Who was that Scary Man?

On Saturday, our little family decided to head down to the mall and take in some holiday cheer. Of course, that included dressing Evan up in his holiday finery, and meeting Santa. Last year, he didn't mind Santa that much, but we didn't know how he would react this year.

The line was fairly long. So, while I stood in line, Evan and Ian wandered around and took in all the holiday decorations. They had a ball! Evan was definitely excited about all the lights and the plastic reindeer.

(the joy of the holiday season)

Finally, it was our turn. Ian and I were excited, but Evan clung to his mommy and got a little shy. We headed over to Santa and tried to gently set Evan down on his lap. Oh, that's when the screaming commenced! We tried having him sit on my lap next to Santa, but by then Santa was already really, really scary. Our Santa picture from this year is definitely one for the photo album.

(This was actually one of his happier shots.)

Fortunately, we capped off our trip to the mall with a trip to the play area. This cheered up our little boy. He had a great time playing around with his daddy and our traumatic experience was soon forgotten.

(All better!)

I wonder how Santa pictures will go next year?

O Christmas Tree

For the past few years living in our small apartment in Seattle, our family has had to content itself with our small and fake Christmas tree. While lovely, especially when decorated with all of our ornaments, it just wasn't the same as the luscious, fragrant trees that I had remembered from my childhood.

So, we were all very excited as Christmastime rolled around again this year, and this time, we were able to go pick out a real tree to place in our very own house! We headed out on Friday night when Ian got home from work to the Christmas tree lot to pick out our tree. We wandered around for a few minutes, one tree looking very much the same as the next. We weren't even sure which size to get because we weren't used to our new tree placement. Then, Evan, who was riding in Daddy's arms, hopped down and walked over to one particular tree. That was it, our tree, and he did a great job picking it out.

(Evan and Daddy tree shopping)

Tree moving has evolved a lot since Ian and I were kids. I remember wobbly trees on top of cars and much difficulty strapping them down. Ian and I both remember much cursing and arguing with difficult tree stands. However, the transition from position on the lot to position in our living room was really pretty easy. The tree lot workers strapped the tree easily on the car for us, and then thanks to our new tree stand, the tree easily hopped into it's new home in our living room ready for us to decorate.

(Our car wearing our new tree-Whose beady eyes are peering out of the car?)

Evan was much more of a help this year, or should I say, he was at least much more interested in the tree this year. He couldn't really understand the concept of hanging an ornament on the tree, but he was great at setting them all on the same branch. Needless to say, we rearranged a bit of his work when he went to bed. We had a fabulous time decorating the tree and it looks beautiful!

(Evan and Daddy take a break from hanging ornaments to pose for a picture.)

(Tree decorating is hard work!)

All of the non-breakable ornaments are at the bottom of the tree, so whenever Evan wants to, he can go and pull one off. This morning, he came back into the kitchen with a drum ornament in his hands. So, I started showing him how to drum on it and sang Little Drummer Boy. He absolutely loved it! He's been grabbing that ornament off the tree all day and running into the kitchen beaming so I can sing "Pa-Rum-Pa-Pum-Pum" and tap on the drum.

I love this time of year!

Slightly Loose Pants vs. The Puddle

Everyone can probably guess from the title of this blog how this entry is going to go...

Evan and I headed over to one of our neighborhood parks, Herndon Park, on Monday to spend some time with our friends Abby, Quinn, and Jonas, and Hilary, Brian, and Carson. So, we were all having a great time playing at the playground. Keep in mind, it had rained very hard the night before. Well, before you know it, Quinn notices a fairly large puddle behind the picnic tables at the back of the park. Soon, all of the boys are tromping around in the puddle. Evan, still a little unsteady on his feet every once and a while, plops down on his bottom in the puddle. Sigh. Shoes, socks, pants, everything is soaked.

He doesn't seem too bothered, so we continue to hang out at the park. Mr. Wet Pants is wandering around quite unconcerned by his dampness. Then, the unfortunate situation of the loose pants kicks in. It was the first day we had worn these pants because they had been a little big. But, they matched with the shirt so well that, as I do with many Evan pants, I rolled them up at the waist and at each leg. They worked fairly well for the first part of the day, but the dip in the puddle was too much for them. Soon, Evan was wandering around the park with his wet pants around his ankles, diaper flashing the world, with his pregnant mom following him around constantly hiking them up. It was probably a pretty comical picture for the other park patrons. Fortunately, we were nearing the end of our park excursion anyway, so this did not go on for too long.

I just had to share. You never quite know how outings are going to go when a toddler is around!

(Okay, so perhaps Evan wasn't the only one who was a little damp-Carson and Quinn look a bit wet around the ankles themselves!)

(This does not look like a good idea Evan!!)

December First

In browsing through the blogs I follow a couple of weeks ago, I became inspired when I read my friend Maggie's blog, The Cooper and Charlotte Show. She was talking about how to make really cute felt advent calendars for her kids for Christmas. I always had an advent calendar, so I instantly thought that Evan should have one. However, there was no way we could afford to purchase all of the needed supplies.

