Can you have a incredibly wonderful holiday and be utterly exhausted? I wouldn't have changed a thing except for my late nights of preparation. I need to get better at organization if I am going to survive future Christmas holidays followed by my son's birthday the next day. I am fully committed to making it "his" day and not the birthday that followed Christmas. I must say my "hat" is off to Wyatt and Ken for dealing with me stressed. I think I am getting better and I hope to develop a system soon so it is not at all stressful....okay...let's say so stressful.This blog entry is mainly a photo journal (so it is long - be prepared) that starts with our trip to Santa. The photo above was taken at the Santa brunch that Gigi and Papa took us to and we all had a great time. Did Wyatt sit on Santa's lap...not this year, but he did say "hi" to him often. Wyatt was also given a gift from his cousins...An Elf on a Shelf. All Mom's should have one if you celebrate Christmas with Santa. You have to name your elf and Ken and I tried to think of something clever. Ken came up with the perfect name...Nutso (take the K and S off of Knutson and you have our elf's name. It was fun to see Wyatt look for him each morning and now after Christmas he still asks about him.
In trying to take photos for our Christmas cards these two photos show what an amazing job Ken did at picking out our tree. He has gone to get it on his own for the past 3 years and he is amazing at it. It smells wonderful (like we live in a forest) and it is so perfectly shaped that you would think it is artificial. However the needles shedding show that it is real. 
Last year, I had a funny blog that told the story of trying to buy Wyatt a hat...he is a head above the rest in size and so this year I got him one that will fit next year too.
My Uncle John is a master with wood and he made Wyatt a big surprise this year! He made him cars and trucks out of wood that fit perfectly in their own little wooden box...shaped like a tool box. Wyatt couldn't get them out of the box fast enough. 
He immediately started to play with them.
Lining them up is very important...traffic you know. In this photo you can see the box made to carry them in.
Did I mention they have circles for windows? Perfect shape for his fingers.
Brutie (Wyatt's BFF) loves to play with them as well. Thanks Uncle John!
December 24th - Christmas Eve Arrives!
I start to make Wyatt's birthday cake. A Dump Truck Birthday Cake. