What we've been doing to keep warm!

Well, as our local friends know, and the rest of you have probably seen on the news, it has been extrememly cold here lately. The temperatures have been in the teens-below-zero category with wind chills as much as 30-and-40-below!! Adam and I celebrated our 6th anniversary this past weekend and as we went out to a routine dinner and a movie in our hats, scarves, mittens, and boots, I asked him, "Whose idea was it to get married in January in a cold state anyway?" He answered, "Well, yours, of course, and I love you so much I would've done anything to keep you happy!!" The other major event around here last week was Adam's return to school and Conor beginning a new daycare. He is definitely adjusting, but is doing pretty well, all things considered.

Here are some things we have done while trying to keep warm around home:

Conor found a new fun place to play...sitting in the sink and playing in the water...not a good "winter" game when your wet clothes get cold.

Conor has always enjoyed Elmo, but now suddenly remembers that he can watch Elmo movies on DVD so he is always walking up to the TV saying "Eh-mo, Eh-mo". We actually had him sitting still for a whole 30 minutes here under this blanket while we took down Christmas decorations.

Wishing for warmer weather by trying on Dad's shades and wearing shirts from Mom's North Carolina alma mater, Elon University.

Trying to build a warmer place on the new workbench Grandma and Grandpa got Conor for Christmas.

Conor is developing new skills and learning new things so quickly these days. He is recognizing more and more people (and even photos) by name. He is folding his hands and saying amen when we say it's time for nighttime prayers (and already knows the first half of the sign of the cross). He still loves to read, dance, and eat, and never sits still for long. Looking forward to warmer weather when we can play outside again.

Time for a little...I mean, big...update

So, it has been quite a while since my last post. I'm sure you can all relate to how hectic the holidays can be. Let's just say that December is usually our busiest month at work, finals times for Adam, and adding in all that holiday shopping, decorating, baking, and travelling, there's not much time for blogging. We had a wonderful holiday season; but, as usual, it went by too fast. After Thanksgiving, Adam had only two weeks left of school, so he spent lots of time studying. And since everyone wants to get medical care before the end of the year once they've met their insurance deductible, I spent lots of late hours working. We were able to enjoy the festivities of the season with Conor however...

1. We got a real Christmas tree, as usual, even if it was from the local chain of hardware stores. Conor helped pick out the most perfect one. Someday we hope to make a tradition of trekking through the woods to cut down our own, but this wasn't the year.

2. We drank some eggnog.

3. We visited Santa Claus. Conor was not afraid at all, no crying or screaming.

He even gave Santa hugs and high fives. Santa was so generous, he gave Conor THREE candy canes...and Conor kept reaching for more from his basket!

4. We spent way too long trying to get the perfect family picture for our Christmas card....and ended up with Conor eating the Christmas ornaments. But we got some great candid shots of him along the way.

Isn't is amazing how the unplanned, unposed ones always seem work out best?

5. We went shopping. Conor's latest interest is going through mommy's wallet and pulling out all the various cards until it's empty...good thing we got them all back in before we headed out for the mall. We would have been in for a big surprise at the checkout counter!

6. We went downtown Chicago to Lincoln Park Zoo to see the ZooLights display and all the animals. This has been a family tradition since the first year Adam and I were married. It's always cold and usually snowing, but this year it was cold and rainy. Yuck!! We made it fun anyway!

7. We made the annual trek to Minnesota for a week to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa, Leah, Andy, and Laura, and extended relatives and friends. We left after work Friday and Conor stayed awake for the whole 6 1/2 hr trip. Little stinker!

Conor loves to spend time with Grandma (especially when she and Aunt Leah sneak him extra sweet snacks), but this week he really seemed to be a Grandpa's boy. Maybe it's cuz Grandpa lets him play with all his gadgets...cell phone, camera, remote...

or maybe it's cuz Grandpa turns up the music really loud and does silly dances with him :)

8. For the last 20 years, my family has made a tradition of going to downtown Minneapolis every year to see the Hollidazzle parade and the holiday display on the 8th floor of a department store (which has changed names at least three times in those two decades but always has this great animated walk-through story). It was bitter cold this year but we went anyway. Conor, Dad, Grandpa, and Great Uncle Wayne huddled together to keep each other warm during the parade.

9. The weather in both Minnesota and Chicago has been crazy this winter, so we made sure to take advantage of it and play in the snow. We took Conor sledding but he wasn't too sure about it. Maybe next year he'll be a little more excited about the big hill in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard! All those moments were captured on video but here is Conor halfway into his snowsuit...maybe I'll upload some video soon.

10. We openend a ton of presents...of course, Conor was thrilled. I'm not sure he really knew what was going on, but he certainly enjoyed tearing the paper off the boxes. He loved to play with each toy he opened..until he opened another one which temporarily seemed better. He knew enough to just throw the clothes aside when he pulled them out of a box and move on to the next one.

11. We returned home and continued Christmas with our own little family tradition: reading the Christmas story from the Bible by the fireplace before opening our presents to each other. (Conor wanted to get to the presents when it was MY turn to take a picture with him.)

I think we are finally starting to recover. As much as I love Christmas, it will be nice to get back to normal. Adam returns to school next week, and Conor will start a new daycare for the spring semester. Our previous babysitter got a long-term substitute teaching position, and the NIU daycare is full, so Conor will be going to one of those chain daycare centers. I'm a little nervous, but he loves to play with other kids and really has no stranger anxiety, so I'm sure he will do fine. Happy New Year! Here's wishing for a wonderful 2009!!!