Downsized

As in the Christmas Tree.

As they say, our halls are officially decked.  They might be mini versions, but believe me - we have our reasons.  Most of them involve a very active 21 month old toddler who likes to climb on EVERYTHING. Sure, he can pull this little guy down.  But at least it will be a smaller tree that will fall on him.  :)  Last year's tree looked like this - so I think we are making progress.

Our mini-tree arrived over the weekend after a trip to our trusty tree sellers in the Trader Joe's parking lot.  We have gone here the last 3 years and always get great trees so we figured they would be able to help us out with a smaller version.  This year, James was awake and in awe of all the trees to choose from.

The best part about getting a small tree is that it fits right in the trunk! 

As per tradition, we hit up Pho Bistro for a delicious pho dinner and then headed home for the official tree installation.  James and Lucy were so excited as they watched Daddy haul it into the house.  It took all of 7 minutes to get it in, remove the webbing and put it in place.  Small trees are definitely time savers!

Because James is an active 21 month old boy who loves to climb things, we decided to decorate the tree after he went to bed.  As soon as he hit the hay, we fired up the hot chocolate, put "Frosty the Snowman" in the DVD player and got to work.  You would think stringing the lights would be easier on a table top tree and in theory, it was.  If, that is, we tested the lights before putting them on the tree.  Yup - after finishing up we plugged it in and the top half of the tree was dark.  We got it right on the second try. :)

Because the tree is so little, we had to be selective in our ornament choices since we have so many.  We decided to hang anything we have received since knowing each other, all of James' and Lucy's ornaments and a few favorites from our childhood. 

In the end, I think we did a great job.  Our little tree is perfect for the space and since we are spending Christmas morning in NY at Aunt Adriana's and Uncle John's house, it was a perfect choice for this year's holiday.  

The irony - since the tree has been in the house James has showed no major interest in it.  He waves to it and says "Bye", but other than that, he doesn't really notice it.  Maybe that will change now that it is decorated, but knowing him, he'll walk right by it as if it was there all along.  

The best part of the evening -  seeing this.  Porn for women… am I right ladies??

In all seriousness, the best part was James' reaction the next morning.  We said our hello's to Rosie the Advent Calendar Reindeer who happened to give James a new Matchbox car this morning and then made our way over to the tree to say hello (another morning ritual).  Just as James was about to walk away I plugged it in and got a huge WOAH!  He was mesmerized!!  It was a priceless moment.

Merry Christmas!!

Smile! (….please!): The Results

Now that the Holiday cards are out and hopefully arriving in mail boxes as we speak, we thought we'd share some of the photos that came from the JCP photo shoot a few weeks back.  Enjoy!

One of my favorites is the forced smile that he gave us in one of the silver background photos.  This kid is TOO MUCH!!

As Predicted...

We went to visit Santa today.  James got all gussied up in his fancy shoes, shirt and tie and was ready to meet the big man in red and tell him what a good boy he has been this year.  We made our way through the Ice Palace and said hello to polar bears and penguins and owls.  We even got some snow in our hair.  All the while, James was laughing and smiling.

Then this happened.

As predicted, James gave us the traditional "Screaming Kid on Santa's Lap" photo this year.  Instead of feeling sad about it, we laughed.  We knew it was going to happen this year and decided to pick THE BEST screaming picture out of the lot.  I think we nailed it.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

You are Cordially Invited...

Last weekend we had the honor of being guests at the wedding of Mr. Robert Chaffer and Ms. Heather Campbell.  It was a lovely affair. The groom was handsome. The bride was glowing. And we were childless. That's right, we had the honor of being freewheeling and fancy free for 3 whole days and we were more excited and gitty about that than we probably should have been.  We love our child - of course we do!  But we REALLY loved being grown-ups for an entire weekend and we did the best we could to live it up. :)

The reason for the trip was not to abandon our child, but instead to celebrate this guy and this girl.

Rob and Ed go way back - junior high to be exact.  Over the years, they shared many jobs (Bellmore Movie Theatre, PC Richards, The Wiz), many good times (Prom, snow mobiles, adult beverages) and many women…just kidding.  :)  I met Rob a few days after I met Ed and I knew the kind of person he was pretty immediately.  He is one of those guys that is always there for you to help you move (even if it is to VA!), pick you up at the airport or be a shoulder to lean on when you need to have a good cry.  Rob has a huge heart and loves his friends and family with all that he has.  He is, as they say, a keeper!

In all the time that we have known Rob, we have never seen him quite as happy as he has been since meeting Heather.  In the short time that we have known Heather, it is obvious that she is a sweet, caring, wonderful gal with a huge heart to match Rob's.  We were lucky enough to spend some time with her when she and Rob came to VA to help celebrate James' first birthday and we knew immediately that she was the one for Rob.

So last weekend, when we were childless (happy face), these two incredible people got married and we took over 300 pictures to try and capture the excitement and love and joy that was in the air.  From the rehearsal to the ceremony to the reception, everything was perfect.  It was a wonderful weekend celebrating a wonderful couple.

Rehearsal & Dinner

Practice Makes Perfect!

Ceremony

The Legal Stuff

Reception

Party Time!

As you can see, we had a blast celebrating the new Mr. & Mrs. Chaffer.  It was so great to be with our family and friends without any distractions - most fun we have had in a very long time.  Congratulations Rob & Heather.  We couldn't be happier for you two and wish you all the happiness in the world!!