The Hunt for the Perfect Tree

Last year our Christmas tree grew about 3 feet wider on the way home from the tree farm, so this year we were determined to get the skinniest tree we could find!  I told Andy to shout if he saw an especially emaciated one, since this year were were hosting our families for Christmas and could not afford the floor space of a fat, healthy tree! So we set out onto I-90 to Pine Apple Acres in Huntley and practiced our mantra: "tall and thin! tall and thin!"

On our way down the tree farm's driveway, I saw the skinny tree I remembered from last year...I was so glad it was still there (not like there's a big demand for skinny trees, I guess).  But in traditional fashion, we decided to walk all over the place and then decide all of the other trees were too fat.  We brought our tape measure to be safe this year, and it was a good thing, since after wandering around for a while looking at happy, chubby trees there was one we thought might be suitable...but it measured in at 6 ft wide!!! No wonder we came home with a whopper last year?! AJ loved wandering around and tromping around in the deep snow. It was so cold and I'm sure he didn't notice that his poor nose was red and freezing...he just wanted to explore and play in all that white stuff! If it was not so bitter cold that day, it would have been so much fun to stay and play with him in the snow.

As AJ and I headed into the heated checkout room which offered hot cider and friendly conversation, Andy headed back up the long drive to cut down the thin spindly tree we saw when we arrived. It took him much less time to saw it down this year, possibly because the trunk was half as thick!  I did have enough time to buy some of PAA's yummy local honey though, as they wrapped our tree in the netting.  (I really think it was almost as wide after being wrapped!) One of the men who worked there helped Andy tie the tree onto the car, and we headed off for lunch just off the road with our friends the LaSalle's.

After lunch, we were rolling down the highway at a safe pace, when all of a sudden one of the cords holding the tree down in front snapped and the tree slid to the side! Andy quickly pulled over and slowed to a stop, and upon investigation realized the side the helper tied on was not attached to the metal hook like the other side was! So he braved being 3 feet off the highway with trucks whizzing by and safely secured the tree back to the roof.  Needless to say, we stayed in the right lane the rest of the way home and Andy got about 10 gray hairs from the experience.

When we got home and Andy brought the tree into our condo, we realized the tree was in fact really tall! Luckily, tall is just fine in our place. AJ stood at the base of the tree and admired it with his dad saying, "huge Christmas tree!" It turned out to be just perfect for our needs and I personally think it's the coolest tree Andy and I have ever had. I also must say that I'm super impressed with how well AJ has done at leaving the tree alone. It helps that he has received 700 new toys to distract him from it, but even before the presents, he was really good at not touching it! We hung AJ-safe ornaments at his level, and when we decorated, Andy and I gave him ornaments and let him decide where to hang them. He really likes to stand at the tree and point out his favorites to me, which of course I think is precious.  (sigh)

Christmas: Round 1

Merry Christmas! In all of the past years since Andy and I have been married, we've always switched off going to his mom's or my parents' for Christmas. So this year I kind of wished to see what a Christmas Eve service at our own church was like, and then wake up in my own bed, and have AJ open a stocking at his house while we sipped coffee on the couch in our robes...

OK, so I agree that was a little idealistic, but I pitched the idea to all the grandparents, inviting them to come over to our place for Christmas Day, and they were generally on board. 

However, my sister and mom decided it would be too much to bring all their gifts to exchange to our house, and then bring all the opened presents home (hmmm, haven't I been doing that every year so far??)...so we had an "early" Christmas at my mom & dad's house a week before. (I agreed to this idea because it really would cut down on the chaos at my home on the actual day.) 

A little bit before "Christmas: Round 1", we had started putting up a few decorations and had also visited some decorated friends' homes. I had been working with AJ on how to treat decorations and how they were different from toys.  

What a hard thing to differentiate! AJ did a pretty good job, but needed a lot of supervision, since all those cool small, sparkly, new things are all off limits. Here's a little video of AJ and his cousin Kyra checking out my mom's little table-top nativity. They did pretty well at not being too rough, and they both generally followed the rules. What cutie pies!

