Not As Easy As I Thought...

So, I had this great idea. Picture this with me if you will:

We're going to place the miniature wooden rocking chair in front of the fully decorated Christmas tree. Then we'll take the tallest present and stand up behind the chair. On the other side of the chair we'll put "Snowflake Jake" (Home & Garden Snowman). Now sitting in the chair a cute little boy dressed in his very own Santa suit.

Now that would make a cute picture, don't you think???

Well, I've since learned it may have been a good idea, but it's not as easy as it sounds for the following reasons:

1) Santa didn't want to sit up in the chair.


2) Santa was very interested in trying to eat "Jake", and with everything else going on around him.


3) Santa gives some strange faces. I had a very hard time getting him to even attempt to smile.


4) Finally you just get fed up with the whole idea and you're happy with any shot that can even remotely be called decent. That being said, these were the best shots of the bunch.



So, this was a learning experience. Definitely not as easy as I thought, but we still ended up with some decent pictures. Maybe next year will go a little smoother. Here's hoping!!!

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town...

Well, I guess to be accurate, Santa Claus already came to town. My mother-in-law is very good friends with a man that plays Santa Claus each year. He used to migrate to New York every year to play the role of Santa Claus in some of the department stores up there, but the last few years he's been staying local instead. He really looks the part, and it's all him (no padding, no fake beard).

On Thursday, December 3, 2009 my mother-in-law got it set up for him to come to their hometown (Centerville, Kansas) to play Santa Claus for the town. She insisted that my husband & I bring Dakota up (about 45 minutes away), because it's his first Christmas, so he just had to see Santa Claus.

We made the trip, and I was fully expecting for it not to go well. The way their town does it, is they serve a supper at the town hall first, then they have door prize drawings, then Santa Claus arrives courtesy of the fire department. We got there early, but Dakota was very fussy. Mostly due to the fact that this fell in the middle of his nap time. I tried to settle him down, but it was so loud in the building, and there was just so much going on, that it just wasn't going to be possible.

Long story short, Santa finally arrived, and my son went from fussing/crying to openly staring at this complete stranger. He was absolutely captivated from the moment "Santa" entered the building. He followed his every movement. When Santa finally took his seat to begin meeting the children, he grabbed Dakota first. This is when I really expected a crying fit, but to my utter amazement, he went right to him. He sat on his lap for quite some time while Santa visited with some of the adults standing around.

Here is a picture of our first visit to Santa Claus.


So, our first visit was a success. We can only hope that his attitude doesn't change and that this type of experience always goes so smoothly.

Blogging Catch-Up...

Well, I thought it was time that I get back on here. I've been following along with all of your lives, but just haven't had the time to write about my own.

My little guy is growing so fast. We had a very nice Thanksgiving. We made the journey from Southeast Kansas to Northeast Missouri. That's right, I finally made it back up "home". We left Kansas about 11:30 Wednesday morning and arrived in Downing about 6-6:30 that evening. For the most part, we had a pretty good trip. We stopped around Sedalia to feed Dakota and refill the gas tank. Then we stopped again at Columbia to top both Dakota & the tank off again. We stopped at Macon because Dakota was tired of riding and wanted out of his seat, then we continued on. Overall, he didn't do too bad. He's a pretty good traveler. He spent most of the time asleep, but it worked out.

Thursday we had the typical Thanksgiving feast; followed by that typical over-fed, drowsy, miserable feeling. We did an early Christmas with my family, as it was the last time we would all be together for a while (we won't be back up until next year sometime & my sister Kayla flew out of Kansas City on Black Friday to join her husband in Honduras). My little Dakota was very much the center of attention. He enjoyed showing off & bonding with everyone. His Aunt Tracy bought him a Precious Planet Rainforest/Safari jumper, and he LOVES it!!!! He spent the majority of the weekend jumping and laughing.

The only downside in my opinion was my little man had some nasal congestion before we made the trip up, which his doctor said sounded like allergies, and to start him on 1/2 tsp of Zyrtec daily. So, we did that, but by Wednesday night/Thursday morning he had developed a cough that definitely wasn't allergies, that was sounding down deeper in the lung area. I didn't want to wait until we could get back home to see his doctor, so on Friday, we ended up going to Lancaster to see Beverly Oliver. She put him on Amoxicillian & Albuterol Nebulizer Breathing Treatments for the next 10 days. He's definitely getting a little better, and the breathing treatments are keeping everything broke up. Hopefully, at the end of the cycle we'll be all better. I called yesterday to update his doctor, and he said he would follow-up with him at the end of the cycle, so I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I too had a few problems. I normally have no trouble with sinus/allergies; however, the first night up there, I was very congested, so I saw the doctor too. I'm also on Amoxicillian, but mine is much better already.

We also switched my little man from his Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat to a brand spanking new (and expensive I might add) Britax Boulevard Convertible Car Seat. I have to say, I believe that he very much prefers the new big boy seat opposed to the before mentioned infant seat. At first I was a little concerned about what I was getting since I had never seen one in person. I bought this seat online, and was hoping it was well worth the money they were asking for it. Once I saw it though, it is a very nice, comfy car seat.

We came back home on Sunday. It was great to see everyone again, but it was also great to get back home! Now that we're back home, I need to get everything put up, I need to clean & rearrange the living room, and when I'm done with that, put up all the Christmas stuff.

Busy, busy, busy.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Here's to a Merry Christmas!!!