Oh Deer

Thanks, Minnesota.  I'll remember you too.

Both kids were asleep when we hit the deer - Lucy woke up and wanted to be part of the action.  Our crash was the focus of her storytelling for several weeks.  Baby J?  Jamie didn't even open an eye.

Christmas Eve 2011

The wonder of Christmas through the eyes of child.

Our stack of shipped boxes - Christmas gets more complex and simpler at the same time when you're far away from your family.  More complex as everything needs to get shipped around rather than loaded into the trunk.  Pre-planning is crucial.  Simpler as we (for the first time ever) didn't need to race around house to house on Christmas Eve and day trying to make sure we get enough time in with all the different families.  All these boxes sat in our garage until Christmas Eve, as not to throw Lucy into fits.  I knew she would be begging to open gifts as soon as she saw them so we kept our under tree area bare until the last possible minute.  It was a very good idea.

The kids in front of the presents - Jamie smiles because he's Jamie, Lucy smiles because she CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THESE PRESENTS ARE FOR US!

Baking some Santa cookies was a last-minute project.  Thanks Grandma, for again saving our skins with the cookie mix, frosting, and sprinkles.  The sprinkles are about half gone now, as Lucy has put them on cookies, cupcakes, and toast in the morning.  We put the big confetti-looking sprinkles on and call it "vacation toast".

And it's a good thing we baked all those cookies because Santa must have had a heck of a time hauling the loot into the house.  The kitchen is so much fun, Lucy's been wanting one for a long time now (how does St. Nick know all this?) with some kitchen accessories and a guitar.

Jamie's decidedly smaller pile.  Lucy did not seem to notice or care, which I was kind of worried about.

Amazing!  He came and the reindeer too!  (I wish I had videoed the jumping in thrill when she realized the treats had been eaten.)

To borrow a phrase from a friend, an embarrassment of riches.  We are so fortunate to have all this, thanks to everyone who has been thinking of us this holiday season.  And our tree really isn't as pathetic or crooked as it looks here, I swear.

Minneapolis Visit

 My mother has officially lost all her children to the midwest.  Ryan and Grace live in Minneapolis now, about 3.5 hours north of us here.  The first time Ryan came to visit we joked that we lived on the same street.  He's about a mile from I-35 and so are we.  I gave him the directions and he said "That's it?"  In case anyone was wondering about coming for a visit, we're really, really easy to find ..... once you get to Iowa.

I had a 3-day weekend at school so I decided to head to Minneapolis for a quick overnight visit.  It's the kind of drive I NEVER would have made for a night living in Maine, it would have seemed so long.  Since doing the drive back and forth 5 times now at 1600 miles each way, a short jaunt to Minneapolis seems like I could do it for an afternoon.

Uncle Ryan brought us over to the UM campus to see where he goes to school, and wouldn't you know that the performing arts folks have an ampitheater?  What luck, as it's a great place to show off your latest song and dance routine.

Take a bow, Lucy.

And no trip to Minneapolis would be complete without seeing the spectacle at the Mall of America, right?  Ryan apparently spends a fair amount of time there, as Grace works at a couple of stores in the mall, but didn't bat an eye when I told him I'd like to see it.  I'd go back, too.  It was a vacation destination.  We didn't even get to the aquarium.

Idol fans, Scotty McCreery was there signing autographs.  And no, I did not wait in line for one.  (Took the picture for Mom, really, and she tells me she already has an autograph from the concert.)

Behold, the wonder of the indoor amusement park.  We walked by the aquarium then walked by the park and gave Lucy the choice.  Take a guess which one she picked to go to.

Lucy and me in front of the big kid swings.  Tickets are super expensive when purchased individually, so we gave her a one-ride limit.  The swings were the ride she picked.  These were the real deal, too.  No baby ride here.

This is Lucy's dance of joy when she found out she was tall enough to ride!  (You can see Uncle Ryan pushing the stroller in the background - a natural.)

Uncle Ryan kindly stayed with Baby J while we took to the skies.  The thrill of anticipation ....