AJ thought Omi's decorated tree was awesome and he especially liked all the presents underneath! If we didn't corral him shortly after this shot was taken, who knows what would have happened? After we ate supper, we finally allowed the kids to rip into their presents. AJ took a few gifts to get the hang of it, but he started to realize they were all things that he liked, and then he had a little more desire to see what each bag or box contained.  He got some cool art supplies, a train track/set which he is still holding while trying to get the bow off the next gift, and a hammering toy which needed no explanation!

He opened a couple, played, opened a few more and played again.
Here Andy is helping AJ open a gift. Such a cool moment! AJ got a sleeve of matchbox cars from Aunt Kim, Uncle Brandon and his cousins, and he loved them immediately. Here he is playing with one on a chair. At this stage, AJ loves anything transportation/construction-related. He loves cars, trains, trucks, bulldozers, etc. He loves them in books, toys, and the real thing!  When we go grocery shopping at Trader Joe's on Clybourn, I usually make a pit-stop so he can watch the recycling machines grab and move all the piles of metal scrap. Luckily, I find this interesting as well and we usually sit in the car for a few minutes with the hazards on so we can watch and talk about these "Huge Machines" as AJ refers to them. If I knew where to get one of THOSE in toy-form, I'm sure Santa would have delivered one to AJ's stocking this year! ;)

Who knew we'd need to wear a bib to eat Christmas cookies? Yum!  AJ wondered if he had to heat the cookie after eating all the chocolate off the top of Omi's cookie bars...
Here's another action-shot of the Hammerer in working mode. Break out the nails, Andy! AJ's ready for a job in construction!  Maybe he can help with his new room's renovation?

Will He Sit on Santa's Lap This Year?

That was the question this year, since the separation anxiety and stranger-danger peak between 18 mo. and 2.5 yrs.  Last year AJ had no problem sitting on the big, red-suited, white-bearded man, and he was more interested in pulling on Santa's beard than in asking for a toy!  But I was expecting this year to be a little different...  

And it WAS!  For one thing, we got to drive downtown due to a special parking situation and got to skip the ride on the train (and the waiting for the train in the cold!). Another difference was that Andy got to come with us for the whole experience. Last year we just called him when we neared the end of the line. Here's father and son entering the winter wonderland that precedes Santa. AJ was looking all over at all the glitter and lights! But besides the fact that AJ did NOT want to sit on Santa's lap this year, the biggest difference between this year and last was the fact that there was ABSOLUTELY NO LINE!!  I mean it! Not another soul was on line that day, and we literally walked right through to the gate to meet the Elf. Unbelievable! The elf even told us that the previous day at this time the line was out the door.  Luck, I guess, but who are we to question it?

We took our time to let AJ check out the cool decorations and the interactive things along the way. Here he is pushing a big button that made a little character in a window light up and spin around. He really liked all the stuff, and probably more than he might have if we'd been on the line for 2hrs like last year!  But at least we could move as fast as we wanted, and move we did! See how in the pictures we still all have on our coats and scarves?

Well, AJ was excited to see Santa, and was telling me how he was going to say thing to him like, "Merry Christmas, Santa! Ho, ho ho!", and "Thomas, please, Santa". When we told him Santa was right in the next room, AJ bolted around the wall, only to stop dead in his tracks as soon as he SAW Santa. I said, "AJ, there's Santa! Can you go up and say Hi to him?".  AJ answered, "no" while shaking his head and slowing backing away. It was so funny, but we tried not to laugh as my mom, Andy and I coaxed him closer to Santa while snapping photos. AJ did like Santa's white pom pom on the tip of his hat, but not enough to get a closer look.  Finally, I sat down next to Santa and put AJ on my lap, and we snapped "the" picture. I'm pretty sure if we'd just abandoned AJ on the big dude's lap, we'd have one of those classic kid-screaming-on-Santa's-lap shots, but as it was, there were no tears.  Funny enough, when asked what he'd like for Christmas, AJ didn't say "Thomas" as he had rehearsed...he asked for a drum.

