Merry Christmas!

The Polar Express

We bought tickets back in July for The Polar Express train ride in Calera again this year. A very different experience from last year. Being six months old last year, Alex just sat wherever we put him, fell asleep on the train, was super laid back. This year, he wanted to run all over the place, would not sit still in the seat for a SECOND so I could snap a picture, rolled all over Will, etc.

I ordered tickets this year the day AFTER they went on sale and seriously had a hard time finding 4 together on a train car with seats facing each other. We had to settle for a Friday night and I can guarantee you we will not do that again! It was just nuts trying to get the boys from school as soon as we got off work and get out there in time for a 5:00 train ride. Once we were there though, it was fun and I am so glad we went back this year (I'll just know next year to order the hour they go on sale :) )

What is it about sweet little boys in matching PJs...makes me want to squeeze them!

 Our big boy! He has changed so much in the last year...

 They were ready to go!

 Getting in some giggles with daddy....this little boy is a daddy's boy for sure!!!

 Will thought the conductor was silly!

 Picking out a seat...

 Alex loved all the lights!!!

 He did not however, love Santa. We pretty much got the same reaction as the first time we saw Santa this season....NOT. A. FAN.

 Things were much better when Santa was gone and cookies arrived!

 This was pretty much the whole second half of the train ride....Alex was everywhere and did not sit still!!

 Love Will's expression....they were about to be in full on WWF mode...

 Looking at the elf who had a surprise for them!

 Will is obsessed and enamored with inflatables. We have a picture of Will with every single inflatable they had...he would just go stand and pose and say "take my picture mommy!" I'm pretty sure he thinks life is unfair because Mommy won't give in and buy an inflatable for our yard....

I highly recommend the train ride in Calera if you have little ones (especially boys). Just keep your expectations low and the kids will love it!! Just remember to buy your tickets in July....

Our Favorite Christmas Books...

My boys love books...and we love reading to them! I am such a sucker for picture books!! We have way too many, but we keep buying more. This year, I decided to start a new tradition and have our elf, Rudy, bring some new Christmas books to add to our collection when he arrived for the season. We have loved reading our new books! Often I try or buy things based on what other bloggers suggest, so I figured I would share with you a few of our favorite Christmas books this year! We of course have standard favorites like The Polar Express and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but these are a few we discovered this year and absolutely love!

Happy Reading!!

O Christmas Tree

Alex may not have loved Santa, but he sure does love our Christmas tree! His eyes light up every time we turn it on and he loves to point to all the ornaments. It really is so special and sweet to experience Christmas through the eyes of a child!!

Alex went for his 18 month check up on Monday. He is 33 inches long (off the charts and they measured him twice because our pediatrician couldn't believe how much he had grown since his 15 month check up!!!) and 28 pounds 6 ounces. We were given our 5th antibiotic since August...all for ear infections and finally given the go ahead to make an appointment for tubes! We have been hoping for this news :)

SANTA!!!

We took the boys to Bass Pro Shop on Saturday morning to go and visit Santa. If you don't have a "regular" place you go to see Santa, I highly recommend Bass Pro! They have a great Santa set up in a winter wonderland and there is LOTS to keep the kiddos busy while someone waits in line. This year they even had a carousel!
Will was super excited to go and talk to Santa! On his wish list this year is a Spider-Man that talks and a trampoline.

  I will let the pictures speak for themselves. To say Alex wasn't a fan of Santa would be the understatement of the year. He was like a monkey when John was trying to sit him onto Santa's lap. He gripped his shoulder as tight as he could and kept his legs wrapped around John. He wanted NO part of sitting there. Will's expression cracks me up! He is just smiling but smirking a little, I'm sure wondering why in the world Alex is having such a complete come apart! To make matters even worse, last year we didn't get a picture of Alex by himself with Santa so once the picture taking was done of both Will and Alex, we got Will off and left Alex all by himself, still wailing :)

EIGHTEEN

Alex is 18 months old today! SO incredibly hard to believe. He is no longer a baby!

He is very much a toddler and is into EVERYTHING!! Last night we had friends over for dinner and I turned around as I was finishing up cooking and Alex had about 20 pieces of tupperware pulled out all over the house! He loves to make messes and then move on to make another!!

He still isn't saying much other than Mama. He grunts and strangely enough, we know his different sounds and we can pretty much understand his way of communication...which is probably why he doesn't talk more! In the past 6 months, Alex has probably had 5 haircuts. His hair grows super fast. He gets 2 haircuts for every 1 that Will gets!

He is still our laid back kid....pretty easy going.....but he can throw a fit! Luckily for now, they are short lived and he is easily distracted :)

He loves to clap his hands, "rock out" in the car, and shake his head no :)

He is a climber! About a week ago John was in the den and Alex walked into the kitchen. John said after about a minute and a half of quiet, he figured he should see what he was doing...he walked into the kitchen and Alex was sitting on the kitchen table!

He loves Will and can't wait to hug him every morning as soon as he gets up. It is the sweetest thing! They do A LOT of wrestling and I have found myself doing A LOT of refereeing....but for the most part, they play well together...unless Will is working a puzzle.

I love the little person he is becoming and some days I just wish I could freeze time for just a little while.

I am surrounded by people who tell me not to blink, that it will be over in a heartbeat and before we know it our boys will be going off to college and we will be wishing we had back all the craziness and messiness and sleepiness :) I know they are right and I remind myself of that every single day. It won't be like this for long and I want to enjoy every single second of it.
                                        Happy 1.5 birthday sweet boy! We love you to pieces!!!

Rudy Returns

Will has been wondering for a week when the elf was going to come back to visit us. I had intended on him making his grand appearance the morning after Thanksgiving. Things just got hectic and Rudy never showed. Will heard at school that if you put out crackers and water for your elf, it just might lure them from the North Pole.

Last night the boys decided to take matters into their own hands. They were ready for Rudy to visit! We put out some crackers and water on our cute elf plate and went to bed with visions of waking up to a little red guy hiding out somewhere in our house!

 Rudy did not disappoint....he is a sucker for crackers!

Not only did he show up, but he brought snow covered doughnuts straight from the North Pole, along with some new Christmas books to spice up our nighttime reading routine!

The boys were stoked to find Rudy nestled in a candle holder above our mantle holding none other than the Baby Jesus. We felt it only right Rudy make his debut with a focus on the true meaning of Christmas.

Will is super into Rudy this year (the first really since Rudy started visiting us two years ago...). I can't wait to see what kind of mischief he gets into this year!