Wednesday, January 16, 2013

December

At the midway point of January, I think it's only appropriate to now take the time to recap December … in standard photo montage form:

For the first time in the almost eight years we've lived in Minnesota, we hit up the (free) Holidazzle parade that takes place in downtown Minneapolis. Thanks to neighbor Sarah, we sat in a heated, cozy tent with warm apple cider and hot chocolate. (We are now doomed to ever do it different.) It was spectacular and I only wish I could've captured the expressions on Maci's face as the lighted floats went by … damn the darkness. She was in serious awe – exclaiming and pointing and oohing and aahing! It was child wonderment at it's finest.




Afterwards we hit up the (also free) Macy's annual holiday display on the eighth floor of their downtown store. While the display was equally impressive, the long lines to get in and the fact that Maci was flirting with bed time, made for a somewhat less impressive reaction. She still got a kick out of everything, just in a much more subdued, muted and sleepy way. Apparently I was also pretty beat because I didn't even bother to get out the camera.

Of course we made our annual, and by that I mean second, trip to see the big guy at the Rosedale Mall. Last year, Maci didn't mind the bearded stranger in the big red suit. In fact, she was all smiles. (I can't get over how different she looks just one year ago, sans curls!)


This year, we were far less certain of her reaction as she seemed a wee bit … hesitant.

 

While we did our best to back her up to Mr. Clause, so as to ease the transition, she still turned to take a peak once she was on his knee and immediately broke down into some seriously sad tears. Not scared, not shy, sad. Luckily, a fabulous employee got a hold of a noise-making duck long enough to divert her attention, dry her tears and at the very least, somber her expression. While the photographer was showing us all these boring, cookie-cutter, serious-faced-Maci photos, our Mae Mo started to take on an inquisitive appearance…


Shawn was like, "Take the picture! Now! Now!" And thus we got the adorable shot above. Create your own caption but my favorite is: "Flying reindeers? Really? Keep talking."

This brings us to Christmas Eve. Having zero activities planned for the day, we chocked it full of fine family fun in hopes of making memories and traditions for years to come. To kick things off, sledding at Como.

Dad and Maci were up first…


Success! (And survival.)


Next up, Mom and Maci…


Crooked success! (And swagger!)


All was going well, better then expected actually. It was colder then a witches you-know-what but we didn't seem to mind or even notice. Maci was seemingly enjoying herself, grinning and giggling all the way down and then asking for more once we reached the bottom. And then, this happened…


Yep. Dad and Maci take two or three resulted in a tuck and roll situation to which Maci was not pleased about. Everyone survived safe and sound, however, thus ended the sledding session for Mae Mo.

When we got home (and thawed out) we watched the Grinch. Not the horrible (in my opinion) Jim Carrey version, but the Dr. Seuss animated original. It was just long enough to entertain Maci Mae but just short enough not to lose her attention. Pretty sure her favorite part was Max the dog who she kept lovingly referring to as Noh-man!


After sledding, after the Grinch, after some lunch and some family napping, we hit up church. If I do say so myself, Maci Mae Mo was just about the cutest thing I've ever seen that night but the little squirt would not stand still for a photo, so the blurry, yellow shot below is the best I could get.


Christmas Eve ended up being absolutely perfect. After Maci went to bed, Shawn and I capped off the evening with some dessert and a little National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Classic.

On Christmas Day, we videotaped most of Maci's present-opening-session but I was able to get a few photos a little later on while she got to enjoy a couple of her presents. That's right, bubble bath and foam letters folks! Man I love presents at this age! Maci took her first-ever bubble bath and was enamored! Bubbles are her jam. That Santa sure is smart…





Everything after Christmas is pretty much a blur. We rang in the New Year around 7pm with the Woodruffs and had a celebratory countdown over chicken nuggets and cheese and crackers. Pretty sure I allowed myself TWO Caffeine Free Diet Dr. Peppers and possibly a shot-glass sized portion of beer. I miss beer. Anyway, it was a good month. Cold, crisp, snowy and full of big events: Shawn's 30th, Christmas, New Year's Eve and of course, a Dad, his dog and his daughter sledding down Ruggles. I kinda really love these people…



4 comments:

  1. Thanks Kali!!! Sounds like wonderful memories were made by all!! She's a cutie, hope you're feeling well!!! Sue

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    1. Thanks Mama Sue! We're all feeling good … now. We had a rough go of it with Maci right after Shawn's bday weekend but have since recovered and are doing great. KNOCK, ON, WOOD!

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  2. Holidazzle rocks, Macy's rocks, Santa will rock again and sledding? The best. However, the ORIGINAL Grinch? Priceless. It was my Dad's favorite as well. Even as an adult I remember many a night before Christmas watching it with him. Mostly, I watched how his face would light up as if he'd never seen it before. Every now and then he'd look over at me with his class grin as if we were in some conspiracy theory adventure that the entire world had missed out on. So, very glad Maci Mae Mo is learning to appreciate all these wonderful winter adventures. You are a wonderful blogger. Just sayin'

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    1. I always knew I liked Uncle Gary. ;) And I know that look … seen it many a time playing cards. The ORIGINAL Grinch is the BEST. It never matters how old I am, I love to watch it and loved that Maci loved it, too.

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