Festival of Trees

Papa, Grammy, and Memaw accompanied Holden and me to the Festival of Trees this past weekend. It is put on by the Baby Fold, which helps foster children. There are tons of beautiful trees which are auctioned off to raise money for the Baby Fold. There is a gingerbread lane full of elaborately decorated gingerbread houses and buildings, and then there is "Jingle Bell Junction," which is an area just for kids. It was a fun day for a great cause!

Holden was excited to see all of the trees and lights. He chose to wear his Polar Express shirt for the occasion. :)

Santa was there! Holden waited in line and hopped right up on his lap to tell him he wants "Diggers" (his version for all trucks) for Christmas.

There was a little train for the kids to ride. Holden rode 4 times, and would have gone continuously if I would have let him! It was really fast, and I loved watching him laugh as he whipped around the corners.

I love these pictures! There was a life-size nativity complete with shepherd outfits for kids to try on. I think Holden makes a pretty cute little shepherd boy!

Admiring the huge tree and scaring Mommy by playing with the breakable ornaments!!

Look how tiny he is at the bottom of the tree!

We ended the day with a mutual favorite; frosted sugar cookies! Holden ate all the frosting first, then the cookie. :)

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am cooking at my place for our parents and siblings. (My brother joked that he will have Pizza Hut on speed-dial! Ha!) If I can just get the turkey figured out, I think it will be a special day. I am sure there will be plenty of new pictures to post soon! We have so much to be thankful for.>

Look who we saw today!

SANTA!!!! What a difference a year makes. Holden was petrified last year...this year he loves him and couldn't wait to see him and ask for "trucks and diggers." He kept mentioning to me that Santa must have come with his reindeer. I think he was wondering where they were. :)

Downtown Normal has had a major face lift in the past few years, and was just recently completed. Its new name is "Uptown Normal," and it has cute little sidewalk shops, new restaurants and cafes, a beautiful hotel, and of course Holden's beloved Discovery Museum. They had a holiday grand opening this weekend with Santa walking around the area, horse-drawn carriage rides, and carolers. The weather was balmy in the upper 60's, and we didn't even need coats! Holden wanted to "look nice" for Santa. I let him choose from some cute Christmas shirts, and he picked his fancy vest and button down shirt and let me dress him without complaint. :)

Holden, Memaw, and Santa

Memaw, Papa, and Grammy rode on the carriage ride with us. Holden enjoyed it, but was busy trying to spot Santa the whole time. :)

I snapped these in the van while we were in a McDonald's drive-through. I love how he sits like Mr. Suave with his hands behind his head. He was being goofy and kicking my seat and I would turn around and pretend I was mad. I love his little giggly face!

I just thought the following pictures were cute in his little Christmas outfit. He is such a typical boy, pushing his trucks along the walkway on our way back to the van. (He conned them out of Memaw at the museum gift shop.) :)

'Tis the season!! It starts early around here. I have never minded because I LOVE the holidays so much. They are extra fun with an excited little boy around!

Imagination Movers!

Holden's favorite singing TV group, (besides the Wiggles!) Imagination Movers, came to Champaign, IL, and of course we had to get tickets. We met up with the Cunningham family. The boys were so excited!

Waiting for the show to start.

Colin and Holden doing some dance moves!

I love how Annie is cracking up in the background and Cade and Holden. The two were just goofballs together!

They kept grabbing each other's hands and then giggling.

Cade had a great time and was a real trooper being up past his bedtime.

My buddy and me dancing.

Colin and Holden busting some moves.

So serious...

Here are the Movers, brainstorming...

We were way up high. The boys were delighted when Rich climbed up in our section!

Jay says we are not going to another one of these kids' concerts for a LONG time....but it was worth it to see Holden so happy! He still talked about when we will see the "real Movers" again.

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails...

Meet Hunter James Paul Hobson. He looks pretty perfect to me! :)

I must admit, I was thinking pink sounded fun this time. But I figure God must know that the Hobsons can only handle one high maintenance girl right now. (ME!) :) Our baby boy is healthy and apparently likes to be all curled up in a ball, as he gave the technician quite the time trying to get all of his stats. I picture him as a cuddler. It will be neat to see the brother dynamic between him and Holden. His middle names are for his two grandpas. We can't wait to meet him this spring!

We will keep working on Holden...his response to the news today was, "NO! I don't WANT a brother! I don't WANT to share my toys!" Later he said, "Mommy, dat baby can stay in your tummy." Hmmm...and the rivalry begins! Holden adores his new baby cousin, Kyle. I have no doubt that once Hunter arrives he will warm up to him. :)

Halloween '09!

