Santa! Santa!

The Holidays. . .where do I begin. . .the hustle and bustle begins the minute you take that last bite of apple pie on Thanksgiving.

Like I said before some seconds are just more fun. Christmas is one of those seconds. Let me start by saying I love Rylan very much, but for the time being she is taking the back seat to her brother. I could tell you about how she slept through most of every Christmas celebration we had or how for the time being she seems to not enjoy large crowds or anyone but her parents for long periods of time. In her defense if Jared or I am holding her she will give you one of her killer smiles and play nice with you, but she doesn’t fare well to 100% contact and interaction with many people. This is so different from Jackson (I know not to compare, but it is hard); he was so easy going. He would let pretty much anyone hold him and was a happy little man most of the time!! She’ll come around . . .or not. . .lol

Now I can get back to how 2^nd Christmas was better than the first. . .Those of you who know Jackson know that he loves people!! So the holidays are right up his alley. Last year he loved having people around and was very interested in the wrapping paper and tissue paper, but he didn’t “get it.” Now I am not entirely sure he “got it” this year, but from about mid November on we would talk about Santa and by the time Christmas arrived he loved Santa! I was super excited to take him to see Santa. The morning went like this. . .

Get to the mall and of course I am excited to see that there are no lines to see Santa. Both kids are awake and happy. As we get close to Santa Jackson lights up and yells “Santa!!” As I was messing with Rylan’s bow another little boy came up behind us with his family to see Santa. I let them go ahead of us so that I could get her bow “just right.” BIG MISTAKE!! Here I am with two kids, both are awake and happy and there is no line and I foolishly let someone go in front of us?!?! Let’s just say that this little boy was not a fan of Santa and screamed his head off as his mom tried to force him sit on Santa’s lap; This lead to Jackson being very weary of the man in red. To my surprise Rylan sat on his lap like they were old buds. I mean really Rylan you wont even let your grandparents hold you?

So Jackson wearily stood next to Santa, we snapped some photos and we went to ride the train. That Jackson LOVED!! He rode it all by himself and would have stayed on all day if we let him. So on our way back to the car we had to pass Santa. Again Jackson got all excited. I asked him if he wanted to sit on Santa’s lap and he happily replied “Yeah!!” Of course this time there was a line, so we waited in line to see Santa yet again. Of course this time Rylan fell asleep and of course this time Jackson sat on his lap. Although you can see from the pictures he still wasn’t too sure about him!

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Conductor Jackson

Thanks to GiGi watching the kids, Jared and I were able to get away for a night to celebrate our anniversary. We decided to go to Ithaca and picked the second weekend in December because it was Ithaca’s annual chowder and ice sculpture festival. We originally picked the weekend because of the ice sculptures, the website described it as a national event that draws sculptures from across the country. The ice sculptures were very cool. They had an ice bar in the center of the commons, where you could grab a beer or wine and watch the carving happen. However, the chowder was the highlight of the day. We got to sample over 30 chowders including vegan, seafood, and meat chowders. I was very skeptical of the vegan chowders, I mean no meat or seafood?!?! But they were really good, there was a squash one that was heavenly. Most of the chowders had some type of twist, like pickled beets or a balsamic reduction drizzle. It was hard to pick a favorite. We quickly realized the locals knew how to attend this festival. . .they showed up with coffee mugs and were given very generous portions of each chowder. We decided that next year we will show up like the locals.

With Jackson’s growing infatuation of all moving vehicles we decided to take him to see the train display at the Garden Factory. Since we went over Christmas Break there weren’t a lot of people which was really nice because he was able to be right on the edge of the platform and had a great view of the trains. He LOVED it!! I have never seen the boy so mesmerized and still in his entire life. He went from platform to platform just watching the trains and everything else going on in these mini villages. He also enjoyed sitting in the different ATV’s and four-wheelers, but what little boy obsessed with moving vehicles wouldn’t love that, I mean in his mind he was DRIVING!

This year we also decorated cut out cookies. By that I mean I bought unfrosted sugar cookie cut outs from good old Danny Wegman, I frosted them and Jackson showered them in sprinkles. This was a little challenging for him at first four a couple reasons. The person who designed the sprinkle shaker obviously doesn’t have little kids because the holes were so big the entire container of sprinkles practically poured out with the first shake. This video was shot towards the end and high lights his cookie decorating skills.

