Santa Came to Town!

 

 

 

Well, the time has come. Our Christmas celebration has officially started. I'm on my fourth day of antibiotics for a sinus infection (sickness lasted about 20 days- yikes) and am thankful I feel better just in time!

Santa came to our house lastnight! He made a special trip so the boys could have Christmas at home and get to play with their stuff before we celebrate with the Hammonds over the holiday. Boy was Santa good this year! The highlight is a six-car race track so they can race their Hot Wheels!

What a fun year. Braden is really into Santa this year, leaving cookies, milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.  He came to wake us up at 6:45. He was sooooo excited when he saw the presents this morning. He was jumping for joy! Liam was running around trying to grab what he thought looked most interesting to him- toothbrushes and candy! What a fun morning we had. The boys are now wearing new PJs and watching Rio under a new Spiderman blanket- taking a slight break from car racing.

I hope you all have a blessed and wonderful Christmas with your families. I pray for all of those that are sick this holiday season, that they can feel good to celebrate with their loved ones. I pray for all of those that are without a loved one this season. I know how hard that is and may the warm memories comfort you in times of sadness and that you can lean on others for support. I pray for all of those that have loved ones fighting for our country and can't make it home for the holidays, that they stay safe and can return soon. I pray those without homes and food, can find shelter and meals this Christmas season. I am thankful for my wonderful family, our health and happiness and all the wonderful blessings in our lives. I know many get stressed out over the holidays, but truly just sit back and enjoy this time as it comes just once a year and the only thing to worry about is getting everyone together and celebrating the reason for the season!

Love from the Hammonds this holiday season!

Disclaimer: These pics are obviously not from today, but I'll post Christmas 2012 pics soon!

Snow, Packers and more snow!

 My first Packer game = snowiest game in 5 years (and 5 layers on top, 3 on bottom)

 Lambeau tree

Spot at the bar on game day- unheard of! (not if you get there 7 hours before the game though)

 

 

Every Sunday in this house, I hear the chant "Packer Sunday, Packer Sunday" from two excited guys in the house when they wake up and realize what day it is. Once the last guy can add more words to his vocabulary, it will become three chanters! Last weekend it was my turn to witness this excitement first hand at good ol' Lambeau Field.

Our original plan was to go to Joe's parents with the kids Saturday night, and get up in the morning and head to Green Bay. Since it was a Sunday night game, we figured we had plenty of time to get there as we'd only be three hours away. Mother Nature had different plans, so we hit the road Saturday night to the Green Bay area and left the kids to stay an extra night on their own with grandma and grandpa. It was a win-win situation, we beat driving in the storm (and got an extra night out) and grandma and grandpa got to have more quality time with the boys.

We stayed in Appleton, hitting some of the hot spots on the main college avenue in town for a night. Sunday we got down to Lambeau quite a bit early to beat the traffic. We lucked out and got a seat at the bar right across the street and got to take in some other Sunday afternoon games while the snow came down furiously outside. A couple hours before game time, we braved it and put the rest of our layers on and headed into the blustery night. The temperature was perfect for a winter night game in the Midwest- 35 degrees - however, the snow turned to water once it hit you so it got a little wet after a couple hours! I really wasn't cold until mid-third quarter when my feet got a little wet in the boots I had on. I was smart and had a padded jacket to put down on the medal bleacher seats to sit on. If you don't have warm feet, or a warm seat you are in big trouble! Anyway, I can't compare it to any other game- but the stadium was very cool at night brightly lit up and snowflakes coming down. The fans were nothing but energetic and fun. They packed 70,000 into the stadium that night. The outdoor tents were packed in the tailgating zone during pre-game time, comparable to St. Patty's Day here in St. Paul. It was not like any football game I have ever experienced. The weather did not turn anyone away, it made them even more excited! Brats, beer and of course cheese were everywhere! No joke.

We had a great time even with the crazy weather. The Pack won, we were stuck on the highway in bumper-to-bumper traffic getting back to our hotel not until 2am, so the day was a bit long....but it was all about the "full" experience. I don't have a "bucket list" officially. But, if I did a Packer game might be on it. Not sure if the snowiest game in 5 years would be on the list, ha, but needless to say it was a very fun experience and now I can totally understand what "Packer Sunday" officially means. It has a very different meaning in person than sitting at home watching it on T.V. If I go to another game, I may opt for a fall one- ha. One of the highlights was meeting a couple from San Diego that came back to a December game because the previous game they came to was 70 degrees and they were mad! They wante the true experience. I think they got it!

