Snow Days

After making some quick changes to our flight schedule on Friday at noon, we made it to PA just in time to get snowed in at my parents beautiful home. We were watching the storm track and decided if we didn't get in before the storm hit we probably wouldn't get a flight until just before Christmas day. Our airline waived the standard fee to change a flight and got us on a flight Friday at 7:20pm instead of Saturday at 2pm. We got to my parents just before midnight and the snow started falling just after 1 am. Saturday we sat by the fire watching the snow fall, and fall, and fall. I think we got around 16 inches here at the house. Titus loved the snow and would point and say, "no" (meaning snow). We bundled him up and went out several times over the past three days since being here. We are having such a special Christmas holiday and are excited to see the rest of our family members and to watch Titus open his gifts on Christmas morning.

Happy Birthday Jesus

This afternoon Titus and I went to a "Happy Birthday Jesus" party. A mom around the corner from us has one every year and invited us. It was the cutest thing. She had a cake, craft, snacks and read a little book to the kids. Titus was one of the youngest and was sort of in a world of his own. He loved the backyard. It made me miss our house in Atglen with the big yard and our dog who we left behind in PA. Titus is funny because sometimes he LOVES kids (especially those older than him) and other times he just wants to play by himself. Friday evening a teacher from school had her small group girls offered free babysitting for the staff kids. We dropped Titus off for a couple of hours and went to sit on the beach. When we came back to get him he was chasing after the older kids and trying to tackle two at a time. I guess he's like anyone else...some days he wants to be "social" and some days he wants to be left alone. :) But...back to the party...they had a huge swing set with a slide, that Titus climbed the whole way up! I've never known him to be a climber, but he was quite determined to make it to the top...and he did. He loves being outdoors and I wonder what he'll do over the two weeks we'll be in PA. I can't imagine we'll spend much, if any, time playing outside. Our poor little guy will freeze. When we got in the car after the party, the thermometer inside the car said 100 degrees. It went down a couple of degrees as we drove...but even so...it is so hot here! we rarely (maybe once a month) watch the news here...not sure why. But when I did catch it last week they were talking about the record breaking heat we were having. I can only guess that is continuing to be true this week. I am packing up our hats and scarves and sweatshirts and pants as we are getting ready to leave here on Saturday. I've been counting down the days for a while now and can't believe we are so close now.

Merry Christmas 2009

Candy Cane Parade

Tonight was Hollywood's Candy Cane Parade. It was a cool 65 degrees tonight and just perfect for a Christmas parade. As with everything else so far this holiday season, it was made so much more special because of Titus' reaction. I think his favorite was the bands. He would bounce up and down in his stroller as they played. He loved when the trucks beeped and when a group of dogs came through he would've climbed out of his stroller if we let him. The floats threw out thousands of candy canes...Titus held tightly onto his. The parade is really beautiful because it is literally right along the beach. I tried to get some pictures that show that. The funniest part of the night was when a little boy (maybe 8) came to give Titus a candycane and said to Steve and I, "that is one cute baby!" We laughed so hard. He reminded us of one of Steve's nephews.













...leaving the parade along the beachwalk.

Naptime with the Elephant

I went to check on Titus yesterday during his naptime and found that he had thrown everything out of his crib except for his beloved elephant blanket. I never thought I'd let his crib become full of animals and such...but that seems to be what has happened. Since he started sleeping in his crib, I've always put his blanket (that I made from my brother's old t-shirts) and his elephant blanket (which has become his security blanket) in with him. Then we started to put his stuffed sheep and moose in as well. Then...a pillow. This past month he also acquired a Christmas bear that I found in my box of decorations. Needless to say, his crib is now quite full. With the exception of yesterday when he did this...





I guess he thought ahead and decided not to risk throwing over his elephant and being forced to sleep without it. He always falls asleep with it in between his teeth.

Lighthouse-A-Glo

Last night we went to Lighthouse-A-Glo. This is our neighborhood's tree lighting event. We went last year and loved it. This year was even more exciting since Titus was able to enjoy it with us. We got there right as it was starting and were able to take Titus to the snow mound before it became too chaotic. I'm not sure where they get the snow from, but it is a huge pile of real snow. Last night was warm (low 80's) and we could feel the coldness coming off the snow just standing next to it. As the night went on the snow pile became crowded with rowdy kids wearing shorts with gloves throwing snowballs. After the snow mound, I took Titus for a ride on a little train...which he loved! Then we walked around and watched the entertainment and Titus pet various dogs that were brought along by their owners. The finale event is Santa's arrival while fake snow is released overhead from a crane. It's like a foam that floats down just like snow. Titus had little "flakes" in his curls. Definitely my favorite part and the most magical moment of the night. Then the tree is lit and the kids are able to tell Santa their wish lists. It's really a great family event and we had a wonderful night.