Big Fat Christmas Post

Well Christmas certainly is a little different with an 18-month old. Owen was definitely more into the holiday this year, but still didn't really get the whole concept. He loved the gifts, and the tree, and of course the food. We loved watching him enjoy it all.

We started our Christmas quest looking for a good tree to put in the house. Owen got to work crusing down the aisles of trees and falling in the mud.
We got a very nice tree and put it up in the house, not knowing how he would react to it. He loved the ornaments and thought they were great little toys. We tried to put soft things or musical ornaments near the bottom where he could play with them and it wasn't a big deal.
And play with them he did. About a week after the tree went up, the bottom of it is pretty much stripped bare. The ornaments were taken off and he decided that the bead garland would make a nice scarf. He wrapped it around his neck and took off into the kitchen, almost toppling the tree and choking himself in the same action. Life with a toddler...
Needless to say I did not put up my fancy blue and silver glass ornament tree this year.

We had plans to go to Horseheads for Christmas weekend, but wanted to give Owen his big gift in Buffalo where it could be fully assembled. He got a train table complete with wooden train set. (yes the same train set as our famous Black Friday abomination)
We set it up a few days before Christmas so Owen could play with it for a little bit before getting all his other gifts.
I think Dad is having as much fun with it as Owen is...

We headed to Horseheads for the Christmas holidays. I was a big slacker and didn't get a picture of Owen in his handsome man outfit for Christmas Eve mass, but I will get some before he grows out of it. After church and pizza at my parents' house we got our milk and cookies out for Santa.
And had a few cookies ourselves...
Seriously this kid turned into a cookie monster this Christmas. He had them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everywhere in between. He would scream "Kook Kook" until a willing grandparent gave him theirs.

Christmas morning was the usual chaos, but instead of being infatuated with the wrapping paper and boxes like last year, this year it was all about the toys. Look at the frantic motion blur on this pic...
We all made out like bandits as usual. Owen got lots of new toys, trucks, clothes, and goodies. I got my Keurig coffee maker, Shark steam mop, and a new bag. Dennis got a new TV, some train stuff, and a nice wool sweater from Ireland.

We finished opening at Dennis's, then went to his Gram's for dinner, then went to my Mom's for dinner and more fun.
and some peek a boo with Aunt Sara
and more gift opening

It really is fun watching your child enjoying Christmas like we used to when we were kids. It makes me feel like a kid again too.

Cookie Monster

MMMM baking day. I didn't get to eat any of these cookies last year because I was too little. No fair!

Look Mom, they are right there and I will climb up on this chair and throw a tantrum until you give me another one (even though I had my fair share already today)


I know, do something cute until she reaches for that camera and is distracted and then...victory is mine!

The Edwards Tree Saga

Everyone has that great holiday story from their family that they talk about for years. My family has a clear winner in this category, and that is the Christmas tree story. I was at work the other day and we were having the whole real tree vs. fake tree debate with the patients, and I had a whole new group to tell this story to. I forgot how great it is, and figured I would share it with our blog readers (or at least those of you who haven't heard of it!)

When we were kids, we always picked out a great real Christmas tree. My mother especially loved the smell of fresh pine and the great hunt of finding that perfect tree. Well one year when I was probably about 14 years old me and my sisters went with dad to find the tree. Mom was busy with shopping or something so she didn't go that year. We left the house promising to find her the perfect tree. Unfortunately, that day looked something like this...
We took the good old Dodge caravan out in the snow to find the perfect tree. I believe we went to 3 different tree stands and they had the worst selection ever. We were not pleased with any of the trees, and went to leave the last tree farm and got completely stuck in the snow. We had some help from the people at the stand to push the van out, went about 10 feet only to get stuck again. Now my dad would not let any of us girls get out of the car to help, so more volunteers helped him out as he was stifling back swear words.
We get un-stuck again and head back on the road. It was about at this point that my dad totally lost his cool. I can't say I blame him though. He screams "That's it...we're going to Sears and getting a fake tree and I don't care if you guys don't agree and your mother will have to deal with it!" We slowly nod in the backseat, knowing not to test his decision.

We arrive at the good old Arnot Mall and pick out the best looking fake tree money can buy. My dad seems pleased with his find but then regret and fear start to seep it. All of a sudden he's like, "alright girls, go find some pine scented candles and air freshener. We are not going to tell your mom about the fake tree."


We swiftly went home, set up the tree and hid the box in the basement before Mom got home from shopping. We also sprayed massive amounts of pine air freshener all over it. She walked in the door and praised our beautiful tree.

We got through the first 3 years of this routine without a hitch. We would always set up and take down the tree while Mom wasn't home. The funniest part was that Mom would always say how much better our pick was than the previous year.

The fourth year was the final year of our charade. Mom kept feeling the tree "needles" and saying how dry they were. We were of course cracking up whenever she would say this. She decided that the tree needed more water. Previously, one of us would always pretend to water the tree by running the sink and bringing out an empty cup to "water" the tree. As we got older, we weren't home as much and Mom decided to take matters into her own hands. She kept putting water into the base and subsequently watered the carpet quite thoroughly.

Finally, we called a family meeting and had to tell Mom the news: we had been living a lie and the tree was an imposter. She didn't believe us, but we showed her the evidence; the big cardboard box, the plastic trunk, and most of all, the lack of fresh pine scent. Her feelings were a little hurt at first, but eventually she saw the humor in the whole situation. To this day, she will still joke and say the tree needs to be watered.
The tree has lasted for years, and is as lovely as ever. Here's your grandchild pointing to it Mom!
If you're still reading, thanks! Reminiscing about old family Christmas stories is a lot of fun.