PS- I was forced to wear the beautiful jersey!

Liam: 15 months

Liam at 15 months is full of spunk and personality. He went from learning to walk to RUNNING. He cruises across the main level to get upstairs just as fast as any one of us now. I can't even tell who's pitter patter feet I hear running across the hardwood floor. Watch out, Liam is on the go!

Liam loves to play everything that Braden plays with now. He's into the Thomas The Trains, and pushes them around the wooden tracks, he likes to look at books, and of course he still loves to throw balls. He even helps me clean. Today he Swiffered and vacuumed. :) He can say, Momma, Dadda, Ball, Apple, Bubble, Blue (he is trying to say Balloon), and woo-woo for his favorite stuffed puppy. He also says "Wa" for water. I had to give Liam his first hair trim a couple of weeks ago, the top was sticking up way high. He has a nice colic that may need to be trimmed every other week. :) His hair is a lot lighter than Braden's and came in a lot earlier than Braden's did. Liam popped yet another tooth this week. He also understands everything we say, listening MOST of the time. He knows, it's bedtime, go get your shoes, etc...but when I say, "Please don't throw your bear in the toilet" or "Stop flushing the toilet" he doesn't seem to understand. :)

Liam is a smiley guy. He can be cuddly too, when he's not on the go! He is awesome at the stairs, so we took away the gate for the basement. He slides down on his belly in lightening speed. Wherever big brother is, Liam follows. They are two peas in a pod. He still is my hot-tempered guy, throwing himself on the floor, banging his head and feet when he is mad. I am hoping there are no future ER trips for these tantrums, they don't occur super often! He also runs into a lot of things, falls down a lot, and pulls things down on top of himself. He also climbs on things. He is my daredevil. He likes to stand up  in the bathtub and then flop down, which has resulted in a few flips underwater to scare him. Again, I really hope that I don't have to make an ER trip with this one, but I think he may be my adventurous and no-limits little boy.

Liam is smiling and laughing when he wakes up, and goes to bed laughing too. He loves his crib and his sleep. So does Mom! :) It's crazy to think about where we were a year ago with him and how big he is now. We can't wait to see what Liam will show us this holiday season, besides pulling off the ornaments and throwing them across the room. :) He is a joy and a blessing to our family! He completes the Hammond family. His spunk is refreshing to start out each day with.

Braden: 3 years + 3 months

Oh, our little Braden is growing up so fast that he feels like a little man. If I can't find something, he will go looking for it and bring it to me. He likes to dress himself now, but shirts are a bit tough. He is fully potty-trained- YEAH. He is still as active as ever- loves to run, throw, bike, swim, play just about anything and he is all over the games and movies lately. He even knows how to work the Ipad all by himself. He does puzzles, games and can watch Disney Junior shows.

Braden loves preschool. His weekly reports always say he was fun, patient, excited to learn and a very good helper. This year he is very into Christmas which is so fun. He yells when he sees all the lights outside, saying "Momma look, it's Christmas!" He helped me decorate the tree. He also sees all the decor around the house and tells me that it looks good and that I am a good decorator. Where does he come up with this stuff? One day my jaw dropped when he told me that I have really pretty hair. Remember when I said I was a little nervous at times to have just boys in the house (keeping up with laundry, food, being outnumbered, etc...) well, boys sure are sweet to their Mommas. I hope that stays! He is really excited for Santa Claus. He told me he will leave out carrots so the reindeer can lick them, and cookies for Santa. We go visit Santa this Friday, so that will be fun to see how he reacts.

It's fun to watch Braden grow as a big brother too. If Liam falls and hurts himself, he runs over and hugs and gives him a kiss. Today I heard the boys giggling around the corner together while I was making lunch. I asked Braden what they were doing and he said, "Just snuggling Mom." I turned the corner and Braden was laying on top of Liam with his head on his belly and they were just laughing. If ever I am headed out the door to go to the doctor or to Target all by myself, he usually asks to come with. I took him to a movie a few weeks ago, and Joe took him to SkyZone- so we try to do special one-on-one things with him which is a lot of fun. He can do big boy stuff now, crazy.

As Braden gets older, he is really turning into the social guy. I had some ladies over the other night, and he was so upset when it was time for him to go upstairs to bed because he wanted to hang out with everyone. He never wants to miss a thing and is always excited to have people over, or go to someone's house. This holiday season will be super fun. Three years old is a lot of fun and we can't wait to see what is in store next with Braden. Life is a lot of fun with Braden around.