Snapshots from December

This month consisted of lots of moving and unpacking and organizing and running errands and Christmas shopping and... being sick, which slowed down all the former activities rather significantly. Good thing we had this cute face to get us through.

Move-in day! Crazy weather (read: big mess in our brand new home) and a super nutritious first meal.

Trust me when I tell you that this cart filled up terribly fast.

Such a big tub for such a little guy.

Stairs and boxes. What more could a 15-month-old want?

Matt went on a boy's trip, which would normally not be a big deal, but it was right after the movers came. Since we weren't actually really moved in at all, Jake and I headed back to my parents' for a few days. And shared a double bed. And this is how he slept. Jake was generous enough to leave me with approximately 8 inches.

Wipes and toys... same thing.

So cuddly!

Visitors are the best. Jake was excited to see his friend Emmy and his Jordan and Nicole.

Matt was the best kind of Santa's helper out there.

My poor little sick boy.

Sliding into snow is the best!

More and more snow!

New Year's Eve!

Season's Greetings from the Sickies

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We sure did ... despite our cute little guy being in the middle of a weeklong fever, complete with a horrible cough and occasional throwing up. Poor Jake has only really been sick twice: over his 1st birthday and over Christmas. According to his cute 5-year-old cousin, it's not fair because those are the two most exciting days of the year! I agree.

Luckily, Jake is a trooper and was still the happiest little baby all week. He mostly just needed lots of extra cuddles, but no mom would ever complain about that! Jakey's cough was so bad that it would make him throw up a little a couple times a day. A couple nights ago, he threw up a ton, all over himself and me and the floor beneath us. Instead of crying, Jake went and got a wipe and started trying to clean up the carpet. He is such a sweet boy.

Unfortunately, all of our contact with that sweet boy has put Matt a little under the weather, and me really under the weather. Jake didn't sleep well during the fevered days, and 13 hours of nighttime sleep over 5 days apparently didn't agree with my immune system. (The thousand kisses I gave him probably didn't help, either. but how could I not??) Just when Jake started to improve, I was a lost cause. So instead of heading to California to ring in the new Year with family and friends, we are camping out on the couch like a bunch of sickies. We're crossing our fingers that we'll all get over this soon! Holiday posts will come as soon as this sickness goes :)

Nap time with Daddy and a fever of 102.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have the most wonderful Christmas day!

Things have been so crazy over the past few months with the whole extended move/home building process, and regretfully, they didn't slow down quite enough to send Christmas cards to everyone we would have liked to include. Hopefully the new year will bring a sense of normal as we finally settle down. But in the meantime, here's a bit of holiday love from our little family :)

Christmas in NYC: Macy's Santaland

When we first dreamed up this trip last December, there were three absolutely-must-do's on our list: 1) seeing the Rockefeller tree, 2) Going ice skating somewhere iconic, and 3) Visiting the Santa Claus at Macy's fabled Santaland. I was especially excited about #3 for Jake's sake, and Santaland exceeded all of our expectations. It was magical!

First thing Monday morning, we bundled up our little elf and hopped on the subway to 34th Street. We arrived at Macy's about twenty minutes before all the crowds did, which meant we got to wander through Santaland at our own pace without any semblance of a line. The adventure begins with "boarding" a train, walking through the train cars, and then arriving at the North Pole at night. Santaland is just what it should be -- bright, colorful and happy, full of toys and elves and Christmas cheer under thousands of twinkling lights. A child's dream come true! We loved looking at all of the fun and elaborate displays as we made our way toward Santa Claus.

As amazing as Santaland was... "Santa" himself was sort of disappointing. This certain Santa's helper just wasn't nearly as good as we all know the real jolly ol' man is. When we told him that Jake can say "ho, ho, ho," Santa said "ho, ho, ho" .... in the most girly, high-pitched voice we've ever heard. Jake's "ho, ho, ho" is legitimately ten times better. So that was kind of interesting-in-a-bad-way, and so was the "blue steel" face he made in all the pictures. Santa didn't smile once! He really was just awkward. Jake was kind of like, "Who is this weirdo?" And so were we. Ha. But thankfully, Jake met a much better Santa's helper later, and Santaland itself was still totally worth the trip. I mean, look at it!

Macy's on 34th Street really goes above and beyond for Christmas, and we loved it!

Christmas in NYC: Park Avenue Tree Lighting

One of our very favorite parts of the trip was the Park Avenue Tree Lighting and Carol Sing. The Presbyterian Church at Park Avenue and 91st Street hosts the event every year, and Park Avenue is packed for blocks with people joining in the holiday cheer. Programs are handed out that include lyrics to fourteen Christmas carols -- and the crowd sings every single one! It's pretty much one of the greatest things ever, standing in the middle of the street, singing Christmas carols with a couple thousand strangers.

The tradition of lighting the trees along Park Avenue began back in the 1940's as a way to honor the men and women who gave their lives in WWII. It has continued for decades and though it serves as a way to kick off the holiday season, the original purpose lives on as they have a moment of silence and play taps to remember those who given their lives in the service of our country. Such a sweet tradition. Christmas carols are sung, a prayer is said, taps is played, and then the trees are lit! And then more singing, of course. The crowd was quite jolly by the time the final number, Jingle Bells, was sung. We were definitely in the Christmas spirit.

Many thanks to Ang for letting us join her for one of her Christmas traditions!