Santa, Santa, Santa...and Santa!

 She was pretty stoked about her new snow shovel!

 All dressed up for Breakfast With Santa at Brookfield Zoo.

 The best Santa was at the HIP!  (Harlem & Irving Plaza)  No smiles for the camera.

 "Pretty, pretty."

 The wonder of snow!

 Making her first gingerbread house.

 Busy little hands!

 Santa at our local Park District location.

Best pals!

It's been a fun holiday season so far that has included visiting FOUR Santas!  Overkill?  Sure!  Margaux is just so much fun this year that we kept doing the Santa events with her...fun for us too!  We look forward to spending time with family and friends in the weeks ahead, as well as taking the time to remember what this holiday is REALLY about.  Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year!



The Snowy Day

"One winter morning Peter Margaux woke up and looked out the window.  Snow had fallen during the night.  It covered everything as far as he she could see." 

-The Snowy Day, Ezra Jack Keats

Forest Park Holiday Walk

 Our little animal lover meeting Prancer!  She and DaDa enjoyed the holiday walk on Madison in Forest Park.  Fun for kids and fun for the adults to browse the cute shops.

 Meeting Santa for the first time this season...planning to hang out with him again a few times in the weeks ahead!  Patrick overheard this "Santa" complaining after he put Margaux down that it wasn't good for his back.  Nice.  She weighs a whopping 29 pounds!

GoGo loving on her Christmas tree!

Holiday Prep

 Margaux and Daddy spent Thanksgiving with dear friends.  I worked.

 Heading out in the bitter cold to cut down a Christmas tree!

 Jasper & MVP checking out the animals at the tree farm.

 Patrick prepares to conquer the tree.

 Margaux demonstrating how Daddy had to crawl under the tree.

 This is my kind of hunting...no bundle of deer carcass!

 The finished product!  Went kind of girlie-fun theme this year for MVP!

The Greatest Show On Earth

 All dressed up and excited for the circus!

 Ryan and Margaux

A few weeks ago we went to Ringling Bros & Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show On Earth at United Center.  We met up with my friend Melissa, her mom and her kids.  I have never been a fan of the circus because I struggle with the ethical issue of the animals that they use.  However, I went to the circus when I was little and it just seems like a rite of passage in childhood.  I was pleasantly surprised by the high quality of this production and how 'Cirque Du Soleil' it was.  The elephants seemed happy and healthy enough (?) but I wanted to cry when the tigers came out.  There were so many of them and their part in the show was so minimal.  The cages...*sob*  Anyway, MVP thoroughly enjoyed herself and paid attention the entire time! 

"Treat!"

 She kissed the pumpkins because, well, she is very much into kissing lately!

 Making friends with Rudy.

 We ran into a little Brobee and we made them pose together!

 She had fun passing out candy with Auntie Lara for awhile!

 Last stop of the evening:  The Nunez Family...she adores them!

Jess & MVP

Margaux said "Treat!" instead of "Trick or treat!".  Halloween was fun for her this year.  She was very excited about the pumpkin carving despite the fact that she REFUSED to get her hands soiled with the pumpkin guts!  Her Foofa costume made her very happy and she got into the spirit of trick-or-treating a bit more this year.  We probably only went to about 10 houses since she was a bit timid, but she enjoyed herself and so did we.  When we stopped by Lara & Tony's house she had a blast answering the door and helping Lara hand out the candy.  Maybe she'll be the girl who likes to dress up to be the candy giver rather than the candy receiver!

The Dancing Horses Theatre

This past Friday we checked out The Dancing Horses Theatre in Delavan, WI.  Delavan is just past Lake Geneva, such a pretty little area!  The theatre property is pretty amazing as it also includes vast acreage for a wide assortment of animals.  We first took in the 75 minute show that kicks off with the owner, Dana Montana, giving a little speech about how her love of horses began.  She's an interesting lady...ex Playboy Bunny, horse lover, owner of The Sugar Shack and a club in Chicago!  The show is kind of Vegas-y, with pretty girls in glitzy costumes and beautiful horses trained to perform neat tricks to music.  This was followed by a bird show in another building and then a back stage tour of the horse stables and a demonstration of the training techniques.  Margaux LOVED the petting zoo!  It is by far the best we have ever visited.  The animals are so well cared for and you are free to roam about without the staff lurking around nervously watching your every move like so many others that we have visited.  We are thrilled at how much Margaux loves animals...she was all about those little goats! They even offer camel rides, but MVP was WAY too tired to do that on this visit!  I have to add that as per usual, MVP cozied up to another older lady who was nice to her.  This woman was sitting next to us during the show and the next thing we know, Margaux is snuggled into her lap and calling her "Grandma"!  Cute.

Happy 2nd Birthday!

She's two already.  She wakes up every day this different little person who knows more and says more and it never ceases to amaze me.  We decided to have her birthday party in northern MI again so that she could be with family and a lot of friends.  Her birthday was Sunday the 23rd, but we had her party on Saturday at Cobblestone Ranch in Kingsley, MI.  Such a darling place for a birthday party and to just drop by and visit for pony rides!  The owners, Pat & Pat are great, and even though it rained (of course) it was a really fun day.  Each child was able to get their pony ride if they wanted to and then we had a little western-themed lunch followed by presents and cake.  We stayed at Cambria Suites in Traverse City that night, along with some of my family.  Margaux swam with Sophie and she got to play with Cousin Alivia that evening.  The Prater bunch came by for drinks in the hotel lounge.  It was a great weekend and we thank everyone who was there! ( I posted more pictures on my Facebook profile.)
***My sister Ruth asked me how I came up with the cowgirl/western theme party and I told her the truth:  it all started with the little red cowgirl boots! I ordered them for her this past spring and they were too large.  They sat in her closet and one day I looked at them and was inspired to find her a matching cowgirl ensemble...and then the party was born!  I was surfing the internet for venues in the Traverse City area and happened upon Cobblestone Ranch which at the time, had JUST opened!  Perfect.***

2 Year Check-Up

Yesterday was Margaux's 2 year checkup with DrG and it was a great visit!  She now weighs 29.2 lbs and measures 35.5 inches tall and she is right on target for all of her developmental milestones.  She was super chatty and friendly with the office girls but very serious and watchful of DrG.  She got the nasal mist flu vaccine and also one shot in her leg and she didn't cry at all!  (Though she did point out her "boo-boo" for the rest of the day!)  After her appointment we headed out to County Line Orchard in IN to spend the afternoon with our friends, the Brazier family....she always has such fun with Ryan & Addy!