Happy Thanksgiving!

I might be a Christmas-aholic.  Every year on the day I put away the Christmas decorations and turn off the Christmas music, I start counting down until Christmas again.  This year is especially exciting because the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is so long!

I was so excited this morning that I jumped out of bed, turned on the Christmas music, and put up all our decorations after I dragged myself out of bed at 6:30, made some coffee, and finally felt human again, I was actually pretty excited to go Black Friday shopping even though that nasty cold snuck back up on me and I'm not feeling tip-top.  Fortunately, the Christmas season is pushing any phlemy-sniffly-icky feelings out and replacing them with sniffly-warm-happy-winter feelings (sort of).

This year, my Christmas shopping is almost done (online... which I never imagined would be as fun as going to actual stores... until I had a one-year-old an the thought of Christmas shopping with her in tow made me shudder), so I will fill my Christmas season baking, card-sending, and wrapping.  Amongst other things like visiting NYC, picking out a tree, and attending holiday festivities.

My type-A personality loves making lists around the holiday season, and as a heads up to my loyal readers, blog posting will probably make the list, though might be considerably lower than, say, watching Elf or eating cookie dough.  SO.... hang in there, posts might be few and far between, but you're probably busy with your own lists anyway...

We've already been busy the past week or so...

We went to NH because after all the busy-ness before the holidays, I needed a little break.

Then, this week, Bob has been home hanging with us and having Mommy-fantasy-camp.  (Which is actually nothing like my normal days, especially since MiniM.E. has been napping like a champ- she might be a little under the weather too- and we've just been doing fun things and skipping the not so fun things like laundry and grocery shopping.)

There's the occasional melt-down that comes from changing up our schedule

Really, we've been having fun and keeping busy...

petting the kitties

watching the squirrels

looking out the window

playing with toys

going for wagon rides

climbing at the park

sliding at the park

just being cute (actually, refusing a jacket)

stroller walks at the Spa Park

carrying monkeys around

and playing precariously on benches

And yesterday we went to our friends' house for Thanksgiving dinner.  It was nice that even if we weren't celebrating with our actual family, we had our "second family" to spend the holiday with.

bringing our mess of toys to another house

examining the wine cork after smelling it

watching football

...after dinner, MiniM.E. was pretty much done...

and almost fell asleep on the floor

This weekend we're kicking off Christmas with our 2nd annual trip to NYC.  And I thought going to New York with a two-month old was challenging... this is a whole new ball game!

I'm just hoping she doesn't cry so much this year that Santa refuses to hold her...

Playgrounds!



The weather has been beautful lately.  Sunday and Monday were actually warm! (Monday was almost 70!)  What better way to enjoy the lovely weather than by doing MiniM.E.'s new favorite thing: going to playgrounds?

 

Before walking to the playground closest to us (seriously? my house just got major points in the "put your kid in a wagon and walk them to the park category), we had to examine all the leaves.

And play on our "playground"

notice the lack of jacket.  yeah, that warm.

 Not in chronilogical order, we walked to the playground, which happens to be the Burgess-Kimball Memorial Park -just looked that up- in the wagon.  Twice.  (Had to explain the presence of two different outfits because I am totally not the mom that brings a costume change to the park (actually, I am.  I totally have an extra outfit in my bag at all times.  But not because I think she needs a different outfit in case she doesn't coordinate with the other kids playing or the playground equipment, but in case of an explosion (yeah, all you vetran moms know what I'm talking about))) (and yes, I definitely just closed THREE parentheses.  Awesome.)

playing in the dirt far surpasses playing on the equipment

static=bringing back the fauxhawk

kiddie slide: MASTERED.



more playing in the dirt

Saturday we found a new park, the Kelley Park in Ballston Spa, which we have since been to twice.  But before venturing there the first time, we needed a coffee pick me up.  See, here's MiniM.E. napping on the chair while waiting for her coffee us to get our coffees.

We went to Coffee Planet, which, for the record, has fantastic coffee and is a really cool place to hang out with your kid since they have books and games in the back and don't seem to mind if your toddler is running around, pulling all the books out of the shelf and stomping puffs and bunnies into their floor.

Stomping snacks and pulling books out of the shelf was no match for the playground.  Here is MiniM.E.  Totally psyched.  It was pretty awesome... even Bob and I had fun.

They had slides and a play house in the "Toddler Area".

MiniM.E. needed a little help with some of the big kid stuff (she's signing it here):

But, she did go down this huge purple slide ALL BY HERSELF.  Did she maybe flip over and end up on her stomach?  Yes.  Did she sign "more" when she was done?  Definitely.  I call it a success.

They even had a tunnel.  Which, aside from playgrounds, is MiniM.E.'s favorite thing.

...Maybe.  Tunnels might be tied with riding on the skateboard. 

In between all our playing, we had a baby shower to go to, and MiniM.E. got all dressed up for the occasion.  She's too cute in a dress not to share:

The dress was a gift from her grandparents in NC.  Thanks MeaMaw and Grandpa!

it's hard to tell, but that weird blurry hand is "thank you"





Some Catching Up... Or Catching Things...

This past week I've been sick.  Arg.  I feel like I've been sick more this year than I have been in ages.  I wasn't even sick this much when I was teaching elementary art.  I'm talking kids wiping their noses then touching you, or putting something in their mouth and handing it to you, or worse, sneezing right in your face when you're talking to them.  It must be another fantastic perk of being a mom.  Awesome.

Anyway, it was struggle enough to pretend I was having a blast pulling MiniM.E. around in the laundry basket for hours on end while I was really ready to curl up in a ball and die.  Luckily, I pushed through it and am still alive.  I don't think MiniM.E. suffered too much.  Except for maybe the few hours that I totally curled up on the couch in a blanket and watched her watch the "tee" (TV).  Don't judge, it was Baby Songs, a totally ghetto DVD made from a 30 year old VHS tape that actually teaches things and is so slow moving that I don't have to worry about it affecting her attention span.  AND for the record, I can now take a shower without piercing screams echoing in the background.

Fortunately, aside from a hacking cough (which I am praying is not waking up my napping baby), I am better.

UNfortunately, while sick I not only neglected writing blog posts, I also neglected everything else I usually do around the house AND the baby shower I am co-planning and putting on THIS WEEKEND.  So this post will have to be short and sweet.  Starting now.  The beginning was totally procrastination.  But now, I really have to go do stuff.  Unless MiniM.E. wakes up.  Which she might.  If I sit here and keep writing and checking e-mail and shopping for Christmas presents long enough.  Then I won't have to do any of those things.  I'll have to play with a baby...

So, to recap the last week or so, MiniM.E. is super cute, as always

Walking everywhere

Loves to swing

especially the big kid swing

Is learning to help out and clean up

Is finding more and more things we need to baby proof

Is mastering new skills like jumping (almost)

And the magna doodle

Went in her first bounce house

Sat at the park at the grown up table

Likes to play in the dirt

Is having a blast in the big tub

Loves pretending to take naps

And still isn't a very good napper.  Though she definitely is cute when she's sleeping.

Aaannndd... She's up!  Mission avoid housework and baby shower planning: Accomplished.