AARP Here We Come

Last night we were kidless. Bennett went to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa in Kokomo. Abby and I were young again. Or so we thought....
I met Abby and our friends (Bert and Amy) at dinner Friday night after work. We had a few drinks, some sushi and then were off to go watch the Pacers and Cavs. When we arrived to the game the Pacers were already trailing Lebron and the Cavs by more than 20 points. Bert and I watched the game while the girls watched the people and a little bit of the game if Lebron had the ball. At halftime we went to the bar to have a few more drinks. Abby and Amy got to meet and speak with Gary Brackett. Towards the end of the game they also got to meet Donald Brown (see picture below). Abby is so proud and thinks DB is sooooooooooooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuuuute. After the game we headed to Broad Ripple to visit one of our old haunts, The Wellington. As always "Touch of Grass" was playing a selection of bluegrass, country and classic rock covers. We had a few more adult bevarages and then decided to call it a night.
Fast forward to this morning.....
We wake up about 8 AM (this is sleeping in for us now), grab the advil and attempt to hydrate. We did not even imbibe and stay out as late as we used to in our younger days, but Abby and I are both still reeling from last night. Hence the title for this post.

We Are Tubular

Last Thursday, Bennett went to the St. Vincent Children's Hospital to get a set of tubes. Luckily we were one of the first surgeries of the day so Bennett did not have to wait long on an empty stomach. Everything went well and we hope the addition of tubes will dramatically decrease the number and discomfort of ear infections. We apologize in advance for the picture quality. They were taken using a camera phone.

Mommy is off jet setting in NYC these next few days so it is just Bennett, Fenny and I. Currently the Venetian and MGM Grand have odds of survival at 3 to 1, while the Hard Rock and Mandalay Bay hope to play off inside knowledge setting the survival rate at 2 to 5. Time will tell.

Go Horse

Finally...

...we have made it to Christmas Day! What a wonderful day it was. We were able to spend time at home in the morning and with Zach's family throughout the day. We are fortunate to live less than 2 minutes from them, which makes travel (and return trips to take Fenny out and pick-up forgotten items) so convenient! Mostly, it was a low key day with loved ones and new toys (or clothes, or jewelry) for everyone!

Bennett playing with a couple new toys. We attempted to photograph him with his stocking and the couple new toys Santa brought, but we weren't fast enough and I wasn't going to die on that hill. Maybe next year...

Mom and Dad were trying to plan ahead - "out of season" as this gift is - we think the monogrammed beach towel will be perfectly handy all summer.

Bennett and Auntie Whitney playing with toys.

Daddy and Bennett found some time to relax near the fire. Zach longs for moments when Bennett will snuggle with him and "watch football," which almost NEVER happens. You have to catch him right after he wakes from a nap or entice him to sit still with a snack (in this case, baby goldfish. Grams and Poppie are probably still finding them in their couch).



Zach and I both love the holiday season - the music, decor, lights, celebrations, time with friends and family, food, cocktails...all of it, really. But, there is something relieving about January (not the weather)...the routine, I think. It is nice to have quiet weekends and a new year to go with it. We hope it is a healthy one for all!

Yikes!

I am aware that this post has completely lost its timeliness, but since this blog serves as a bit of a photojournal for our family, I feel compelled to not just skip over the holidays and pick-up in mid-january 2010. I promise not to still be celebrating Christmas by Valentine's Day.

On the 23rd, Bennett and I headed to Kokomo to have an over-night slumber party and cookie baking and decorating marathon. It was a highlight for me over winter break. We live just under an hour from my parents' house (50 minutes door-to-door), so while we see each other frequently (all things considered), our trips are usually squeezed between nap and bedtime and so-forth. So, for this occasion, it was so nice to go, knowing we were staying.

Bennett's contribution in the kitchen was dragging out all of memaw's tupperware (some of his favorite toys), repeatedly.

Christmas Eve, we celebrated with my family. Great day, great food - complete with my late grandma's famous frozen punch - and we all were spoiled with many wonderful gifts. In the afternoon, while the youngest boys napped, we enjoyed watching Monsters Inc. with the two older boys.

Bennett and Aunt Amy.


Lots happening in this picture...Camden and Zach (couch) figured out they are two peas in a pod...spending an hour tracking santa on a website they discovered. Carson (middle of the room) was this year's designated gift-opener. I would say he opened about 72 percent of all gifts shared on this day. We enjoyed sharing in his excitement with each one!

Papaw opening a picture frame that he actually picked out and wrapped himself. It is titled "the boys" at the bottom. Guess who is going in that frame?

Bennett sitting on papaw's lap. After all gifts were open (and many assembled) we watched as Camden and Carson played on their new air hockey floor table. We also had the good fortune of visiting with my cousin, Luke, who has served in the air force for the past 5 years; and therefore, we have not seen much, recently. All-in-all, a great (and exhausting) Christmas Eve.

Digging Out...

While most people in central Indiana are going to be doing a little "digging out" from the snow that continues to fall, I am going to try and "dig out" from the many photoworthy (word??) events over the past few weeks and finally catch up to 2010!!

Starting with....my nephew's (and God-son) Christmas Program. It was so much fun! Bennett and I joined the Prather family at Our Lady of Grace for the preschool Christmas program. Complete with 2 Acts - our little Camden was the wiseman dressed in red. Too cute....

Proud Aunt!

Focused and singing loudly.

The next couple photos just make me laugh. A video camera would have better captured the moment...it was the first offical day of "winter break" and Bennett and I were enjoying our free time. He loves the "Belly Button Book" and was running, as best a 13-month old can do, around the house shouting his version of the words to this book. His favorite page is illustrated in the second photo where it appears the hippo is shouting "BELLY BUTTON!"




editor's note: Bennett can now lift up my shirt and point to my belly button and say "beebo," which is what the hippo call's his belly button in the book. Not sure what to make of this accomplishment and don't think we will be showing it off many places. I am trying to teach him to show his instead.



That's all for now. More to come soon.