The Holiday Season So Far. . .

The holidays begin with Thanksgiving every year, of course. This year, I worked the Thanksgiving holiday so Scott and Beckham headed to Casa de Parker in Snellville for a late-afternoon dinner. Apparently Beckham can put a hurtin' on some turkey and cranberry sauce! On Black Friday, we decided to head to the ATL for some family time. We got Beck's all excited about seeing the sharks at the Georgia Aquarium. When we got in line, though, around noon, the announcement being made was that unless you had previously purchased a ticket, you would not get into the aquarium until 4pm. WHAT!?! So, after tears were shed (by me, not our understanding 2-year-old), we headed back to Kennesaw to sit down at On the Border for a Mexican fiesta. We ended up having a very long weekend together, but we certainly learned our lesson about tourist attractions on Black Friday! In light of the holidays, Beckham and I have made a few trips to the mall. The newest thing at our mall is a Choo-choo train that takes you around the top floor of the mall. We, of course, have to ride it EVERY time we go. And should I choose to shop first, I have a whiny, little boy who doesn't let up until he is climbing on the train. Other fun things to do at the mall are to ride the "moving stairs" (which is followed by a temper tantrum if we don't go up and down enough for his liking) and he has recently discovered the indoor kids zone which is conveniently next to the train loading area. Since when did malls become more about pleasing kids than getting some good old fashioned shopping done? (Oh, yeah. And don't forget about Santa!)
Well, a little shopping aside, I got all dolled up and headed to an ornament exchange. Everyone else was dressed casual, but I figured since Scott and I can't make it to any Christmas parties this year due to my work schedule, I'd take advantage of the outing. (Scott told me my hat looked like an Engineer's cap). Notice the 5-month belly poking out!
On Saturday, we got a very excited little boy dressed and headed to the neighborhood clubhouse for Santa's annual visit. I had taken him to see Santa at the mall the day before as a warm-up. It didn't go so well on Friday. But on Saturday, he did surprisingly well (aside from not smiling while sitting in his lap). I think it helped that Santa sang Christmas songs with the kids, read them The Night Before the Night-Before Christmas, and recited The Night Before Christmas all before taking pictures.

Anxiously awaiting the M&M's Santa gave him.

After the festivities, we said our goodbyes, took a few pictures, and headed home. He hasn't STOPPED talking about seeing Santa, singing Jingle Bells, and getting M&M's. Oh, and apparently he wants dinosaurs and a train.