Halloween in central Illinois was cold but thankfully clear after a plethora of rainy days! We also had a full moon, which was pretty cool! Jay was still recovering from being sick, so he stayed home and manned the candy bowl while Holden and I went out to trick or treat.

Here is Holden (Scooby) with his buddy, Brady the skeleton.

Friendly faces: Holden with our neighbor, Isabelle, (candy corn witch) and a friend, Baby Kylie as Tinkerbell, Isabella as a cute little witch, and Holden's pal, Hannah, who helped him trick or treat.

All ready to get some loot! It was pretty cold, so Holden had to wear his coat over his costume. By the end of the night, he also had his mittens on at his request! Brrr!

"Trick or treat, Pepaw!" Holden was Pepaw's best bud since he had a big bowl of candy! Ha! We trick or treated with cousin Chelsey (the devil) and Aunt Allie (the bunny).

Hannah and Holden were so cute walking hand in hand down the street together with their Minnie and Mickey bags.

We have some neighbors that really go all out for the holidays! Holden was very brave this year. He knew there was candy to be had!

Ahh, good old family...cousin Jenny had her own "treat" in mind for Halloween, Aunt Allie and her boyfriend, Jeremy, who looked just a little bit spooky without his mask...and Great Grandpa Schulz with his little Scooby.

Holden was quite the trooper walking several blocks with the "big kids." The absolute highlight of his night (seen in the middle and right pictures) was when he received a bag of Cheetos! All that candy, and the Cheetos were what really "wowed" him. :) He kept asking when he could eat them.

Walking up to a particularly spooky house with Chelsey.

My little hay bale, pumpkin, and gourd display really could not compete with the rest of the neighborhood...

Back at Memaw's, eating his Cheetos on the counter so Maggie the dog doesn't get too many. :)

"Happy Halloween, everyone!"

Northpoint parade and party

The elementary school that I teach at has a Halloween parade and then classroom parties each year. Holden has come every year since he was 7 months old. He LOVES visiting Mommy's school and "seeing the kids." He always begs to come to school with me and to wear his little Nike backpack. For a solid week leading up to it, all he talked about was when he could come to "Mommy's party." I am so thankful he recovered from being sick in time to come. I honestly think he enjoyed it as much if not more so than actual Halloween night!

Here we are together: Scooby and Daphne...what a pair!

My costume was HIDEOUS! Nothing like a little false advertising...it looked NOTHING like the picture on the bag! Ha! I'm glad he was there with me so people figured out who I was. :)

Here's the whole group. I just love seeing the kids all decked out in their costumes each year. It is such a fun day for them! My TA, Courtney, was a witch. One of the boys made her day by saying, "I know what you are....a MODEL!" (Note: nobody said that to me! Ha!)

The proverbial goofy shot.

Some shots around the building: my TA and me, my good friend, Annie (Dorothy) and me, and my principal, who thrilled Holden to no end by dressing as Scotty from Imagination Movers! Holden actually ran up and ASKED for me to take a picture of the two of them. :) There are also two of Holden and me walking in the parade. He thought he was a little celebrity because so many of my former students were saying hi to him. He walked and waved at everyone and thought he was pretty cool.

Back in the classroom, he plopped down at a student's desk and proceeded to be "just one of the guys." I love how good the kids all are to him! This little group had him laughing hysterically, helped him drink his juice box, and offered him extra treats.

Sneaking treats off the table, trying to see if there's anything special in the pumpkin, and enjoying a wagon ride with one of my students' little brothers.

How cute are the two of them?! One of my students didn't want to play the games, so he asked if he could pull Holden and this sweet little brother of one of my kids around in the wagon. (Don't you love the little guy's curls?? His mom said she just can't bear to cut them yet and I don't blame her!) They were two peas in a pod.

It was a bittersweet day as I couldn't help but thinking about the fact that we won't be there next year. Some of you already know, but they are building a new school in the area, and due to Northpoint losing some kids to go there, they cut each grade level down one class. I was the fifth class, so I got cut for first. I am in the process of interviewing and am guaranteed a job someplace, I just don't know where or what grade level yet. I love Northpoint and always thought I'd be there until I retired. God must have other plans for me, and I am trying to be patient and calm with that knowledge. I am not a person who likes change! Next year we will hopefully be enjoying a new celebration with new special kids.