Post-Cookie Finger Lick

Christmas was very busy but just like Thanksgiving Jackson loved playing with all of his cousins (see Dancing Monkey video below) and LOVED LOVED LOVED opening presents. I loved watching him open each and everyone present because his reaction each time he tore the paper off and saw the present was pure joy. He wanted every present opened right then and loved playing with it. This made for a VERY enjoyable Christmas morning. We literally opened presents from the moment the kids woke up at 7 till they went down for their nap at 1 (OK we all took a nap). Jackson would open a present and play with it for a while and then move onto another new toy. He didn’t even realize that there were more presents. The video is kinda long but shows him coming into the living room and seeing all the presents for the first time, it also shows him opening some presents, and his excitement with his never ending stocking.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that the PJ’s were made by my Grandma for Jackson last christmas, they obviously didn’t fit him last year and the top is a little snug this year. However, he had to wear them as when I was little my Grandma always made us homemade PJ’s to change into on Christmas Eve and wake up in on Christmas morning. Also his hair. . .please read below and know that his hair is part of the TKOB that we did over break.

Presents

Dancing Monkey

We took the time over Christmas Break to take care of business or TKOB as Jared likes to say. The first order of business was Jackson’s hair. His babysitter hinted on several occasions that Jackson needed a little trim, you may recall the picture of him in pigtails. The problem was ME. . .I was having major anxiety over getting his hair cut because I did not want him to lose his curls. I LOVE his curls and unless people are just being nice everyone we go people (even strangers) love his curls. Well I gathered up all my courage and strength and made an appointment for him at Haircuts for Peanuts. Prior to the appointment we were watching TV and saw a little boy with he perfect haircut for Jackson. . .just a little bang trim was all he needed. Yes I made Jared rewind and freeze the TV, Yes I took a picture of the TV, Yes I showed it to Vanessa the very nice young lady who cut his hair. Yes I paid $18 for my one year old son to have his hair trimmed and it was worth EVERY PENNY! You see for the $18 I not only received a before and after photo, but I also got a lock of his hair preserved in a cute little pouch and all three are nicely displayed on a certificate perfect for his scrapbook. Vanessa did an amazing job, I requested that she not touch the curls, but she did (which made me tense up) and the little trim that she gave them, gave them the bounce that they lacked for so many months. Jackson refused to sit in the chair or wear the “cape” so she literally cut his hair as he sat a foot from the TV watching Mickey Mouse Club House while eating M and M’s mixed with gold fish. When she was done he looked GREAT!! YES I cried, I mean it was my little boys first haircut.

Jackson’s First Haircut

So this month Rylan turned 4 months old. . .where does the time go?!?! At her four month check up she was 12 lbs 12 oz and 24 1/4 inches long. This month was a big month for the little lady. . .she is now able to roll over from her tummy to her back and her back to her tummy. She had her first roll-a-thon, unfortunately Daddy wouldn’t get the video and mommy was putting one of Jackson’s toys together so we don’t have video documentation of this roll-a-thon, but let me assure you it happened!! She also became more and more stable sitting up and is now able to go in her activity seat and is able to sit in it for prolonged periods of time. Of course when I got her chair out Jackson wanted a chair of his own so he worked very hard to squeeze his tush into a Bumbo chair of his own!

Rylan’s First Time in Her Activity Seat

Since she is able to sit with the help of her chair and hold her head up, we decided to give feeder her rice cereal a try. She had been getting rice cereal mixed in her bottles for sometime now, but this was her first time having it mixed with formula and fed to her on a spoon. Let me start with the first time she went in her highchair. . . she is such a peanut. . . I am not sure why but she seems so much smaller in her highchair that Jackson ever did at her age. As you can see in the progression of three pictures she went from. . .what is this thing I am in. . .to what are you shoving in my mouth. . .to WAAAAAAA I don’t like it!

Rylan’s Eating Some Rice Cereal

I am not sure if I mentioned how much Rylan loves Jackson. . .I know I have told you how much he loves her, but boy does she love him in return. She will watch him as he moves around the room, she reacts to his voice, and LOVES to grab his hair. It is only fitting that one of her first giggles is in reaction to him. This video is priceless and needs no further introduction.

Jackson Makes Sissy Giggle