Turtle Cookies & Firehouse Santa

One of my favorite childhood memories is baking Christmas cookies with my mom and my brother. I'd been wanting to carry on that tradition with Jack, and Marc was pestering me to bake some cookies, so I bit the bullet and did it. Holy cow, it was so much more difficult than my mom made it seem! The dough didn't cooperate, the cookie cutter shapes did not look like they should and the frosting that I made from scratch was totally gross. After much perseverance (and a can of store-bought frosting), we finally had cookies to decorate. I am pleased to say that Jack really seemed to enjoy the cookie decorating, so it was well worth it. And I can say with certainty that Jack LOVES eating the cookies...the star-shaped cookies turned out a little lumpy, and Jack thinks that they are turtles. Every morning when he wakes up, he starts yelling TURTLE, TURTLE, TURTLE!! We're totally screwed once these cookies run out. Maybe someday I'll be like my Grandma, and bake a million varieties of homemade Christmas cookies for the little ones, but for now, I'm retiring the apron until 2012.

Mommy holds Jack, who holds a "turtle".

Frosting the cookies.

Frosting himself!

Cookie baking wasn't the only thing keeping us busy last week. In addition to a few holiday parties, Jack got to meet Santa Claus AGAIN, this time at the Westerly Fire Station. Marc's "Nanutz" has been a member of the Westerly Fire Department for fifty years, and he invited his three great-grandsons to this charming event. Family members of the volunteer firefighters went to the fire station where they waited for Santa to arrive by fire engine. He then called them up by name and gave each child a special gift, as well as a stocking full of treats. Jack was much more comfortable with this Santa, who looked like he just stepped off his sleigh from the North Pole! Thank you, Nutz, for the lovely day!

Nutz, Kasey, Marc & Jack check out the 1950s fire engine.

Playing with their new toys from Santa!

How did Santa know just what to bring this little guy??

Then & Now: Santa Claus Comes to Town!

Growing up, I never would have imagined myself in a small town. But as with most things in life, that’s not how things turned out. It’s okay, though, I think it’s a good thing that I never ended up married to Michael Jackson. It’s also a good thing that I now reside in a small town (village, actually…we’re too little to be a town).  We have great neighbors, family nearby and a ton of really cool (and free!) events for families. Each December, the village really steps it up. One Saturday in December, the entire day is devoted to Christmas celebrations, beginning with breakfast with Santa at the Fire Station.

Then: Relaxing at the Fire Station with Sophie

Then: A Super Jolly Santa and an Equally Jolly Baby!

Then: His Shirt Said it All: Bah Humbug.

Jack has attended this breakfast with his cousins each year, with mixed reactions to Santa each time. Last year, he was just 3 ½ months old, and while he wasn’t necessarily crazy about Santa, he didn’t fear him either. His cousin Kasey didn’t like him, though, so Kody had to tell Santa what each of the boys wanted for Christmas: a 4-wheeler for Kody, balloons for Kasey and a car for Jack. They must have been really good boys, because they all got what they wanted! This year, Jack was more apprehensive toward Santa, and didn’t sit on his lap. Kasey wasn’t crazy about him once again, although he did muster up the courage to ask him for a candy cane. Only time will tell if the boys were good again this year!

Now: The Future Generation of Ashaway Firefighters.

Now: Making Sure Santa Knows What to Bring!

Now: Awkward Family Photo, Anyone?

After breakfast with Santa, the activities continue with cookie decorating at the community house, which is located in a beautifully maintained old home in town. There is also a home tour, where several of the gorgeous historic homes in the village allow the public in for a small donation to the local food pantry. We missed out on that part this year (but for a good reason: a tea party at Jack’s great-aunt Patti’s!), but did make it home in time for the luminaria and fireworks! It was a gorgeous night, and Marc’s entire family met at our house to walk to the field to see the show. It was simply lovely…walking through the luminaria-lit village to view fireworks set against a full moon on a clear night. Heavenly.

Fireworks in December? Set Against a Full Moon? Yes, Please!

Then & Now: Thanksgiving, Birthdays & Tannenbaums...oh my!

The end of November is always a crazy and fun one for the Rapoza family. We've got not two, not three, but FOUR birthdays in one week, which is also the week of Thanksgiving. Jack gets to celebrate his cousin Kody and his Uncle Kris's birthdays on the 21st, his Grandpa Bob's birthday on the 23rd and his daddy's birthday on the 25th...wow! Happy Birthday to some of my favorite guys, and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Then: The Rapoza Family at Kody's 4th birthday party.