After we left Santa and his wonderland, we said goodbye to Andy who had to get back to work and my mom took AJ and I to the Walnut Room on the 7th floor to have french toast and coffee, respectively. AJ really liked the 2 story, famous Christmas tree they have every year in the center of the dining room. Every year they decorate it on a different theme and I guess this year's theme was toys since the tree was drenched in them. A tree of this scale could handle being adorned in actual teddy bears, dolls and toy fire trucks, I guess! My mom liked showing the tree to AJ and he enjoyed pointing out to her all that he saw and recognized.  He also liked his French toast, but I cannot lie and say that I didn't eat his sausages and some of the toast too! (It wasn't lunchtime yet, so all he really needed was a snack, right?) The nice gentleman at the table behind us offered to take our picture and I was happy that AJ turned around and looked at the camera, even if he did have a fork in his mouth! We all had a good time and maybe this will be another tradition...too bad we can't rely on the lack of a line to see Santa as a new tradition too!

Go Illini!

This year we decided to take AJ to his first Illinois game.  The Illini play at the United Center each December (one of the reasons I've missed a few of Kim's cookie exchnages!) and Andy gets tickets in a big block with his fraternity brothers. We sit way up in the nosebleeds, but everyone has a good time and it's always fun to see everyone and where else can you see so much orange in one place? 

AJ seemed to enjoy the game...or more acurately, the jumbotron! He liked to watch the game on the screen better than to look down at the tiny (live) players, and he also liked when they scanned the audience.  At some point, AJ started to point up and get excited saying, "cow!cow!". I realized he was pointing to all the Bulls championship flags! So funny. I guess in a way he was right. 

We were lucky we bought him a seat, and brought lots of snacks and crayons, as he was very wiggly in the small space.  But by the time I thought he was going to head toward a meltdown, I checked the clock and there were 3 seconds left! Apparently college basketball games are the perfect length for a 20 mo. old's attention span. Next year he might be more into the game itself, but this year he left with some new phrases: slam dunk!, allyoop!, dribble-dribble-dribble, & Go Illini!  (and in case anyone was wondering, Illinois won against Georgia, 70-42)

Cribs, the AJ Special

As I'm sure most kids around AJ's age do, he loves forts. AJ loves to be "under tent", as he calls it, and is just as happy with crawling toward our feet as we hold up the covers on our bed, as he is in his pop-up hut (which is like a fancy fort!). He pretends he is under water, crawling through tunnels, in houses, etc. and this is a great trick up the weary parent's sleeve...since it usually allows me several uninterrupted minutes of whatever.  (It doesn't matter what I'm doing, if I'm uninterrupted, it's a luxury these days!) 

Not so long ago, we realized that AJ's love of the fort could be combined with his interest in playing in his crib.  I anchored his blanket between the crib and the wall and made a "roof" on one half of the crib. He LOVED it!  It was so funny to watch him in there. He moved ALL of his animals (and he has a lot in there!) to the covered side and was in heaven hanging out and rolling around with them in his "house".  Here's a video of him with all his menagerie. He barely fits in there with them!

I liked how you can see his active nature in this shot. The mirror is kind of cool too since it gives you more of a view of the blanket overhead.

Here he is getting ready to duck down and crawl in.  I think this was shortly after he had assembled the party under there!

Huge Building!

For months now, AJ has loved playing with and stacking his blocks.  They are a never-ending source of entertainment since we can pretend the things we build are many different things, like buildings/houses, bridges, highways, etc. As we play, we're building his vocabulary too, and he now says things like,"risky maneuver!" while balancing a precarious stack. (This comes out as "Wisky manooovah!)  But it's also fun to just stack them and see how tall we can get before the blocks come tumbling down.  When this happens, AJ says, "Tim-ber!!!" and sometimes adds, "crash! boom!".  Here is Andy's photo-journalism of one of AJ's "huge buildings" going up block by block.

Our Thanksgiving

This year we had a lot to be thankful for when Thanksgiving rolled around. Though we are in a global recession and in many ways the future may look bleak, Andy and I have the new baby on the way and that shines brighter than anything. We're also blessed with a wonderful son, lots of fantastic friends, Andy's job, our families, our health and each other. And that's a LOT to be thankful for!

