Arnold Family: The State of the Arnold Family 2011

Auggie on Christmas Morning with his gifts from Santa

I am currently indulging in the quiet of the evening, watching the State of the Union address and just realized I am so behind in my posts! Thank you so much to all those who keep reminding me that our blog is out of date! I apologize as the holiday season flew by in flash and we are trying to keep up with losing jobs, gaining new jobs, keeping opposite schedules, getting over colds, recouping from the go-go-go mentality of the New Year and the plain old fact that our new bedtime is 9:00! That and part of my New Year's Resolution is to "turn down the noise." Needless to say, it's a work in progress!!

There is way too much to share, but a quick State of the Arnold Union address will suffice:

We took full advantage of the Christmas season even though I was stuck in retail!

Santa was extra wonderful to our family. :)

I celebrated a birthday, and can say I was so thankful for my son, my husband, my dog, a roof over my head and the fact that I made it one more year!

Along came the New Year and we were so exhausted from all the celebrations, we rang in the New Year in bed at 11:00 p.m. or as we like to say, "with the New Yorkers."

While we have added another member to our union and we have seen a downturn in our economic funds, mommy and daddy's nights which used to include dinner, drinks, and a movie have resorted to...wait for it... a mean game of Scrabble.

Auggie has started furniture walking, clapping, feeding himself peas, chicken and cheese, sharing his toys and giving high-fives and kisses. We couldn't be more proud.

He now has two front teeth! We wished for it for Christmas, but settled on January 5th.

2011 is already moving too fast for us....

We got a jump start on celebrating Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving by seeing the zoo lights at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Such an extraordinary sight and a memorable night. It was truly magical! We have found a new tradition....

Zoo lights with Sam and Jack! The boys were amazing and we saw so many wonderful creatures...turtles, lion, seal, penguins... just to name a few...

I wish I could tell you that this was my backyard. Here's our little love, all snuggled up to stay warm! Unfortunately no hot chocolate for him yet!

"He'll see it later...his eyes are frozen shut!" We went on the hunt for a perfect Christmas tree and we definitely found it! I laugh cause it looks like Auggie is borderline in misery. But really it was a fun day and he was terrific.

One of the best pictures of the season! I caught him just starring at the tree one morning while in his jammies, and so I quick grabbed the camera. So incredibly wonderful! This was before we had ornaments and before he realized he could grab everything and shove it in his mouth.

The perfect smile on a perfectly delightful little boy!

Daddy and Auggie went to church one Sunday night to make an advent candle wreath. I met them after work for a special service where we had a chance to relax and take time to reflect on the true meaning of the season.

Breakfast with Santa! First opportunity to see Santa and Mrs. Claus and he did wonderfully! I think Santa and the Mrs. were more worried than him.

Auggie and Jaxon at a play date at our house. They were in awe of the train Pat put around the tree. They watched it go round and round until they realized they could de-rail it quite easily.

It's no secret that we had a lot of snow in December. Here Auggie watches Daddy shoveling and salting the sidewalks through the front door. One day soon, I will have two shovelers and I will be the hot cocoa maker. I can't wait!

We bought this cookie plate for Santa six years ago in hopes of celebrating with our own children. This year, we finally got to use it! Auggie left out a Monster cookie made by daddy, some carrots and a sip of egg nog for Santa and his reindeer.