Alex and the Fat Man.

Before I get into the ridiculousness that is Alex and the Fat Man: 2012 Edition, let's review years 1-3, shall we?

2009

2010

2011

2012 was a magical year for Santa. Alex was SO excited to see him and couldn't wait to tell him what a great boy he's been (true) and that he wanted a combine tractor (also true). I dressed him in what can only be described as the World's Cutest Sweater, and off we went to Bass Pro Shops--the best (free!) Santa gig in town.

You can see in the picture how he's pointing to the spot on his sweater that has Santa knitted into it. He was telling him, "Look Santa! See? You're on my sweater!" It was so, so sweet.

Here's the official shot:

Bass Pro Shops really does it up right. It's totally free and they have all sorts of activities like games and crafts for the kids to do while you wait in line. This year, they added a (free!) carousel to the lineup, which was a big hit with one little lad in particular.

And with that, I'm off. I have a conference call with Santa and his elves to see if they can put a combine tractor toy at the top of their list. 

Fat man 2011.

Alex was WAY pumped to visit Santa this year. I invite you to recap years 1 and 2 for proof that he hasn't always been so keen on the fat man and his red suit.

This year, however, couldn't have been more fun. It was all he talked about in the 2 days leading up to our big adventure. And let it be known that he is very specifically asking for a "big blue monster truck" and is promising that he's been a good boy (debatable). He sat on Santa's lap and chatted like they were old pals. He even gave him a high five and said "See you later, Santa. Nice to meet you!" as he walked away. Top ten Mom Moment, for sure.

As you can see, we continued our tradition of the free photos and activities at Bass Pro Shops. Grammi, Poppi, Uncle Kyle and Aunt Jill joined in on the fun, too. Uncle Kyle even got himself caught in a snowball fight (and lost). Alex throws like a girl...but apparently put on his game face for this particular match:

And Daddy and Poppi were, as usual, tremendously useful in holding up large, immobile objects.

In other news, Christmas is LESS THAN two weeks away. Squeeeeeeee!!!!!

Update: Kyle sent me this cell phone video of Alex's initial walk up to Santa. You can see how eager he was...walked right up and started chatting away.

Four, Five & The Fat Man.

The bar is now nearly unreachable. That's how high Joey has set it with his BDBC activities this year.

On day four my spreesprises were wrapped and hanging on the tree. They were little jingle bell ornaments with the names of each of my siblings on it--so they can be "with me" each year on Christmas. There was one for Alex, too. J'ADORE. (<---I'm learning that this is the new interwebs trend for the often overused "LOVE" sentiments. See? I'm cool!) My card is redeemable for a back massage....mmmm.

And this morning, Alex helped me open a garlic press! I know it sounds uncharacteristically domestic for me, but I've really wanted one for awhile. When I do cook, I like to use fresh garlic and I loathe chopping it. I get that weird, sticky feeling on my hands and they smell of garlic for at least a full day afterward. It's a unitasker, which Alton Brown strongly advises against, but I do not care. My card is redeemable for one late night food run. Fan-freakin-tastic. This man truly knows my heart.

In unrelated news, we took Alex to see the Fat Man yesterday. You might remember the tradition started last year of FREE pics at Bass Pro Shops? Well, we carried the torch proudly into 2010 and I must once again give mad props to the outdoorsy people @ BPS. The free activities for kids, snack bar, giveaways (Silly Bandz and candy canes) as well as the totally authentic Santa are just fantastic.

Without further adieu, here's the trepidatious AJ with the jolly ol' St. Nick. No tears, just a bit of apprehension and confusion.

Santa, Baby.

Alex went to visit Santa on Sunday. In true VW form, we visited Santa at Bass Pro Shop in Great Lakes Crossing. Don't judge! You can't beat a *free* picture with the big man!

I actually think Bass Pro will become our new Santa tradition. Aside from the fabulously free photographs, they also had scads of fun and free things for the kiddos: a table with coloring things, crafts and letters to Santa (complete with mailbox, natch); a laser "shooting" range; ice fishing demonstrations; Wii games to play on big TVs; racecar games and more! Seriously, when Alex is old enough to actually participate and enjoy it all it will be something he (and his Daddy) really look foward to.

Here are some of the pics we managed to snap. Alex was so funny - totally expressionless and completely mesmerized by Santa.

"Dad...do you think Santa will bring me one of these?!"

"Oh...the ladies will totally DIG me in this!"

"Ummm...Dad? Maybe you should put that silly camera down and come rescue me from this very precarious situation?"

"Well, hello there, old man. What's that fuzzy stuff on your face?"

It was such a fun day...and wasn't he just ridiculously cute in his Santa suit? There's more cuteness where this came from - the 2009 VW Christmas Card will be posted soon!