Impromptu Meeting with Santa

We had an impromptu meeting with Santa yesterday. We stopped at Breton Village to see the train display and Santa happened to be there having "office hours." We are planning to take the boys to see Santa at the Gardens next week but Will wanted to say hi. He sat on his lap and told him he wanted a skateboard and a yo-yo (he has been very consistent with these two items). Alex also sat on his lap without complaint. I told Will we were going to go see him again next week and would bring along his actual list. Hopefully he doesn't notice a change in appearance!

Checking out the big guy

My Kind of Town

This weekend, we took Will to Chicago for a special holiday trip. We left early Friday morning and got to the city around 10am Chicago time. We parked at North/Clybourn and took the El to our hotel. Will really enjoyed his first Chicago train ride! We were able to check into the hotel right away and then made our way to Water Tower for lunch.  Then we let Will ride all the elevators as we wandered around Water Tower.  We did a little shopping on Michigan Ave but then Will wanted to go back to the hotel to rest for a bit. 

After a short nap, we went back out and walked down to Millennium park to see the Bean and the skating rink.  Then we went to Macy's and put our name in for an early dinner at the Walnut Room so we could eat by the big Christmas tree.  Will had fun riding all the escalators in Macy's.  Dinner by the tree was a lot of fun and 3 fairy princesses came by to talk to Will.  On the way home we looked at the window decorations and then did a 30 minute horse and carriage ride. 

On Saturday morning, we took the Metro to the Museum of Science and Industry.  Will loved it - he said it was his favorite part of the trip.  They had a holiday display as well as a Peanuts exhibit.  Will loves all the Charlie Brown movies so he really enjoyed it.  He also liked all the trains, airplanes, and weather exhibits.  The kids' area was also a big hit since it involved lots of water play!  We spent about 3 1/2 hours at the museum and Will probably would have stayed longer but it was time for lunch.  We took the train back to Millennium Park and grabbed lunch and frozen yogurt.  Then we went back to the hotel to rest for a bit.  After a quick nap, we took the train to Lincoln Park and walked down to the zoo for "Zoo Lights."  Will liked the "dancing" lights.  It was really fun to see!

On Sunday, we walked down to the lake for just a little bit before taking the train back to our car.  Will was asleep before we passed the Skyway. 

He seemed to have a really good time.  It was nice to have some one on one time with him.  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for watching Alex! 

Outside the Lego Store

Under the El

Outside Macy's

Walnut Room

Skating Rink at Millennium Park

Museum of Science and Industry

Will and Charlie

Outside Snoopy's Doghouse

Will and the Gang

Farmer Will

Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree

Much bigger tree

Zoo Lights

Zoo Lights

11 Months Old!

Alex is 11 months old today. I can't believe we will be celebrating his first birthday in a month! Here are some milestones from the past month:

- Alex continues to cruise around using furniture, toys, and walls to hold him up
- He can stand unassisted for up to 10 seconds at a time
- He loves to climb and has found ways to get up onto our couches
- He went to his first Gymboree class
- He has 4 teeth but it looks like a 5th is about to break through
- He ate his first grilled cheese sandwich (cut into tiny bites of course)

As you can see, he doesn't want to sit still for long!

Fun Around GR

Will and Alex hit the town this week. Grandma and Grandpa took them to the Botanical Gardens on Tuesday to see the holiday displays and the trains. Then on Wednesday, we went to the Public Museum. The boys rode the carousel two times and we were able to go to their story time which was very cool. It was in one of the theaters in the museum and they projected all the illustrations on the screen on stage. They also had a volunteer playing the theater organ to add some "mood music" to the story. Both boys sat through it and seemed to enjoy it.

Such a good helper

Checking out the trains with Grandpa

It was an arts and crafts kind of day...

Meijer Penny Pony at the Museum

First Carousel Ride

Alex in Lights

I saw a cute idea for a holiday baby photo on Pinterest so I decided to give it a try this weekend. Alex had fun playing with the lights. The first photo was just taken with my phone and doctored on Instagram. The others were taken with a normal camera. I think they turned out pretty cute!

I love the toothy grin!

Christmas Tree Day

Today was Christmas Tree day! We headed out to Hart's Tree Farm in Rockford around 9:30 this morning. It was a very cold, blustery day. There were even some snow flakes in the air. It was so cold we didn't wait around for the hay ride - we just walked up the hill to the Fraiser Firs. The Fraisers were a bit smaller this year than in the past, but we found a nice 7' tree. Will was really into the process and Alex tolerated it. 

Once we had the tree loaded in the car, we drove into downtown Rockford for our traditional hotdog lunch at the Corner Bar. We got there right when it opened so we didn't have to wait for a table like we have in the past. After lunch, we brought the tree in and let the branches fall. Will really wanted to decorate it - he couldn't wait! He did a very good job decorating, although he liked to bunch ornaments up on the same branch. Especially if they were similar (2 cupcake ornaments on the same branch).

Alex was very curious about the tree, lights, and ornaments. It could be trouble. Will was barely crawling for his first Christmas so he didn't grab at the tree much. Alex was already grabbing and shaking the low hanging ornaments.

A cold day at the tree farm

Lunch at the Corner Bar

We beat the crowds

Ready to decorate!

Will took his job very seriously

Weekend at Grann's

This weekend, we went to Detroit to visit Grann. We got in Friday night and the boys had so much fun playing with all the toys in her basement. Will loves her shopping cart and food and Alex really liked the musical table.  Will had fun camping out in the guest room with mom and dad.   

On Saturday, Grann took the boys to Sommerset so Phil and I could go to Ann Arbor for a while. We didn't go to the game but we were able to see some friends, walk around, and watched part of the game at Ashley's. Grann wore Will out riding the moving sidewalks, the mini escalators, and the elevators at the mall. After we got back from Ann Arbor, we all went out to dinner and then let the kiddos play some more.

On Sunday, we went and walked the trails in the morning.  After lunch, we packed up and headed home.  It was so nice out that Phil and Will were able to go to Calvin to walk around for a while before dinner.

We are looking forward to a short work week!

 

Will really wanted to play in the snow we got last week!