December

This month has flown by, and I haven't blogged about much of it at all! First, our nanny had to quit, forcing us to find someone new. While we search, we've had wonderful help from Ken's mom and my sister. They both have been great and given us much comfort knowing the kids were happy and content while we worked each day.

Grandma and Brendan walk to school on a snowy day. It's been very cold here lately! We had 8-10 inches of snow last weekend, though it's finally starting to melt.

During that time, we visited Three Cedars Farm with Grandma. We missed Santa but enjoyed playing in Santaland, drinking hot chocolate, eating delicious donuts and taking photos by the tractor.

Santaland is in the upstairs loft of an old barn. It's nicely decorated, complete with Santa's list of "good" kids.

With Aunt Jen, we attended the children's Christmas party presented by Ken's office. This is an annual event that the kids enjoy so much. Santa brought Brendan a Power Ranger, which was on his top five list in his letter to Santa. What luck! Santa brought Ryan some Hot Wheels and Kelsey a new bath toy. The children were all thrilled.

Kelsey didn't mind sitting with Santa, but looked at him with much curiosity!

Brendan shows his disappointment early as Santa delivers gifts to the youngest children first. Sitting next to him are friends Cara (left) and Ellie.

Ken and I also enjoyed two Saturday nights' out this month. Wow! One evening we had dinner at Deadwood's Bar & Grill in Northville. (A side note: I really shouldn't be linking to CitySearch to describe Deadwood's, as they are officially our competition. The Detroit Free Press will venture into a new world in March as we launch our own MetroMix site. Look for it in your city or one that you're visiting soon.) Though their specialty is game, they had plenty more to offer. I enjoyed pork chops and Ken loved the ribs. The second evening we attended a wine-tasting party at our friends' Suzanne and Gary. We tried some great wines, and even Ken -- more of a beer drinker -- said he enjoyed a couple. (More on this later.) There were 11 couples attending, so it was a great evening to chat, relax and try new wines without little ones running wild.

Finally, Kelsey received an early Christmas present for Grammy and Papa last week -- a new highchair cover and tray! Her Prima Papa chair didn't have a "girlie" option, though I'm not sure that's what she would have wanted. But this design gives it a more modern and cleaner look. She certainly seems pleased.