.

 Miles had a lot of fun wandering away from us.

It took awhile, but we finally found the perfect, not-too-tall but round and full tree. Here is Kent being manly and cutting it down. The boys also very much wanted to "help" Kent cut down the tree, and they spent much of the trip searching for the perfect stick to do the cutting.

The boys were actually interested in decorating the tree this year, choosing and remembering favorite ornaments. They loved them so much that they wanted to take them down to look at them again and again. After hanging the same ornaments over and over again, I reminded them that the ornaments stay on the tree.

Other than a stubbornly crooked star on top, the tree looks lovely. We're pretty excited for our first Christmas in our new house.

Thanksgiving

We had a nice Thanksgiving--small and simple, with Grandma and Grandpa at our house this year. Besides a fabulous turkey made by Kent, the boys enjoyed sweet potatoes, Grandma's creamed corn, cranberry salad and brussels sprouts. And several desserts, or course.

Miles was a good sous chef, helping me make pumpkin pie (and spilling just a little bit on poor Ted the Hero).

During dinner, Grant asked, "So what are you thankful for?" His response: "Family."