Uncle Chris and Staci came out this weekend to go to the Texans' game - and they won, so everyone was in a swell mood. I was just chillin with CT, while he fed me "phishies" from the pile on his belly.

Slip slidin' away

Grandma and Grandpa sent me a new slide for Christmas. Staci helped mama put it together this weekend so I could play outside in the 80 degree Texas weather. (Christmas next year in Minnesota is going to be a lot different!)

Look mama, one hand!
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! Love you!

Time to decorate the Christmas tree.
Hmmmm.... Santa goes here...
And just like that...(isn't this a cool picture?)

And the tree is ready for me to pull everything off. Hooray!

Check this out - we have a ho ho ho in our front yard. Every night I beg by the front door "side", "side" so that mama will take me out side to give ho ho ho a high five. I hear this is the guy I've got to butter up so I get lots of presents! (not that I haven't had my share already!) Mama had to post this pic so you can see the t-shirt dada bought me in Vegas. Furrari - HAH! Can you see the dog? I think it's smashing with the ho ho ho hat.
Speaking of docs, Mac is hiding from me. Guesss who's chasing who these days?

Couples weekend in Vegas, babyThe weekend after Thanksgiving, Grandma and Grandpa headed up to Minnesota to take care of Jamie and Katie, Ga and Pawpaw stayed in and headed to Katy to take care of me,

and Uncle Billy, Aunt Kristen, dada and mama met in Vegas for some adult time.

The lights were amazing...
The architecture incredible...
and the fireworks rocked!While dada and Uncle Billy sped around the race-track, the ladies shopped 'til they dropped. Check out those christmas tree balls - Vegas is no joke!And then they shopped some more. Funny, I only wound up with a t-shirt.
On Sunday night, my folks got cleaned up and went to dinner at Bellagio's FIX and saw Cirque du Soleil's "O".
Everyone was looking sassy! The eats at FIX were great all around - from "Very Adult Macaroni and Cheese" (gruyere cheesey deep fried sticks), to steaks, to poke sashimi, to wedge salads. Dada had kobe beef mini hamburgers. How happy does he look?

Oh Christmas Tree....Yep, it's that time again...
we even went to the same place again...
to find the perfect Christmas tree again.
And look how far we've come...although I think I may be wearing the same socks...

After a long week away, Ga returned to take care of me again. Note that I have my own little pan of food here. Now that's service!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, mama did it. She cooked Thankgiving, well, everything but the turkey. Grandma from Chicago made the turkey. But, mama made green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, rutabaga, "the best" (really) sweet potato casserole, stuffing, cranberry bread, fresh cranberries, and um, a whole lof of other goodies.
We were very happy to host Randy and Paola (they hosted mama and dada when mama was pregnant with me and hiding it - that's why she didn't drink the Sangria!). Grandma and Grandpa drove to Texas to help take care of me so Ga and Papa could drive to Missouri to see Aunt Brigid and the kids. And mama and dada, looking so happy in the background.
I gnawed on my first turkey bone. Delicious! That brining was really good, Grandma!
Well Gee Whiz kids, let's do this again next year!

The Little Gym Oh yes, I'm still a big fan of Little Gym. My friend Ross is in the picture too. He's cool. He just learned to walk and has to hold his arms out to balance. I am learning to "jump" on the launching pad.

Mama helped me to swing on the bars.

I like to crawl over, under and through. And do it all over again.
One day, Grandma took me to the Gym instead of mama.

Surprisingly, I held Grandma's hand on red mat time, where I never hold mama's. I usually never join the red mat gang. I'm too busy exploring.

Uncle Chris and Aunt Staci came by to visit the weekend before Thanksgiving for the Texans' game - the Texans hammered the Saints. Yeah baby, dada was happy!

Trip to the ZooGrandma and Grandpa took me to the zoo on one of the non-rainy days over Thanksgiving weekend. I rode on the carousel for the first time. I wasn't really sure what to think.
Grandpa took this cool picture of the tiger swimming. Sweet.

Well hello there!

Cheese! Me and Grandpa's favorite animal, the elephant! I don't know who taught me the "cheese" face, but mama says, please cut it out!

At night, Grandma and I watched Charlie Brown Christmas.

And Grandma fed me cherry jello with fruit. Do I have this woman whipped or what? We're working on whipped cream for next time.

Early Chicago Christmas, in Katy, Texas...
Before Grandma and Grandpa left to drive back to Chicago, we celebrated Christmas. I don't know that you are supposed to celebrate it at the end of December, so who cares? Frankly, I was ready for some new toys because you know I don't have enough....
Grandpa made me this beautiful rocking horse. It took him a very long time in his shop. With his grey hair and moustache, you might think he was Santa. I really like to get on it, even though I still need help.
I also got one of these loud noisemakers. I don't understand what the grown-ups are complaining about. It's not that loud, really.

I also got a sled with all the reindeer and of course 'Ho. Yeah, you know who that is! I call him 'Ho.
And the grand finale, the super big Elmo that talks if you push his belly.
Sometimes I prefer to squeeze his nose.

I also got some new duds to wear on Christmas.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa! Can't wait to see you guys in March!