This photo does nothing to show the ABSOLUTE TERROR Lucy experienced on the ride.  We look like we're having a nice time here, right?  Nope.  As soon as we started to swing she started screaming Stop! Stop!  Before the ride began, the kid working the controls came over the speaker to tell us if anyone needed the ride stopped to simply signal with your hand.  Visions of my father here, but my kid was not going to be the one to do it.  I had timed the ride while we were waiting (mostly to figure out how much we were paying per second of ride) and it was about a minute and a half, so I knew it would be over soon.  I say I didn't want to stop the ride, but I also didn't want Lucy's experience with something so grown up to be a total failure either.  So I squeezed her tight, we were in a double seat, and told her how brave she was and how proud Uncle Ryan was going to be. 

We made it!  Now that I look at it again, the picture of us might have been after the ride.  You would never guess the amount of screaming and shaking she did by the way she acted when the ride was all over.  She might have even mentioned going on it again.

Totally random but this is the LEGO store.  Those are all larger-than-life lego creations.  They were up on the roof of the store, though, so you couldn't touch them.  Probably for good reason, but I would have loved to see them up close.

And awww, thanks for having us Uncle Ryan and Aunt Grace!  Great hospitality, great company, and a great time. 

But ... oh Deer.  I'll get a couple of pictures up of what my car looked like after the trip home.

Trick or Treat 2011

Halloween this year was SO MUCH FUN.  It fits the holiday category that I've been looking forward to since Lucy was born (or since I was pregnant really) where she gets super excited.  Yea!  We had a Halloween extravaganza with two weekend trips to the Reiman Gardens spooktacular, the downtown trick-or-treat in the afternoon, and time out in the neighborhood in the evening.  Whoa.  Lucky for us (and thanks to Grandma), there were two available costumes.

Ladybug girl!  As we were headed to Reiman Gardens, we chose the bug costume.  It was perfect, too, as one of the attractions of the day was costumed dancing bugs.  The event was a lot of fun.  There were the dancing bugs, trick or treat stations throughout the garden paths, crafts, a story circle, and a wildlife station with owls and hawks (very cool).  We will definitely go back.

 This is Lucy with Nataleah, a friend who met us for the afternoon.

 And did someone say Halloween?  There must have been a mix up, as Jamie thought it sounded like naptime.  I love sleeping babies.

 Salsa with the ladybug.

 Waltz with the butterfly.

And on to our next trick or treat experience!  This is the downtown toddler time, 10-2 on a Monday.  How cool that even though I'm working, I still get out in time to do this?  Lucy chose the pirate costume for the occasion - can you see the map in her hand?  She likes a cartoon on Disney called Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and there is a song they sing called "roll up the map" so a map was an essential part of the costume.  Also, check out the purple striped pirate pants.  This costume was homemade, if you can't tell, and the purple fabric was the inspiration. 

 Lucy and Jamie the bumble bee. 
 
 This is our crowd - Jamie, Carson, Hayden, Lucy, and Jordan.  The other boys you might recognize from our 4th of July parade.  Three strollers meant Lucy and Carson were heading into stores alone, and coming out even before one of us parked a stroller and followed.  When I finally started going in with the two of them, it was mayhem.  They ran, grabbed candy, and Carson literally would shove a piece of candy into his mouth in every store.  I told Ann, but I'm not sure I got the message across.  This picture was taken right before Carson had a complete meltdown, sugar crash, and had to be dragged home kicking and screaming (literally).  I'm always secretly glad it's not Lucy having the moment.

 We also met up with Lucy's friend Stella from preschool, and her little brother Oliver who's exactly the same age as Jamie.  The girls were so excited to see each other.  I get a kick out of the fact that Lucy is now a woman of the world, and has a whole bunch of experiences I'm not a part of.  She's growing up.

Finally, the evening (real) trick or treat in our neighborhood.  This is Lucy's "my daddy is coming" face.  Jamie's just trying to figure out how to bend in the middle with that costume on.

 For Eric, I think it was a lesson in how many neighbors I know.  There is a neighborhood play group, so I know almost everyone who has small children around out street and they were all out and about.  Our fun was cut short by an emergency trip to the potty, but after our Halloween extravaganza, I think it was ok.

I'll leave you with the cutest photo of my Jamie Bee.

And on to November with the next post ....