What a Great Break!

Well, the past week and a half have been wonderful. Like old times. James and I taking on the world together. But tomorrow it's back to school for us both. Hopefully all will go well. I think it will be really tough for both of us. (Plus it's a gym day for Dan, so that means I'm dropping James off in the morning.... I'm tearing up just thinking about it, darnit.)

So, sigh, let me wipe away the tears and recount our fun times:

Wed., Dec. 23rd-- Vacation begins after school. We hit the mall for shopping and Santa spotting.

Thurs., Dec. 24th-- Shopping, Maywood Santa, Church, Dinner, Visiting our neighbors, cookie fiasco.

Fri., Dec. 25th-- Christmas!

Sat., Dec. 26th-- Skype with Ali, P & Peg, Shopping, Party at the Whitakers' where James had SO much fun playing with all the toys in the basement and following the bigger kids up and down the stairs

Sun., Dec. 27th-- church (James noted the lambs and Mary & Joseph in the stained glass)

Mon., Dec. 28th-- a big day in the city with Mommy's friend Anna-- we saw the tree (in the days following he'd mention the "really big famous Christmas tree") and the windows at Saks, went to a fancy baby store, had lunch, walked through Central Park, went into a cute little knitting shop, got drinks at Starbucks, walked through Times Square, and went to Bryant Park. James was a champ all day! He rode in the stroller without much complaint (thankfully I had the Maclaren and could use the weather tent to keep him a bit warmer), enjoyed running around the baby store, walked down the sidewalk holding Mommy's hand on the way to lunch, and really enjoyed Anna's company! He talked about her the next few days. What a sweetie! I wish we'd taken more trips to the city...

Tues., Dec. 29th-- Our playdate got cancelled, so we did a little shopping in the morning then visited Daddy at work. Everyone in his office was so impressed at how big James had gotten. James loved running all around the maze of cubicles. Loved. It. We had a nice lunch together, then James took a decent nap at home (though it took him quite a while to wind down). That night Grandpa and Grandma came over and Dan & I went to see Sherlock Holmes. Fun!

Wed., Dec. 30th-- James had his official two year old picture appointment. Whoever thought it was a good idea to put the picture studio right by the carousel in the mall was foolish. Foolish. I let James take a ride before his appointment. He was sad when it ended, but recovered. He seemed excited for his photo session until it actually began. Then he kept running out saying "No Way!" And by running out, I mean running out of the room AND of the photo place into the mall itself. I was stripped down to a short-sleeved shirt and still sweating. Amazingly, there were some fabulous portraits taken! I rewarded James (I mean myself) with lunch in the food court where James proceeded to pour milk all over himself. Oh well. Back home for naptime (I think I may have treated myself to a quick nap that afternoon as well!) in jammies while the milky clothes went to the laundry.

Thurs., Dec. 31st-- New Year's Eve

Fri., Jan. 1st-- New Year's Day

Sat., Jan. 2nd-- James helped Mommy make pancakes while Daddy slept in. Then we ran some errands and went to lunch at Kinchley's (where James refused to eat anything but raisins).

Sun. Jan. 3rd-- James helped Daddy make waffles for breakfast. Daddy used the new hand mixer he got from Santa. After breakfast, he took the motor and cord out of the old one, so it is now James's. James announced, "A! Little! Tiny! Mixer! for! James!" We spent the day playing with toys and getting ready for the week.