Then: Grammy & Captain Jack

Now: The Rapoza Family at Kody's 5th birthday party (yes, that really is my husband, the penguin).

Now: Grammy and a terrified Jack meet "Happy Feet" (he did warm up to him after a minute or two!).

Then: Slept through the majority of Thanksgiving dinner.

Then: Kody keeps everyone entertained in the kitchen.

Then: Marc and Bob nearly burn the house down with their birthday candles.

Then: Kasey & Jack get some couch time with Grandpa Bob.

Now: Rocked his way through Thanksgiving.

Now: Kody keeps everyone entertained in the kitchen.

Now: The November Four manage to keep the candles under control.

Now: Kasey and Jack entertain themselves on the couch.

Then: Jack snoozes through Christmas tree shopping, snug as a bug!

Then: Daddy consults Jack for the tree selection.

Now: Jack watches in fascination as Daddy cuts down a tree.

Now: Daddy consults Jack for the tree selection while he's actually awake!

Yes, Michigan...The Feeling's Forever...

Jack and I were Eastern U.S. jetsetters over the first couple weeks of November. Five days after getting home from New Hampshire, we hopped on a plane for a quick trip to Michigan. We didn't do a whole lot, just spent lots of quality time with family (although I did get to see a few of my favorite friends). Marc wasn't able to join us on this trip -- he offers free haircuts to veterans each Veteran's Day, and this trip coincided with the holiday. We missed him, but I'm so proud of him for giving back to those who have served our country.

Although our time in the mitten was short, Jack and I managed to squeeze in a few of my hometown favorites. We had beautiful weather one day, so we were able to spend an afternoon playing at Marshbank Park with my mom. The days the weather wasn't so nice, we spent the afternoon at the West Bloomfield Library. One morning was spent at 12 Oaks Mall visiting Santa, although I doubt Jack even realized what was happening. We also spent a lot of time visiting my grandma. Her health wasn't the greatest this fall, and she is now in a nursing home trying to get her strength back so that she can get back home. Jack and I enjoyed our meetings at her temporary home, and hope to see her back in her own place for our next visit.

As always, thank you to my parents for putting us up, watching the little guy so I can see old friends, and making my childhood home always feel like "home". Jack (and his mommy) miss Maimee and Bopba, and can't wait to see you again!!

White Mountain Family Vacation

Marc, Jack and I took our first multi-family vacation over the first weekend in November, to the White Mountains up in New Hampshire. There were a total of five families - 10 adults and 7 children - and I am happy to report that it was a success! The only downfall was that it was the ONLY weekend in North Conway when NOTHING was open. Apparently the entire town closes down in preparation for the winter holidays, and the first weekend in November is when they switch gears from autumn festivities to Christmas. Thankfully, there is plenty of natural beauty in the area, so you don't need to rely on manmade theme parks for a good time. There are also a ton of outlet stores, which...although they annoy me to no end, are kinda fun to hit up once in awhile!

Breakfast with the kiddos!

Thank you to the other families involved for including us in this year's New Hampshire adventure. The three of us look forward to doing it all again next year! (Just maybe on a weekend when there's a little more action!)

Jack and the "deahs" (behind the fence).

You have no idea what cute looks like until you see a mini-donkey.

Jack shocked us when he saw the horse and said "neigh"...guess he IS learning something from all those farm books!

Then & Now: Halloween

Then: Jack turned two-months old on his 1^st Halloween, and of course he seemed so big to me at the time. Of course I now realize that this is totally ridiculous, but then…I thought he was practically a grown-up! At any rate, he was a great sport on Halloween and let us dress him up in a Jack-o-Lantern costume and drag him around our neighborhood with his big cousins, a tradition that I hope remains for years to come.

How YOU doin?

Now: Well if I thought Jack was a big kid at his 1^st Halloween, imagine how I felt this year, now that he’s a fancy 14-month old, walking and talking! He was a good sport again (although he wasn’t too crazy about the hat part of his costume) and let us stick him in the skunk costume yet again. We thought of getting a different costume for trick-or-treating, but our Little Stinker really does make a perfect little stinker! We were able to continue the tradition of having family join us for Halloween festivities, and are so grateful to have such wonderful people in our lives. And such crazy kids! There is never a dull moment when these three boys get together!

It was quite a shock when Captain Jack Sparrow answered the door at GG's house