At the Jones Family Reunion in mid December, Michael got to meet Santa Clause for the first time. He wasn't quite sure what to think, but forgave us for the awkward sit on a stranger's lap after he saw that Santa had given him a flashlight.
He loved it (Jeff Santa chose very well and found a flashlight with a red light on one end and a blue light on the other). He spent the rest of the day playing with it and it's still one of his favorite toys.
2012 was our 5 year Anniversary and we wanted to celebrate in style. So, Jeff and I dropped Michael off at his Grandma and Grandpa Veronin's and flew to Las Vegas. We stayed at Caesar's Palace and saw "Love," the Circ du Soleil based on the Beatles' music. We also ate lunch at Bobby Flay's restaurant, Mesa, and had the amazing Goat Cheese "Queso Fundido" appetizer:
I'm a little embarrassed to say that, yes, that is the only picture I took in Vegas. But it was really, really good...
Anyway, when we got back to my parent's house, we expected to find our little boy happy and well. Unfortunately, Michael had lost his blankie and burnt his hand on the fireplace while we were gone. My Dad made sure to prep us for an unhappy child in the car on the way home from the airport by breaking news of the lost blankie before telling us about the burns. We couldn't help but laugh... not at Michael's misery, but the way my Dad told us. The blankie was found a little after we got back (he had shoved it behind the unused guest bed in the sewing room, the weenie) and his hand just had a few blisters. They didn't even keep him from sucking his thumb.
I took a picture of the fireplace where Michael placed his hand instead of the blisters (you're welcome). You can see his tiny handprint in the soot:
Christmas Eve was great. After celebrating my big sister, Mary's, birthday with homemade pizza, we had the kids act out the nativity story. Michael did not want to dress up and would rather not have taken part in the play, but we convinced him by having his mommy, yours truly, toss on an arabic headpiece and play the part of a shepherd with him so he could sit in her lap.
Christmas day was a lot of fun. I took no pictures of the present opening, cos that's how I roll, but I did get a great picture of the kids eating their Christmas day feast. Notice Ki's turkey leg:
Random picture of my happy boy:
The day we left, my Dad let everyone shoot the gun he got for Christmas. And, since it's his house and his land, he set up a target down on the range and let us shoot at it from his balcony:
Obviously, the kids did not get to shoot, but they did have to wear ear protection while the gun was active. Michael, after our picture, chose to play in the snow with a toy bulldozer. He was blissfully happy despite having no boots and a light jacket (I'm such a good Mom) and refused to come inside until we bribed him with pizza (or something sweet- I don't quite remember):
In fact, Michael could have cared less that it was winter and snowing and freezing. His favorite thing to do now at Grandma and Grandpa Veronin's house is to ride the "red race car." It didn't matter what the weather was doing outside, he asked to go ride it multiple times every single day and was ecstatic when someone agreed to go outside with him so he could play:
We had a great time visiting my family (although 2 weeks was a bit long for Jeff, poor guy). Thanks for putting up us for so long guys!
Here are some more pictures of Michael, cos he's just so dang cute:
