Santa Claus comes to town

Jack’s first visit with the big fella went quite well. Santa Claus and his reindeer made the trek to our town square this afternoon. The line was quite long but Mom, Dad, and Jack braved the chilly weather for a chance to sit on St. Nick’s lap. While waiting in line Jack visited the reindeer, a monstrous camel, and a pair of jackasses. Two donkeys were also on site. When it looked like mom was nearing the front of the line and the moment was about to arrive, the Larsen boys crept back into line. The crowd was jubilant and would have much rather let us cut back in line with a happy little boy than to stand there with a bored, screaming youngster.

Well, our time was about to come. We stripped off Jack’s coat to show off his stylish Christmas sweater. Mom’s saliva held most of Jack’s hair down as we plopped our little guy onto Santa’s lap. During our wait, we thought about the many things that could go wrong. Jack could start screaming. He could use his patented squiggle to break free from the jolly old man’s grip. Or he could pull his great beard and make Santa scream!

Jack took a good look at Santa and decided on none of the above. He took a swipe at his glasses but Mr. Claus was ready for him. He dodged Jack’s hand and one of the elves started ringing some bells to distract the little fella. It was certainly not their first trip down from the North Pole. Santa and his elves have seen Jack’s kind before and were ready.

The bells put a spell on Jack. He had more of a puzzled look than a smile on his face. But he wasn’t screaming so we consider this visit a success.

Trip to the Park

Hello everybody,
We recently took the camera along on a trip to our neighborhood park. This November weather is complete crap for duck hunting. But it is incredible weather for toddlers in parks. Jack loves playground equipment. He especially enjoys the slide and swings. Maybe Al Gore needs to just chill out. This whole global warming thing doesn't seem that bad!

Enjoy the pics.

Little Cow Hams It Up For The Camera

Jack dressed up as a cow for his first Halloween. He enjoys eating grass and pretty much anything else on the ground making this costume very fitting. Enjoy the pics.

The Larsen's Go To the Apple Orchard/Pumpkin Patch

We visited an apple orchard and pumpkin patch today with Dave and Nancy. Jack had a great time while experiencing lots of new sights and sounds. He really liked the tractor ride.

Bath Time

These are pics from Thursday night's bathtime for Jack. I will soon post pics of my bath. But for now, I thought you all would enjoy these more.

Cheers,

Chris

Nighty, Night

Putting Jack down for a nap is like flipping a coin. Sometimes you lay him down and he is out cold. He doesn't move an inch. That is not the norm. He usually bucks the second you lay him down. He has developed a habit of lying on his side. This seems to be the position he sleeps best from. But our favorite bedtime ritual is what I like to call his juvenile delinquent pose. His hands go behind his head and he looks either relaxed or about to be hand cuffed. I went in his room to stir him a few days ago and just couldn't resist taking a few pictures.

A visit to the Park

Our new hometown has one incredible park that the waterfowl seem to love. I am in the process of brainwashing my young, impressionable son into a waterfowl crazy toddler. Well, he really likes ducks and geese. However, he doesn't like goose calls. A protégé of another dad was practicing his calling next to us at the park and every time the youngster let out a 'ker-honk' on his call, Jack went into an unrelenting scream.

After Jack was assured that the phony goose was of no concern, I attempted an impromptu photo session with Jack and my own call as the stars of the show. Jack is currently in the midst of his dropping everything just to see what it looks like when it falls stage. Thus my dream shot with Jack staring inquisitively at this tool of dad's trade never materialized. I do have a few shots with Jack looking at it lying on the ground. Lucky me.

Jack Crawling Video Take 2

Jack has started crawling. Video from late August. Hope this one works for everybody.

Jack's Pics of the Day

We took Jack outside today for some pictures.