Holidays

Oh, the holidays. Seemed like it came and went and it was all a blur. I actually don't remember too much about it except that it was busy and stressful. So busy that we didn't even get a chance to send out holiday cards this year. I thought "oh well. Maybe I'll just send a holiday e-mail." Didn't get to that either.

Thanksgiving was spent with our brother-in-law's parents. I made my family's famous ham (which we make every year), a few side dishes and two desserts. Yum. I love Thanksgiving. I love the food of Thanksgiving. That's real reason I love it. Plus, it's a tradition.

The day after Thanksgiving we didn't wake up early. We just woke up at the usual time and decided to head out to see what deals we could get. To our surprise, we ended up getting ALL the deals we were looking for! We weren't looking for anything crazy like a 50" TV for $200 or anything. It was more like a play shopping cart and a Radio Flyer tricycle for Anderson, some sawhorses, a tool box, a wet-vac and other goodies for Wilson. Wilson made out like a bandit that day and basically got everything I had thought of for Christmas. I got nada. Nothing. But that's okay. I didn't really need/want anything.

For Christmas, we stayed here in Sacramento and celebrated with family at our house. Our tree was filled with presents! All for Anderson of course. I think there were a few here and there for us and our other family members but it was Anderson who made out like a bandit this time. He got all sorts of things and he loved. Here are some pics:




We did go to a Christmas service that was geared for kids of the elementary school age. Not too much of a message or sermon but there was lots of singing and dancing and a short play to show the Christmas story. Anderson LOVED it! He was thoroughly entertained for one whole hour. Not a small feat for such a young boy. I'm hoping they will have a similar show next year. Maybe even one for Easter.

For New Year's, we headed down to San Luis Obispo to spend some time with friends. It was actually a gorgeous few days down there. Sunny and warm! So warm, that Anderson took a little nap in his stroller (which he never does these days)


But promptly woke up so he could have lunch with mama.

Christmas in Chicago: Brrr! It's Cold In Here!

It's been a long time since we've experienced a cold Chicago winter. And this visit did not disappoint! I think the day we arrived it was 6 degrees. Nice. A far cry from the 45-50 degree weather we were experiencing in California.

When I mentioned that we went to Chicago for Christmas, the first thing most people ask me is: "How did he do?" He did fine....for the most part. He, meaning Anderson, was fine on the plane. With the exception of the first flight where he woke up halfway through and proceeded to cry for the next 30-40 minutes. It was our fault really. We were worried that he would be bothered by the air pressure during landing so we delayed his feeding till we were descending. BIG mistake. He got too hungry, too tired and when you're there, it doesn't matter where you are - land, sea, air - it's bad. We also had some bad turbulance so the flight attendants wouldn't let us get up and walk around. Luckily, we learned our lesson quickly. He settled down once we landed and gobbled down some milk in the airport. The next flight (from Las Vegas to Chicago), he slept for all but one hour and played for the last hour. He didn't complain one bit about landing or show any signs of discomfort.

Unfortunately, the first few days while we were there it was too cold for us to go out and do anything with Anderson. We did stay in my parents condo in the city for a few days which was really fun. My mom even scored us some Bears vs Packers tickets! My dad decided that he would rather watch the game on TV rather than bundle up and voluntarily sit in -12F weather to watch the football game. One of the nice things about my parents condo is that we could just walk to the game at Soldier Field. We didn't have to worry about transportation at all! I don't think any of us have worn so much clothing at one time, but it was worth it. We were all toasty (relatively speaking of course) and had a great time at the game. Afterwards, we had to coax a few toes back to life, but it's a small price to pay for the real Chicago Bears experience.

Here we are, bundled up for the game. Yes, we are all wearing the same thing. For Christmas, my mom got all the guys Chicago Bears sweatshirts. We opened these presents early to wear to the game (and to help keep warm!)

After a few days at the condo, we headed back to the house in the burbs to spend some time with my brother and my aunt's family from Australia. We also went to one of those paint your own pottery places so Anderson could make some mugs for Grandma and Grandpa with handprint.

We also got to meet our friends Jill and Jeronimo's new little addition - Sebastian!

(I don't know why but I look really short in this picture!)

All in all, it was a great trip and it was a lot of fun getting to spend some time with family. I'd love to come back to Chicago in the spring/summer when Anderson is able to do more things. I think the only memory he really has of the city itself is a lot of lights and a blast of cold winter air.