The Perfect Tree

We went up to the mountains yesterday for our annual trip to pick out our Christmas tree. This year we thought it would be fun to stay over night so we called up the joint where we always stay and sure enough they had some availability. Now you say to yourself, "oh a nice little over night trip" but you should have seen the luggage I packed! There is no such thing as packing light with me and when I heard it was going to possibly snow 3 inches that didn't help my cause at all! Allyson told me as soon as we met up when I told her why I was running late that the snow had been canceled! I was glad I packed what I did! We left about 10am and had a nice drive up. We thought it would be fun to count how many trees we counted on the tops of cars heading home as we were heading up but after about the 11th one we passed a huge truck full of trees that was obviously taking some trees to a lot. Brandon decided the game was over!
Little Man was F--U--N at the tree farm this year. We've been going to the same one since he was 5 months old and this year he got out of the truck and acted like he knew just what he was doing! He loved watching them cut the trees down and drive them down the mountain. He had all his garb on so you would think by looking at the pictures that it WAS snowing three inches. It was cold but he just insisted. I think we picked the most perfect tree. As soon as it's up, I'll post and let you see.
Oh, and we haven't been up to the mountains since June but Braxton remembered about the blue ice cream we had then so before heading home this afternoon we stopped and let him enjoy some "bue" ice cream! He did enjoy every bite.

It's Beginning to look like Christmas

Yesterday Brandon got his toy train from when he was a kid out of the attic and set it up for Braxton. Oh my gosh. It sounds like Tweetsie lives in my kitchen. Braxton sits at the dining room table and just watches it. And pushes the button to make the sound. We have to keep saying "okay okay you can let the button go now!" This morning, Brandon's "big birthday", we got the blue Christmas tree out and set it up in Braxton's room and decorated it. He is so excited. I think it's going to be a great Christmas.

PosExpress

We had an incredible ride on The PosExpress. This is what Braxton calls it. I think we went at the absolute best time too. He was SO into the whole thing.
We arrived to pick up our tickets and there were already about 200 people there waiting and mingling around. The lady told me that our car was full and that it was first come, first serve seating on our car so if we wanted to sit together we needed to be in line early. I hate things like that. I get so anxious. Your whole experience depends on your seat and who your sitting with. The train began boarding at 4:45 but people began lining up before then. The confusing thing we figured out REAL quick was that we couldn't load at our car. We had to get on 2 cars away. So dad and Allyson went one way and the boys and I went another. So there we stood for 45 minutes waiting to get on! Braxton was so good. He held on to his ticket, which he was so proud of, and kept pointing to the train. When we began to load all four of us met back up about the same time and picked out a perfect table. Our car was "first class" so it was all decorated for Christmas and it had seats with tables in the middle just like on the movie. I sat across the aisle from the others because the table had only enough room for four. But it worked out great because when we got to the North Pole Braxton was able to come to my side and see "HO HO" and the lights.
They played the soundtrack from the movie and read the book and really entertained us the whole time. Braxton bobbed his head and danced. When they delivered his hot chocolate he got so excited. He stirred it for almost the entire trip and only took one sip! But if you ask him to tell about his Polar Express ride this will be the first thing he tells you! The conductor came around and asked for all the kids tickets and punched a hole in it. It was so cute!
One of the highlights of the ride was when Santa walked onto our car. He walked up to each child and asked what they wanted for Christmas and gave them a silver bell. Braxton pouted when he left him and said " My Ho Ho!". We pulled back into the train station and it looked like there were 500 people already lined up waiting for the next ride.
I'm pretty sure we won't go again for a couple of years. I think we timed it perfect with him this year. He loves the movie so much and is so into trains that it was fun. The songs were familiar to him and he was still young enough that nothing about the ride was "corny". Everything was exciting to him. The look on his face was adorable. Every dime we spent was worth it.
When we left we went and grabbed a bite to eat and then went back to our hotel and swam for an hour. Braxton swore he saw a witch in the pool!! So he stayed on the step, down at the shallow end! He still hasn't forgotten about the witch at Halloween. Later in the night he woke up 4 times dreaming. 3 of the 4 times he woke up talking about "Hot chocolate". The other time he said something about an"itch".
When we were just about home he was playing with his bell and we were watching The Polar Express movie, of course. He held the bell up to his ear and said " I believe!"