Thanksgiving Horseheads Style

Hope everyone is recovering from Thanksgiving like we are! We were able to make the trip to Horseheads for the holiday this year, which we haven't been able to do in awhile. I must say it was a very nice trip.

We got into town Thursday morning and pretty much immediately went to Gram's house for the Sullivan side turkey-fest. Owen didn't waste any time digging into the great food. Then he had some good playtime with all of the little boys running around.
Grace supervised and laughed at the boys of course!

The rest of the day was pretty low-key. We were able to relax a little bit. I went to my Mom's to help with the baking that night and Owen was adding his own spice to the festivities.

Dennis and I got the grand idea of going to Toys R Us when they opened at 10pm that night...not a good idea. We waited in line for an hour and a half in the rain surrounded by some interesting characters outside of the store. It starts raining about 20 minutes in and we are soaked, and the oh-so-helpful store people hand us an umbrella at the door! Thanks, would have been useful about an hour ago...We finally get into the store and realize that they are sold out of everything we're looking for and the line to checkout is at least another 1-hour wait. We left, wet and defeated. So much for Black Friday.

Mom had the great idea of having her dinner on Friday. Saved time and the button of our jeans. So we did the turkey thing again, and it was just as delicious. See that torch? Ma made creme brulee and didn't even burn the house down.

This meal ended as most Thanksgiving dinners do...
Down for the count, watching Christmas Vacation.

Saturday we went to Hollydays in the Square. It was freezing that day, but Owen looked pretty snuggled up. Natalie came too, which is a yearly tradition for us.

We all got to ride in with Santa on the Mark Twain float.
Natalie is almost as tall as Santa now!
Owen didn't even make it close to Santa's lap before he completely freaked out...oh well
The rest of the weekend was very fun. We did some shopping, had some of our favorite Horseheads treats (Pudgies) and even got to talk to Tim via Skype for quite awhile. All in all, it was a great trip. Thanks everyone!

Learning

It's so amazing to me to watch Owen learn. Sometimes it's easy to forget that he is experiencing many things for the first time. That must be so amazing! I have been trying to pay more attention to these little moments of learning and try to imagine what it must be like to be a toddler where everything is so new and exciting.
Even though Owen isn't saying too much lately, he is communicating quite efficiently. With a point and a grunt or a look on his face I can certainly tell what he wants most of the time. Today we went for a walk, and he kept pointing and "talking" about everything we saw along the way; a pumpkin, some dogs, a tree losing its leaves, a garbage truck, and wind chimes...all so interesting to him that he felt the need to show mommy.
He learned quickly as most kids do that banging on pots and pans makes loud noise...And at the end of a good song, we clap. This trick took me by surprise a few months ago. Owen and I were in the car listening to John Mayer's live version of "Gravity." At the end, of course the croud clapped on the track and from the back seat I hear "yay" and loud clapping. Since then, he claps even at the end of every song, even when Mom or Dad sing.
Here Owen tries to get my hairdryer to work. Of course it's not plugged in. Apparently he knows it's supposed to blow air somehow, so he started blowing into the back of it. Cracked me up!
He also loves to give his stuffed dogs "drinks" from Molly's bowl, but then he knows enough to clean up the spilled water with a towel.
Hmm I wonder where he picked up this nosepicking thing.

Sunset at the Park

Owen and I went to the park for what I am so afraid may be our last playtime until the spring. They already had the swings down for the season. He kept walking over to the set and looking up and pointing where they were. It was really pitiful. Anyway, here's some pics of our fun time.





I am still not used to how quickly it gets dark now, so we had to leave a little earlier than both of us would have liked. We will get back to swinging in the spring!

Fall Fun

Hello everyone! Well as usual we have been very busy here. I know you all must want to see some Halloween pictures of the cutie Owen, although I did post some teasers on Facebook for you. We had to make our yearly trip to the Pumpkin Farm. Owen was definitely more into it this year than last.

We saw some animals and headed over the the animated chicken show. Owen clapped and danced to the music while Daddy stalked Jason Pominville. Yes, pro hockey player Jason Pominville...and his cute wife with the 50 carat rock on her finger and Peg Perego stroller. I digress... anyway the animated chickens were enthralling for us all.
We moved on to see the pig races, which were so cute. I love pigs, and learned a few tidbits about them at this particular race. Did you know that on the intellegence scale, pigs are way smarter than dogs? Well spend a little time with cute Molly and you'll believe it too.
Then we went to pick out pumpkins. Owen decided to pick his out with his mouth.
Ultimately we picked this one and carved it with this very basic design because Owen was NOT into carving.
as you can see here
Here's the little guy all dressed up. He wore this skeleton during the day on Halloween
And Superman for the big night. He has also been obsessed with wearing it everyday since.
Dennis and I had our big Halloween party this year. He went as a scarecrow
And I was shrimp on the Barbie. Nobody got it. It's ok.
Here's the winners from this year. The mask was homemade.
Owen's friend Nathan came too dressed as a zebra. They played with trucks throughout the party and had a great time.
I loved Kristin's "beer" belly
a few more characters for you...

That's about all that's new here. Hope you are enjoying fall!