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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

polar express!

We had such a fun weekend last weekend before the great flu outbreak of 2011 hit our house!!  I don't usually share much on this blog regarding when our family is sick (because I do like to focus on the positive and fun things we do!)  But I want to remember a couple of things our boy said because he is just such a sweet little man.  Sunday night Andrew got sick and was up all night.  Craig ended up getting sick about 4 hours after Andrew did so I closed him in our bedroom and stayed up late at the computer going back and forth between checking on Andrew and Kerigan (she managed to stay healthy through all of this.  A true miracle).

Andrew was waking so frequently to get sick, he was just exhausted.  I thought it might make him feel better to know that daddy was sick too, so I told him.  His little lip quivered and he started to cry.  I asked him what was wrong and he said "I don't want daddy to be sick!"  It was the sweetest thing ever.  Here he is in the midst of throwing up, and he is worried about his daddy.  What a kid.  Then when it hit me the next day, I stayed home from school and my mom picked the kids up.  I came out of the bedroom to see him and he looked up at me with these big eyes and said "Are you okay?"  It just melted my heart.  My mom said he was worried about me and was asking about his mama.  That boy just makes my heart smile.  He has so much empathy for others.

Ok, enough of that!  The sickie bug is finally gone, so let's move on!

On Friday night Craig and I had a surprise for Andrew.  We decided it might be fun to surprise him and not tell him what we were doing.  We have never really done that before.  So that morning I told him when we picked him up we were going somewhere special.  He was so excited and kept asking where we were going.

When we got closer to our destination, I gave him a hint that he gets to put his jammies on!  He loved this!  I also showed him the book I brought along, "The Polar Express."  He still didn't guess where we were going.  But when we pulled into the train station, he just was in awe.
I don't think he knew what to think!  Ha!  He was acting so silly and jumping around.  He said "Are we gonna ride that train?"  It was so cute.  Even more special, Ga Ga took Kerigan to her house so we could give Andrew all of our attention.  We feel like that is so important for him sometimes, and he enjoys it too.
He loves tickets.  To anything.  He likes to play with them!
As luck would have it, Andrew came home with Elvis the Elephant, his preschool pet.  It was his turn to take Elvis on an adventure!  Funny how that worked out!  Elvis had quite a trip!
And another great surprise was that his friend Norah and her family were joining us!  He couldn't have been happier!
Isn't the train decorated so pretty?  Last year we rode in the day time, but this year we thought we'd try it at night.  It feels more "magical" at night somehow.
The kids could see out the windows because a lot of things were lit up (houses, and along the tracks they had little lights and signs along the way).
He just enjoyed every single minute.
Craig did too.  Ha!

My favorite part is when they get hot chocolate and cookies, just like in the book/movie.  And the cookies are delicious!
Having a very serious conversation with daddy.
Hot chocolate mustache and a kiss for daddy!
Little stinker will sit perfectly and smile for a picture with daddy, but when it comes to sitting with me...not so much!  Ha!
Another special part... Santa comes to deliver a bell to each child.
You can see the happiness in Andrew's face here hugging Santa.
Showing off his bell
Two of the sweetest kids I know...
Leaving the North Pole
On the way back, all the kids went to the front and sang Christmas carols.  Andrew in this picture just makes me laugh.  That's our Andrew!  Ha!
Time to end our special train ride...

But I bet we'll be back again next year!!