As the yummy thanksgiving dinner at my Aunt and Uncle's house was winding down, Andy and I asked AJ to tell everyone what he was going to be next summer. His answer is, "Bid bruddoh" (big brother) and though he doesn't know what that really means, he knows it usually gets a reaction! So as the light bulbs went off over my family's heads, they all got excited and congratulated us. It was a fun way to break the news and afterward we called Andy's family members and had AJ tell them as well. It was cute, and now we all could share in giving thanks together for the hope a new baby brings.

We enjoyed playing and hanging out, and then headed outside for some chilly park action. AJ and his cousins Karly and Kyra played on all of the equipment and the cold didn't seem to bother them at all. I on the other hand thought I could have put on 2 more coats and a extra sweater. (I can't stand being cold!!! Every winter I ask myself why we still live here...)

                       Here is AJ and his cousin Kyra getting ready to head down the slide.

AJ loved riding on this thing...was it a rocket? See how happy he was even without mittens or a scarf?

...Many More!

AJ's been starting to sing over the past few weeks.  He doesn't always hit the right notes, but gets the words well enough to tell what song it is!  So far his repetoire includes Happy Birthday, Jingle Bells, I Like to Move It, and his own song, titled, The Ham Song.  Here's his rendition of Happy Birthday:

Sorry I was MIA!!

OK, so I know it's been forever since I last posted, but I swear I have a good excuse, other than "it's the holidays" or "we've been so busy!"...It's really that I'm pregnant!  The new baby is due in late June, so I just got through with the first trimester (the first 12 out of 40 weeks, for anyone not into the lingo) and I'm finally able to stay up later than AJ again. Normally, I update and work on the blog during AJ's naptimes or after he goes down for the night, but for the past month or so it was safe to assume that whenever AJ was sleeping, I was not far behind.  So the pictures and movies and post-worthy events have been piling up, and now, during this busy time of year, I will be playing catch-up. Let's see if I can get (mostly?) up to date by the time we host our first family Christmas here at Haus Holub!

I've been feeling really good so far, and Andy and I are really excited. We've heard the baby's heartbeat and seen it wiggling on the untrasound screen. It's such an amazing thing to see! So far everything looks like it's going along well, and though we will be waiting until the baby's born to find out the sex, we'll post any fun info here as we go along. '09 should be an interesting year!

Our Friends Visit from Singapore

Over the second week of November, the Longs, our friends and neighbors who moved to Singapore earlier this year, came to visit in Chicago for a week after spending a week in FL for a family wedding.  It was so neat to have them right back in their home next to ours, and I quickly reverted to my old ways of calling them to see if they wanted to hang out after naps. Though some illnesses kept us from really seeing them for the first few days of their stay, we did get some quality time in.  

One of the nights we organized a "mom's night out" with Emily and the moms from the 'hood.  It was so fun to get out of the house and just relax, talk and catch up together.  We went to Crust on Division and it was a perfect place to hang out (though they had a brand new bartender on duty that night and when asked to make a Jack and Coke he asked, "what's in that?".  OK, that's an exaggeration, but only a slight one!). The organic pizzas and apps were yummy and Emily was happy to be back in the neighborhood and spend time with her good mama friends.

On Saturday, the Long's organized a double birthday party for their kids (who were born 2 years and 6 days apart!) and to see their friends and family. We were so happy to be able to attend! They had Kaya's Wiggleworms instructor, Tim, from the Old Town School of Folk Music come and play for the kids, and he had the room rockin'. The kids loved him! Here are a few choice clips of AJ dancing and generally doing his own thing during the performance.

Emily was like a kid magnet at the party. Here is a shot of her on the floor with both of her own kids along with our friend Erin's daughter all on her legs. They were so cute, and everyone really enjoyed the music. Thanks, guys, for a great party!

On Sunday the Holubs decided we had not had our fill of the Longs, and we crashed their place again (OK, they did invite us over for waffles...). AJ loved seeing his friend Kaya again and it was cool to see that he recognized Ashwin as another kid instead of a baby. All the kids had changed so much in these 5+ months. It was really crazy!  Kaya got some cool Dr. sets for her birthday and AJ got to wear one of the scrub caps. I'm not sure how long he kept it on, but my guess is it came off shortly after this picture was taken.

