The Gaylord

The Christmas joy continued on Sunday night as we took Colin to The Gaylord Texan to see their fantastical display of lights and fun. I am so glad we went...this continues to be one of my favorite things to do during the season. This was Colin's first trip and just as I imagined, he LOVED it. They have several model train exhibits, including one with bridges that go over your head, and Colin was thrilled beyond measure. In fact, there was one moment when Colin threatened to have a total meltdown over the prospect of having to leave. I could never have imagined how much he was going to love trains! :-) We walked all over the resort and ended up having a special dinner treat at one of the restaurants. Colin was SO good during dinner and we had such a great time. I can't seem to get enough of showing Colin all things Christmas...his reactions this year have brought me more joy than any present ever could. I am even starting to get a little nervous that we are in for major trouble when the decorations have to come down. He is loving this so much more than I ever thought possible. I am also coming to the conclusion that I may have a performer of some kind on my hands. Colin is all about dancing and singing right now and he does it ALL the time at home. He loves to hold household items, turning them into microphones, and putting on a show. He has now started doing this when we are out and about and it tends to crack everyone up that sees it. While we were at The Gaylord, we passed through the very center of the atrium that very much resembled a stage. Colin went straight for the middle of it and began singing and dancing VERY loudly. I tried repeatedly to grab him, but he was not having it. He really got into it, throwing himself all around and singing his favorite songs (that nobody but me would recognize). It was absolutely hysterical and undoubtedly what I will remember the most from the night. I was a total ham as a little girl (and still am, I suppose!) and I think Colin might be a chip off the old block. Lord help us. ;-) Here he is during his "performance".


Colin watching the trains from the best seat in the house.




He LOVED these trains SO MUCH!

Our little family!

Our first attempt at a self portrait using the timer...it would have been perfect if not for the flash bouncing off the wall!

Lights!

We are having a COLD and wonderful weekend! We took Colin to his very first tree lighting on Friday night at our city hall and it was an absolute blast...despite the frigid temps! It was 25 degrees before the wind chill, so the weather was less than ideal for an outdoor event. It started off badly...for some reason, Colin has been refusing to wear a coat. And by refusing, I mean literally losing his mind and acting like the coat is burning his skin off. Frankly, it has been rather upsetting to me all week; his problem with putting on a jacket has seemed extreme and I have been trying to figure out how to help him get past this issue since the cold snap hit. The problem came to a head when we got out of the car at the lighting; Colin went crazy when we tried to put his coat on and it was not pretty. Once we forced it on him, he stood screaming in the parking lot and pulling at the arms like it was hurting him. It was a lovely scene, let me tell you. ;-) We let him stand by the car and scream it out, determined to help him get past the problem and enjoy the night. I finally scooped him up and started walking toward the festival and he soon got sidetracked by all the lights and music. I think it helped that it was super duper cold...it did not take long for him to realize that the coat was on his side! We were SOOOO cold and Colin soon let me put his fuzzy hat on and wrap him in a blanket in his stroller, both of which are totally out of character at the moment. Jer showed him how to put his hands in his pockets, which he actually did! He walked around for a good bit like that...looking very much like a Gap model. He is just the cutest thing in the whole world!

He was mesmerized by the event...he loves nothing more than Christmas lights and once he figured out that he could get wrapped up in his warm blanket, I think he would have stayed out there all night! All the local dance teams and choirs performed on the steps of the square and surprisingly (or maybe not very surprisingly), Colin went crazy over the dancers. He stood there in the freezing cold and watched every single number (and there were LOTS) while demanding "AGAIN! AGAIN!" after each dance ended. Me being me, I got tears in my eyes over and over while we were standing there. I can't believe how much he is enjoying the season this year and it overwhelms me a bit at times. Standing there in the cold, surrounded by Christmas, watching Colin's eyes go as big as saucers when he saw the dancers...well, I truly can't explain what it feels like to see Christmas through your child's eyes for the first time. The difference between last year and this year is night and day; he really gets it this year and has begun pointing out all things Christmas related whenever he sees them. After we watched several dances and songs, we decided that we were just too cold and we ran over to Chapp's (a hamburger joint) for some dinner and much needed heat.

Once we ate, I thought Colin would be more than ready to head home, but he surprised the heck out of me by announcing "MORE DANCERS, MOMMY!". Ah, that's my boy! :-) We all bundled up and headed back to the show. Luckily for Colin, we found a performance of The Nutcracker going on and he got to watch a good bit of that. City Hall was open and we were able to warm our hands inside, as well as see some great gingerbread houses and tour the Christmas city again. Colin was more than pleased to show it all to Daddy this time. He was wearing his hat during this time and I got a funny compliment...I was taking a picture of Jer and Colin from across the table and a woman asked me if Colin was a girl or boy. I looked at her kind of funny, but realized that he was wearing his hat and nothing but his coat was visible from where we stood. I told her he was a boy and she said very sincerely, "He is probably the most beautiful boy that I have ever seen.". I thanked her profusely...even though I doubt Colin would appreciate being mistaken for a girl. ;-) He is certainly a beautiful little boy, both inside and out. Colin ended up watching more dances outside before we called it a night; he would have stayed forever, but I was finally just too cold to stand there anymore! It was the most wonderful evening in the world and I am so glad that we stayed the course at the beginning with the coat fiasco. Colin worked through it and the night is a precious memory for me. Here is the moment when I was asked about Colin being a boy and Colin's view of The Nutcracker performance. :-)

On Saturday morning, I took Colin over the the children's Christmas party at Jer's office, which is also my old office. He got to see Santa, make some crafts, do some coloring and have breakfast. We got to see lots of my old friends and their kids, which was so great. Some folks have new babies and some of the kids were so big now that I did not even recognize them. We got to hang out with our best buddies Ellen and Aubrey, which was a treat. Colin is sleeping at the moment and when he wakes up, we are taking him over to The Gaylord to see the lights and decorations. My only worry at the moment is what we are going to do after Christmas...Colin is having so much fun seeing his world bathed in lights and I don't think he will be very happy when they come down! But I just won't worry about that at the moment! :-)