Thursday, December 10 marked the 2nd annual Ernst-Restivus Family Fun Day. Just like last year, Daddy took the day off so we could go see Santa and take care of other holiday fun and tasks. This year after dropping the dogs off for an overdue "spa day", we went out for a delicious breakfast to the new Baltimore location of Iron Rooster where Mommy and Daddy shared a delicious homemade pop tart and amazing chicken and waffles, and Isaac ordered off the Kids' Menu for the first time. He had the "Li'l Kids Breakfast" which came out on a plate the same size as our grownup entrees, and try he did, Isaac couldn't even make a dent in his massive meal (and wound up enjoying it for lunch and dinner that day!).
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| so excited for a family day of fun! |
After breakfast we headed to Bass Pro Shop at Arundel Mills to see Santa. During the week (per Santa's suggestion last year) we showed Isaac his picture with Santa from 2014 to prepare him for the visit. When we arrived, Isaac ran down the red-carpet lined aisle towards Santa and came to a dead stop when he was about a foot from Santa's chair and would not move an inch further. He simply shook his head at the mere suggestion of getting any closer. He did hesitantly reach out and touch Santa's hand, but that was it. Santa was very patient and asked Isaac what he wanted for Christmas. He suggested a car, to which Isaac responded with a blank stare. Mommy whispered to Santa that he may be interested in an airplane, and when Santa asked, "how about an airplane?" Isaac responded with a pitiful, "uh-huh". Then Santa offered to have Mommy sit in the seat with Isaac, which is how we got our tear-free picture with Santa this year.
After Santa, we walked around the mall to take care of some other errands and Isaac loved being able to run the seemingly never-ending walkways, stopping to make several friends along the way. We ended our trip with a stop in the cool Baltimore-themed play area.
All of that mall-running really tired Isaac out so that he took a nice long 4-hour nap when we got home, giving Mommy and Daddy plenty of time to put the finishing touches on our outdoor Christmas decorations and start some gift wrapping.
On Friday, after spending a fun day with Mommom, we let Isaac stay up late (until almost 8pm!) for Christmas shows and cocoa. Isaac loved drinking his lukewarm almond milk with a dash of Trader Joe's sipping chocolate, and happily said "cocoa" between gulps. He enjoyed watching Shrek the Halls and Frosty the Snowman as he sweetly cuddled on the couch with Mommy, Daddy, the dogs, and his mug of cocoa.
This week also had a lot of other family fun time. Wednesday was Grandma Ernst's 93rd birthday and we stopped by after dinner for a surprise visit. When Daddy was getting Isaac dressed for our outing, he tried to get Isaac to say "Happy Birthday" (especially since there are lots of occasions to use this phrase in the week ahead!) Isaac very clearly said "happy". It wasn't until a few days later that he added his version of "birthday". And then tonight during bath time he repeated "happy boy" several times after Daddy and I said to each other what a happy boy he is.
(Here, Isaac is very content looking at pictures of himself in the digital frame we gave Grandma last year)
On Saturday we got to see the Ernsts again, when we went back to Grandma's to meet up with cousin Adam visiting from Florida and we got to meet his new wife, Melissa and 7-month-old son, Vaughn. Isaac was really happy to meet Vaughn and very sweetly shared all of his toys with him. One-by-one he took his toys out of his bag and carried them over to Vaughn and just watched him play with them. It was pretty cute! Isaac loved being held by Adam as he got a whole new perspective of Grandma's cool apartment thanks to his 6'7" height! Isaac also had a great time dancing along with Grandma's musical snowman.
I tried to get a picture with Grandma and her great-grandsons, but Vaughn was a little unsure and Isaac appears to be more interested in doing a crossword puzzle.
On Sunday at church, Isaac and Daddy arrived a little earlier than usual, giving Isaac an opportunity to socialize with his fans before mass started. After visiting with a few other familiar faces, and saying hi to Mommy at the piano, he excitedly ran to his spot in the 3rd row with Ms. Barb, where he climbed up on the pew to stand and wave/blow kisses to all of the old ladies behind him who were oohing and ahhhing at his very adorable PDAs.
Then we had a "great grandsons" photoshoot with Declan, Corey, and Brandon for a Christmas picture for Mom-mom-mom. While we did get a few frame-worthy shots, we got even more hilarious shots. Funnier still was how serious Isaac was until Sandy arrived on the scene. This picture shows how serious Isaac was on the left, and then how he instantly lit up once Sandy was there.
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| Sandy's "prop for smiles" |
some bloopers:
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| "We're not cooperating until Sandy gets here." |
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| Motorcycle! |
On Sunday we also stopped by to see Grandma Jean to wish her a happy birthday on Monday. Isaac was really excited to give her her present and proudly carried it in the room and handed it to her.
One of Isaac's favorite activities lately is playing "chase". Here is a very giggly VIDEO of snippet of a pre-bedtime game of chase.
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