It was a full house since Emily and Eric also had Eric's mom & dad and sister & brother-in-law over, plus Emily's dad and stepmom and their son Fernando were there too. Here is a shot that shows a little of the busyness with AJ and his bike, Fernando, Eric and Ashwin's head making it into the shot. (I am conveniently hiding behind AJ) We did eventually leave and let them have some pure family time, but we really did love milking the visit for all it was worth. We can't wait for their next visit in '09!

AJ also liked reading some of Kaya's books over on the couch with Andy. I love to take pictures of these father-son moments, and they were having such a good time together.  I also noticed that AJ is starting to look older and older with more hair and all those teeth. For the record, I think he has 12 teeth now!  His 1st molars came in before the eye teeth, but I've asked around and I guess that's pretty normal. Just as I noticed how much more of a "big kid" Kaya is now, Emily and Eric mentioned numerous times how much bigger AJ has gotten as well. It's just so much fun to watch them grow and change!

A Special Peek

Last week AJ, Andy's mom and I had the special opportunity to see behind the scenes at Garrett Popcorn's off site factory. My friend Heidi has them as a new account through her job and so they said they would be happy to give she, her family and some friends a tour...and she invited us! Thanks, Heidi!  The facility was a lot smaller than I had imagined, but they are very clean and organized, so they don't need to take up a lot of space. They make the popcorn and then mix it in small batches and then it goes into the tins and get shipped out right away!  Here is a group shot and as you can see, hairnets are the lovely new accessory this Winter. Everyone's wearing them!  I loved how even AJ had to wear one... a testament to the fact that he finally HAS hair, right?  Hahaha

On our way out, our kind guide noticed that AJ was way more into the forklift than the popcorn, and he offered to let AJ sit on it!  I didn't even ask since I figured it would be some big liability, but since he offered, I popped AJ up into the seat!  At first he was a little nervous, but then he got into it and was using the steering wheel like crazy!  So fun.  We had a great time and each adult went home with a tin of "the mix". Addictive!

Fun at the MCA

The Museum of Contemporary Art has a program where on the second Sat of each month families with kids under 12 get in free and they have a bunch of interactive projects planned on a theme.  My parents told my sister and I about it, so we decided to try it this month and we had so much fun! I was nervous that the activities and projects would be way over AJ's head, but they were great for (almost) all ages and he had a great time. He got to make a book with pages fixed with colored tape and markers, and had his first experience with paint.

Here he is working on his project, a pre-cut cloud. He loved making colorful dots and I think he tried every color on the board!  I might try to get some of these paints because the applicator made it so easy for him to control without having to dip into anything and dripping all over. My fear of the paint drips is why this was his first and only experience to date! AJ was very proud of his picture and so were we. His cousin Karly (5yrs) painted a very elaborate cloud all about the city, and she got to get up and be filmed telling the camera about it. I think they will be playing the film for the next Second Saturday event on Dec 13th.

The other hit of the day was actually in the pit-stop area...it was in a meeting room that they had set up with snacks, drinks, short tables and chairs, and a pile of pillows.  Since this event is sponsored by Target, all the refreshments were Market Pantry (Target's brand) and the pillows were all red and white and piled on a huge bullseye rug.  AJ LOVED rolling around in the pillows!  He and my dad played around for a long time and every time I looked over he was either climbing, falling or laughing.  Karly and Kyra got in on the action too and they were so cute all playing together.

We will definitely be going back again, since this is a great free indoor activity for the cold months and is also such great cultural exposure. Thanks for making us aware this program even existed, Mom & Dad!

Quiet Time

Every once in a while Andy takes candid shots of AJ and I just hanging out. I love these pictures because they are just slices of our everyday life that get preserved in a picture, but I usually only like how AJ looks in them (I know, how vain). I think I like these enough to post on the blog because you can't really see my face, and AJ is just so precious pretending to make his important phone calls. 

Anyone who hangs out around AJ and I long enough will see me mush his cheeks, and in the picture where he's dialing, you can see why!  Squish!  Also note how he is busy and I sneak in a nuzzle...he's growing up too fast.

"Tick-o-Teet!"

As usual, this Halloween post is a bit delinquent, but what can I say...better late than never, right?  At least it's going up before Thanksgiving!