So, I decided to actually be somewhat crafty for once in my life and make a cheaper version of an advent calendar for Evan. I bought a piece of posterboard, cut out envelope halves for pockets, and glued them together. Then, for a finishing touch I stripped Evan down to his diaper and let him decorate the whole thing with green and red finger paint. I loved the result!

It is now hanging on our hall closet door filled with all manner of holiday treats for Evan, from Matchbox cars to finger puppets and even some chocolate. It's only December 3rd, and he was already looking up at it longingly this morning and asking if he could have his present. So, the much discussed and debated advent calendar is at last complete, and definitely a success. Perhaps, I will have to get a little more crafty in the future!

(Evan gets into his calendar artwork.)

(Look at those messy hands!)

(Okay, so we got tired of painting the calendar, so we started painting our diaper.)

(The beautiful finished product!)

Gobble, Gobble

Thanksgiving at the Mhire household has come and gone, and we are all trying to recover from all the festivities and fantastic food! We spent Thanksgiving morning happily watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and eating donuts. Evan absolutely loved every time someone sang a song during the parade. He's definitely a musical kid.

After the donuts and parade, the dog show came on television. While Max, Al, and Ripple were all entranced, we started the cooking.

(Ripple)

(Max)

(Al)

Ian had turkey duty, and everyone else handled the desserts and the sides.

(Ian and Evan check on the turkey.)

(Katy and Evan lick the beater from the cream cheese jello topping.)

(Dad preps one of the stuffings.)

(Ian carves the turkey for the second year in a row.)

By 5 o'clock, the feast that had been created was tremendous. The rest of the family enjoyed the feast, but the boys weren't quite as sure. Evan sampled his first Thanksgiving where he could actually eat food. However, he decided he would only eat rolls, mashed potatoes, and blueberry jello. He did enjoy those things though. Meanwhile, Jack is still on a strict milk diet, but he did at least sit next to the turkey--only 11 more pounds and he'll be as big as our dinner!

(The family eats.)

(The feast)

(Evan chows down on his Thanksgiving dinner.)

(I think the turkey might win this time.)

(Maybe next year he'll get a bite.)

It was a great day, a delicious feast, and a wonderful time spent with family. I can't believe it's time to go home already!

Introducing Baby Jack

I have officially been an aunt for a week and I am loving it! Baby Thomas Jackson Mhire arrived at 3:07 pm on Monday, November 16. He was 20 inches long and weighed 6 lbs. 12 oz. (a little bigger and taller than his cousin Evan). The new family has been doing well and is settling in to life at home.

(already being brainwashed!)

Grandma and Grandpa have been here to help, and Evan and I arrived on Saturday. Since then, we've all been relaxing and enjoying our turns holding Baby Jack, and trying to help out as much as we can. Evan can say "Jack", but other than that, doesn't have much to do with him. However, Evan loves the dogs, Max and Al who have had a little bit of a shock since Jack arrived home.

(my nephew and my son--I'm loving it!)

(sisters)

Audra and Tommy are doing well. Audra is recovering, we just have to convince her to rest and not move around too much. They are both a little tired from lack of sleep, but I can already tell they are such good parents. They really work as a team and are both there for Baby Jack--He's a lucky kid!

(the happy family)

Jack is doing well, and it adjusting to the whole being born thing. He has been eating really well ever since I arrived and alternates between the eating, sleeping, and pooping-just what a one-week old should do. He looks like his parents, although I couldn't pick out specific features just yet. In the few seconds that he is alert and awake each day, he is really observant for such a young baby. It looks like he's really watching his surroundings and taking it all in.

(taking it all in)

Like I said, I'm really enjoying this aunt thing and am really looking forward to a great Thanksgiving with family. We will be glad when Ian and Rip arrive on Wednesday to complete the party. Welcome to the world Baby Jack!

Saturday Gone Wild

We all woke up Saturday morning with no idea how we would fill the day-Should we do chores? Should we go shopping? Maybe a park for Evan? Then we thought of an even better idea-the zoo! We had been meaning to go to the North Carolina Zoo ever since we moved back, and Saturday seemed like the perfect day to do it.

So, we waited until Evan nap time and then hopped in the car for the hour drive to the zoo. After a quick stop for lunch we parked and made our way in. First stop, North America. Evan was especially excited to see the sea lions with their underwater viewing area and the black bears who were putting on a show running back and forth. He cried when we finally pulled him away from the sea lions, bears, otters, and probably some other animals that I can't remember.

(sea lion lovebirds)

(Evan watches a sea lion speed by.)

(The black bears rub noses on their way past each other.)

(Our little bear loves the bears!)

(little pink hummer)

(A bobcat or ocelot or kitty cat (we're not sure) poses for the camera.)

We then walked on to Africa. I was pretty proud of walking 5 miles in my pregnant out of shape condition. In Africa, Evan's favorite was the chimpanzees or gorillas. We searched and searched to find the elephants and finally found them at closing time. They were a bit tricky to see, but after being perched on Daddy's shoulders, Evan got a good look.

(Evan and I bond with a chimp.)

(A chimp watches us as we watch him.)

(This is the way to travel!)

Evan loves animals, and we all had a great time! Maybe we should have just left our little monkey with the other wild animals?