Santa -- A Repeat Performance

Remember back to how well our visit with Santa went last year??

So, this year was pretty much a repeat performance. I took X to the Parents as Teachers holiday event again to see Santa and participate in some fun activities. He actually did pretty well with the activities, but HATED the Santa part. Walter was out of town for work so I was flyin solo for this one. It felt like there were a zillion people there so pardon some blurriness in a few of the pics. It's hard to be almost 37 weeks pregnant, keep up with a very busy toddler in a crowd full of little kids, AND get good pictures. Yes, I was there despite the fact that there are no pictures of me. I didn't think to ask someone to take a pic of me and X.

We started out in the pretend kitchen area where X made some cookies.






Our next stop was Santa. I thought that if we got this in right at the beginning maybe things would go well. Not so much. X stole some spatulas from the kitchen area and then proceeded to scream when I put him on Santa's lap. Santa even made the comment "oh, I see you let him bring a weapon." Oops!



The second he got off Santa's lap X was totally FINE. He even walked right over to this cute little chair and let me take a few pics (but wouldn't give up the spatulas!)



Then we went to shovel some snow. It was hard to pull him away from this.


And of course we hit up the stacking box station. They have this at almost every PAT event and it's always a hit.

Next stop was the obstacle course where you were given a gingerbread "cookie" (the piece of paper in his hand) and had to make it through all the stations to deliver the cookie to grandma's house. Very creative!

After the obstacle course we headed over to the craft stations. X made himself a Frosty the snowman face. He liked putting on the black stickers for the mouth (although he decided to create his own shape for the mouth) and LOVED playing with the glue stick. X didn't quite understand what it was, but he was very content to rub it all over the face...so I just let him!





Our final stop was the Gingerbread houses where you were supposed to decorate them with the Velcro candies. Instead X wanted to see if he could stand behind the houses and push them over.
But then he got the hang of it and did a little decorating.
And he even cleaned up the stray candies and put them back into the buckets.

We had fun. Well, except for the Santa part. But you can't have everything!

Generations Unknown

My grandpa passed away in Feb 2007. X wasn't born until Dec 2007. They didn't get to meet. I show X pictures of my grandpa and he can recognize him in a photo and say his name. But, it's not the same. Several months before my grandpa passed away he was clearing out his house and I got these 2 small wooden steps that he had made a very long time ago. I had no idea what to do with them, but for some reason I just liked them and wanted to have them.

So recently I decided to paint one of the steps to match X's room and write his name on it. I love it. It's simple, but means so much to me. It's a link to generations unknown. When I see X playing around on it it makes me smile. I have told X who made this step and now when he plays on it he says "PaPa" (which is what we called my gpa) over and over. My grandpa would have absolutely adored him! At least this is a small way that I can remind X who his great grandfather was.

What's With The Name?

So, I changed the blog. Ya know, for all you 4 readers out there! My real drive for this was to get our last name off of it. I haven't had any bad experiences, I just decided I wanted a bit more privacy and thought that before the baby comes would be a good time for the change. I don't feel I need to actually make the blog "private" (requiring a login) so for now this works.

Coming up with a new name was a bit more tricky than I thought. Apparently (ok, well, I knew this already) I'm not that creative, so everything that I thought of to describe a family blog was pretty much taken already. I finally settled on Custom Mix because, mainly, it was available! But, it does actually have some significance.

While I tend to blog mostly about X (because it's kind of his digital baby book) I do talk about some other things, so it is a "custom mix" of topics. I also thought that our family is a custom mix of people. Additionally, for those that know me well, you know I love to paint (rooms and furniture, not pictures). I've been known to, on several occasions (and just a few weeks ago!), create a "custom mix" paint from stuff that I already have. It's kind of a joke when someone asks "What color is that?" and I say "Oh it's a custom mix". What this really means is I got out a bunch of paint cans from the basement and started mixing to see what I could come up with to avoid spending money on a new gallon of paint!

