Christmas in Chicago

In years past, Kasey and I have enjoyed taking a weekend trip into Chicago or down to Indy around the holidays. Two weekends ago we went into Chicago for the day and took Myla with us while Luke stayed behind with Pop and Nana. We love our little man Luke, but it was a lot of fun to have just the three of us enjoy some time together. Especially since Myla is so into all things Christmas this year.

We had fun looking at the windows outside of Macy's, had a good lunch at Weber Grill, showed Myla the Lego store, and then finished off with a trip to see Santa Claus at Bloomingdale's. The highlight of Myla's trip was probably all the escalators she got to ride.

I was having some serious flashback to my own trips to see Santa when I was little. My sister will definitely appreciate this, but I couldn't help but reminisce about when we used to head to Shilito's/Lazarus in downtown Cincinnati to walk through Santa's workshop, drop off our letters to Santa, and then get our picture taken with him. I had mixed emotions of nostalgia as well as boiling frustration with the length of time we spent in the line. I'll spare you the details, but summarize by saying that we got in line at 3:05 with about 8-10 groups in front of us and didn't leave until 4:30. This wasn't some fancy walkthrough toyland either. It was just Santa sitting on his chair talking with kids and getting pictures taken. Santa was awesome, but he took it upon himself to have long conversations with each kid and they also let you take as many pictures as you wanted both with your own camera and the one they had. It felt like we were in a portrait studio at times as parents were agonizing over pictures in which their two-year old wouldn't smile. A far cry from the days of one Polaroid and then waiting to see what it looked like as you shook the image into focus.

Anyway, we finally got up to Santa and Myla was so excited it made the wait worth every second. She went right up to him and told him all about her request for a train table. She even told Santa to make sure he brought "baby toys" for her brother Luke. Our stinker of a daughter is in this fun phase right now where she refuses to smile for pictures so despite what the pictures will portray years from now, she really had fun and even got to take home a stuffed puppy that Santa gave her.

Myla gets her day started right with a hot fudge sundae at Weber Grill!

We build some pretty cool things out of Legos at home, but nothing like Woody!

Kasey and Myla in front of a Christmas tree.

Kasey and I were cracking up when we looked over at Myla standing so patiently with her arms in front of her while waiting for the elevator.

Here is a video of Myla with Santa. Don't you love how I yell at Santa that my daughter wants a train table. Better get it right!

This video doesn't do it justice, but this is Santa's exasperated reaction when the camera and computer crashed. The man was having a long day.

C-A-T-S! CATS! CATS! CATS!

It's basketball season in the Blazejewski house! Love these pictures of Myla and Luke getting in the spirit--especially the last one, where Luke has thrown in the towel and Myla is doing nothing to help him out. :)

Awww . . .

Luke has started to suck his thumb regularly to soothe himself. We'll worry about orthodontia if this goes on for months, but for now it's just really sweet.

12 Days of Christmas Posts

Let's count down the 12 days of Christmas with a posting marathon! We'll start with a couple of pics of Matthew, Myla, and Luke having fun in what Myla calls "Luke's tippy-tippy gym." That's "activity gym" in case it wasn't clear.

Gratitude

We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving--not the least of which is a healthy pregnancy that resulted in the birth of our second happy, healthy, beautiful baby. But I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to a few people who have done so much for us this past year and especially these past few months: our parents.


Matthew and I are both lucky to have incredibly supportive and helpful parents. We have always known this, but lately they have really outdone themselves. Both sets of parents have visited several times in the months before and after Luke was born, and every time it was like a mini-vacation (or at least as close as we get to that around here!). They cook, they clean, they hold babies, they do laundry, they babysit, they run errands. They take on bigger tasks like pulling the ivy off our house, trimming hedges, mowing the lawn, baby-proofing drawers and shelving units, painting big-girl beds, and assembling swings and pack-and-plays. They host surprise second-baby showers. They bring my grandparents to visit. They take Myla to the zoo, a baseball game, or the park, to make her feel special and show her a good time when little brother has been getting lots of attention or even when Matthew and I were at the hospital.

In short, we have the best parents and our children have the best grandparents we could ever hope for. Nana, Pop, Baw Baw, and Grandma--we are so thankful for you!

Mamaw & Papaw Visit

In October, my Mamaw and Papaw Highbaugh came up to visit us and meet Luke. Luke is their seventh great-grandchild (all boys except for Myla!). It was so good of them to make the long trip--especially since Papaw had to stay in a hotel, which he doesn't like to do! We really enjoyed our time together, and Luke and Mamaw got along particularly well. :)

Pumpkin Patch Slide Show

There's nothing like a pumpkin patch for great pictures. Here are some from the 2nd and 3rd patches we visited this October. In addition to these favorites, I made a little slide show for some of the overflow. Click on it (at the bottom) to see the show.

Shots of Luke and Myla. I love that the scary pirate on Luke's shirt has a happier expression than he does.


Myla and Matthew on the cow train. This was a highlight of Myla's Halloween season. I am not such a fan, since my tailbone still hurts from being bounced around in that tiny car when it was my turn to go with her!


Finally, this picture totally cracks me up. Look how much fun I'm having and how terrified Myla looks. Who said these things were for the kids?


Here's the slide show if you're ready for more:

First Tub Bath

The 10-day posting marathon has ended, but we still have a few things to share. Here are a few pictures from Luke's first bath in his little tub. He really loves his baths and is such a cutie when he's all soapy and clean! :)

Buddies

These two are really starting to enjoy one another. Here, my only attempt (thus far) at matching outfits:



Myla loves to hold Luke, until he starts kicking her or she says he's "too heavy" (in her defense, he's a chunky monkey).


Tummy time. Myla likes it much better than Luke does and always wants to do it with him. Lately we've been having tummy time in Luke's activity gym, which Myla calls his "tippy tippy gym."

Fun Day at Home

Here are some pictures from the last week before I started back to work part-time. It was a really nice day, Myla was home from schoool, and the three of us had a great time at the zoo. (Luke doesn't look like he was having much fun in this picture, but he was.) Although by the end, Luke had had it with the stroller and Myla was wanting to walk--so I was looking pretty silly holding one kid and chasing another while pushing a huge double stroller with nobody in it. :)



Later in the afternoon, Myla kept herself busy with her Lego magic while I took care of Luke. The girl does really incredible things with those blocks!