Fa La La La Christmas Fun

Despite the fact that it's a sweltering 82 degrees over here we are doing our best to get in the holiday spirit. Last week we had exactly 2 days where the temperature dropped below 50 so you know what that means....quick, hurry up and wear all the winter gear while you can! Braving the cold front to go out for a morning run, I bundled up the bambino in what can only be described as arctic tundra gear appropriate for polar bear hunting. I'm surprised the Old Navy here in Houston even bothered to carry this item...seems like a swing and a miss on targeting your shopper demographic. But I with my cold-naturedness scooped it up when it was on sale, figuring you can never be too careful with a baby.

Ready for the sub-zero temps of the arctic tundra...
or a jog through the neighborhood here in Houston.

What appealed to me most was the attached hat/mittens/footies. Finally a cold weather ensemble Caroline can't take off! Thus far she has successfully managed to remove every.single.pair of socks and/or shoes that I attempted to outfit her in. 90% of the time, when the weather is still swelteringly hot, this isn't a grave concern. But every once in a blue moon a cold front swings through and our morning jogs are downright chilly, so I was happy to have the arctic snowsuit ready for action. She has a nice collection of fleece outfits, also largely unused thus far this winter, so we had several wardrobe changes during our little cold snap last week to try them all out. 

Mittens off, check. Socks and hat coming off soon, check.

We've been reading the 12 Dogs of Christmas several times each day. Thanks Nana! It's her favorite book right now. As much as she loves doggies Nana knew this book would be a hit.

Alas there is no pug in the 12 Dogs book. A grave
oversight on the part of the author.

Saturday we attended the Family Fun Day at Bill's office. It was quite an impressive event...when old uncle Exxon decides to throw a kiddie fun day, it's go big or go home. There were events, activities, and foods spread out throughout the entire campus. 

This is where Bill works. Poor guy has a tough life.

We made a beeline for Santa because I wanted to get a picture while her outfit and her mood were both still in good condition. She didn't know quite what to make of Santa. She wasn't scared or unhappy, but she didn't grin at him like she does to the  87847952 other strangers she has greeted in her life.

She was also a bit confused by the giant mouse( I think? ) that is the Rockets mascot. But she cooperated for a few photos with him.

First the creep with the beard, now this?

At least I have my mommy and daddy with me.

There were a ton of attractions for kids of all ages. Gingerbread decorating, race car simulators, lots of arts and crafts, Christmas movies on the movie-theater-size screen in the teleconference room, dessert bar, caricatures, and mini train rides. We chose to participate in writing a letter to Santa (and a separate thank you letter to military troops), as well as the train ride.

I will now sacrifice my dignity and climb aboard
what amounts to a caboose of go-karts...

.....all because of this smile.

Saturday night we visited with friends and watched the kids play and ate burgers. I couldn't help thinking how different life has become...there were only 4 kids under age 3 there but it might as well have been an entire army of anklebiters! It was a constant game of hot potato trying to keep them all in clean diapers, fed, entertained, and generally content. But it was so fun watching Caroline interact with the other kids, now that she's old enough to play! She was the youngest one there but fit right in.

Tommy's playroom is a kid's dream! Tons of toys!

Tommy shared his cars with me.

And Paige showed me how this stacker works.

I've started wrapping presents, there's good Christmas movies on tv every night, my candles are always burning and the tree is always lit...it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Now if only we can get some good cold weather to stick around for more than 48 hours....it would be a crying shame if Caroline only got to wear her snowsuit once!