So is the name a stretch? Maybe, but frankly, I don't care. I like it. This is all for fun anyway, right?

They're Still Hanging In There

Remember my post about these impatients? Well, we've now put up our Christmas decorations and as of this afternoon this is what the flowers still look like.


Can you believe it? I've NEVER had summer flowers last this long. I don't know if it's because they are covered by the porch or because we've had a mild fall, or what, but it's crazy to think that they still look this good. Part of me wants them to just die already because they really don't fit into my Christmas themed front porch. But the other part of me is curious to see how long they can hold out. Will they make it to 2010? Guess we'll see.....

Thankful for Thanksgiving

My uncle Drew and his wife Susie hosted Thanksgiving at their new house this year. It was a big crowd! Their fabulous Victorian home seemed to easily accommodate this large group though. The food was great and we really enjoyed it. That evening we also visited Walter's grandparents and uncles. Busy day, but much to be thankful for! (especially a child that cooperated through our long day -- a blessing indeed!)

Enjoy some pics from the day!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

For Donna and Chuck

Keeping Watch

Mei Tai

Baby carriers are cute...but pricey! I really wanted a Mei Tai for Baby D but didn't want to shell out the $$$ for ones I'd seen on the Internet. I mentioned before that I thought maybe I'd try to make one. Well, I did....and it's pretty neat! It even has a little hood to keep the sun out of baby's eyes! I made it for about 1/2 the cost too.

I found instructions online (ahem...30 pages!) and my mom helped (and fixed what I messed up) me. It took 11 hours of sewing to get the finished product. This would have been shorter if we didn't have to redo the straps (we determined they were too wide for someone my size) and if..well..I knew how to sew faster! But I really enjoyed working on this and would do it again.

A Mei Tai can be worn in front for an infant or in the back for a bigger kiddo. X really likes it. I put him in it and took him for a spin around the yard. He kept saying "Weeeee Mei Tai.....Weeeee Mei Tai!" Like any baby carrier it will take practice to determine how it fits best on your body. These pics are from the first day so some adjustments are still needed.

Mei Tai

Baby carriers are cute...but pricey! I really wanted a Mei Tai for Baby D but didn't want to shell out the $$$ for ones I'd seen on the Internet. I mentioned before that I thought maybe I'd try to make one. Well, I did....and it's pretty neat! It even has a little hood to keep the sun out of baby's eyes! I made it for about 1/2 the cost too.

I found instructions online (ahem...30 pages!) and my mom helped (and fixed what I messed up) me. It took 11 hours of sewing to get the finished product. This would have been shorter if we didn't have to redo the straps (we determined they were too wide for someone my size) and if..well..I knew how to sew faster! But I really enjoyed working on this and would do it again.

A Mei Tai can be worn in front for an infant or in the back for a bigger kiddo. X really likes it. I put him in it and took him for a spin around the yard. He kept saying "Weeeee Mei Tai.....Weeeee Mei Tai!" Like any baby carrier it will take practice to determine how it fits best on your body. These pics are from the first day so some adjustments are still needed.

Deer Camp 2009

Over the weekend we all went deer hunting. Ok, well, Walter was the only one that actually hunted. Me and X hung out at the house with Walter's mom. It was unseasonably warm so we were able to spend a lot of time outside which was great. And of course X loved having all that grandparent attention. He got to ride a 4-wheeler with gma Tina and gpa Tom had him up on the big tractor. X thought he was hot stuff raising and lowering the bucket on the front.

Walter shot a doe just before sunset on Saturday. We were all very excited. I never imagined myself as a hunter's wife, but here I am, getting my picture taken with dead animals. My my, how life turns out!

While we were in "the country" for the weekend we also celebrated an early Thanksgiving with Walter's family. X got to play with some of his cousins and the food was fabulous! Thank you Tina and Tom for hosting such a great weekend.

So here's the pics. Let me warn you now that there are shots of the deer that might seem graphic to some. But huntin aint for sissy's!

Make a Smilebox slideshow