The Little Things

The older I get I am starting to really notice and appreciate the little things in life. ALL those things that my parents used to say that I didn't notice because I was a spoiled brat (true and true) I noticed now. This evening Braxton and I were coming out of the bathroom from washing his hands and I was carrying him. Out of nowhere he put his head on my shoulder and said "I 'ove' you mama."
What are some of the little things you have noticed and appreciate in your life lately?

ALL ABOARD

Next stop Bryson City, North Carolina. We leave Friday afternoon for the long anticipated Polar Express trip. We've been talking about it since the spring and we actually called and made reservations over Labor Day. I about died when I called to inquire and the "elf" that answered the phone asked what day I was looking into because they were almost SOLD OUT!! I got my fanny in gear and after making a few phone calls we had our 1st class train tickets reserved.
Our train pulls out at 5pm on Saturday night. We decided after much discussion that we needed to go on Friday so that we would have a hotel room reserved for nap time on Saturday! They will read the story over a loud speaker and if anyone has ever seen the movie they do a "Hot Chocolate" song and dance. That's when they'll bring out our hot chocolate (in our own take home mug)! The whole train ride is an hour and 15 minutes and that does include the stop to the "North Pole". The train will stop there and let Santa on and he'll give each child a silver bell. The cutest part is that the kids are encouraged to wear their pajamas. Allyson ordered him a pair of pj's like the kid wears in the movie but Brax's has his name on them. I know he'll be darling. Dad actually asked me while we were out a couple of weeks ago what kind of pajamas I was wearing and what kind he needed to get for the train ride! I about fell over laughing and said "Dad, YOU don't have to wear your pajamas!" He said later "That would've been kinda dorky, huh?"
I'm almost certain that considering the price we paid for our tickets that we won't get what we paid for and that's okay. The whole reason we're going is because of that little boy. He loves the Polar Express movie. He walks around saying "Tickets please" and "All Aboard" and he walked up to Brandon while they were sitting out back this weekend and said "Wake Up Kid" (quote from movie). But I'm even more sure that the look on Braxton's face when we're on the train and when he sees HO HO and the memories that we make will be worth more than anything I could have paid! And that's worth it right there.
I promise to post pictures as soon as we're back.

Does he forget ANYTHING?

Lately any time we go to the store Braxton wants to look at the cakes in the bakery. I've been telling him recently that "it's almost daddy's birthday we'll get him a cake soon". Saturday night we were at Sam's and he wanted to go by and look at the cakes. They had this cake with a football on it and he really wanted it. I told him if he started "pee peeing" in the potty I'd buy him a ball cake (as he calls it).
This morning I was getting him dressed and was changing his diaper. It was completely dry so I asked him if he wanted to try to go to the potty. He said yes so I ran in the bathroom with him and sat him down on the toilet. Sure enough he started going. He looked right up at me and said " Ball cake mama".

Sick Day

He's almost 2 1/2 years old and on Wednesday I had to call in for a substitute at 2:30am because I knew I was not going to be able to make it to work . I have had to take off for 1/2 days to take him to the doctor and such but Wednesday was my first real whole sick day. He was so congested and stopped up that he couldn't sleep. I was in his room every 30 minutes. I had flashbacks of what life was like with a newborn. By 2 am I knew that when my alarm went off at 5am that I was going to be struggling and it broke my heart to even think of sending him to Maw Maw's with no sleep.
I got up at 5:50 went over to work to write my sub plans and got back home at 7:30. Braxton laid on the couch all day. He got up and off the couch about 5pm. I think a day at home did him some good. (and he ate up laying on a truck pillow and under a truck blanket all day!)

Cute as a Punkin!

It was very funny. On Friday night we were discussing the next nights festivities with Braxton going over what all was going to happen and for weeks we had been telling him he was going to be a lion (again because it still fits). Well, Friday night he had in his head that he was going to be a "punkin". Anytime we'd ask him what he was going to be he'd say "punkin".
Last night I went to the closet to pull out the lion costume and there hanging right next to it was a pumpkin costume that a friend had passed down last year. I hesitated to even pull it out because the tag said '12-18 months'. I walked into the den and held up the lion costume and the pumpkin costume and asked which one he wanted to be. Needless to say the costume fit. He was so darned cute. I thought it was perfect considering our fascination with pumpkins this fall. He was only able to go to 2 houses Trick-or-Treating because of the rain but that was ok with him. He had a blast handing out candy.