AJ loved Fall and everything Halloween this year.  He noticed the leaves turning colors at the parks and on our walks, he pointed out the pumpkins on everyone's stoops, and he talked non-stop about "halloween bats" (as opposed to baseball bats).
The week of Halloween, Andy and I took him up to Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm, the same place we went for our pumpkin last year. This year AJ knew what was going on, though!  He said, "pumpkin faaaarm!" all the way there, and when we got there he was all about the "yude (huge) pumpkin" on top of the silo.

Last year we basically just propped him up in the pumpkin pile, but this year he was all over the place!  Luckily we went on a weekday, so the place was all but empty and it was pretty easy to keep track of him.  AJ loved climbing into the wooden fire engine and the farm truck and pretending to drive. How exciting! He is so funny, turning the steering wheel and making the appropriate truck sounds.  Other than the enormous tractors at the MSI (see previous posts), these were probably the most life-sized trucks he has ever gotten to "drive". AJ then picked out a perfectly cute little pumpkin for himself.
We also saw a bunch of animals like pigs, sheep, goats, llamas and chickens, but for some reason I can't upload the video of AJ and I feeding the goats. He loved it. I was repulsed. I think in the clip you can even hear me say, "disgusting" after the goat licked the seeds out of my hand, leaving behind his gross saliva. Next year Andy can feed the animals and I will man the camera. Afterward, I did get to wash my hands, and then we had lunch and left with the pumpkin and some delicious apple cider doughnuts, YUM!

On Friday, Halloween started out with a trip in costume to a big park near my old studio space.
AJ was a carrot this year (I know, I have some kind of fixation with orange vegetables...don't worry, next year he'll probably want to be Thomas the Train or something) and this is the costume in transition.  Note the darker color of the hat.  I had made an earlier version of the carrot suit via a different method and Andy and I decided it wasn't "OK" since we couldn't stop laughing when we tried it on AJ the night before. Let's just say it was a little too phallic. So this is the next morning and I made the suit but was unable to make the new hat.  No one cared, and AJ actually kept the hat on the whole time at the park!  The party there was for my Stay at Home Mom's meetup group (SAHMs for short) and it was so fun. Tons of kids running around a park in costume is the perfect recipe for laughter. Here AJ is playing on the equipment and going up for another turn on the slide with Elvis, a ladybug and a skunk. I have become friends with a lot of these moms, and it was so fun to see all our kids playing together and commenting on each other's costumes! Our friend Nancy was there too with her daughter Izzy and she was the cutest ballerina. Afterward, we headed home to rest up for the big night...

Here's AJ in his complete costume with matching orange felt hat.
My mom and Andy both ended up getting in on the trick-or-treating experience, as we took AJ to my friend Kate's old neighborhood near Ashland and Montrose. Since our neighborhood has lots of apartments and sketchy houses, I decided to take her up on her offer to meet us in her old 'hood, which she said was a great place to bring little kids. We started AJ off by telling him to say, "Trick-or-Treat", then putting his candy in the (my) bag, saying thank you and then telling the people, "Happy Halloween" on our way back to the sidewalk.
 He picked up on it pretty fast, and after a few houses he was a pro.  Some people mistook him for a pumpkin (a thin, pointy pumpkin?), but most people got it and said he was a very cute little carrot. He went to way more houses than I thought he would, and we worked our way all the way up and down the street! AJ was very interested in everyone's decorations, and wanted to get a closer look by walking on everyone's lawns! He moves fast these days, and that's why most of my pictures are of his back. Good thing I made a 2-sided costume! 

When Kate and her husband Carlos caught up to us with their son, Emilio, Emilio was not into wearing his costume.  He was ok, however, with wearing AJ's carrot hat, so the two of them walked down the sidewalk together and shared the costume. They were so cute! Here they are investigating a big pumpkin decoration. Kate was right and this was an awesome neighborhood to trick-or-treat in. Almost every house was participating and they were all decorated, some even had music and smoke machines!  There were so many kids walking around in costumes it looked like a movie set, as I had never seen so many trick or treaters out in one place at one time before. What fun!

I got away with not giving him any candy (Ha! Andy and I ate it all! I know, we're so mean.) so next year that will be new and exciting for him.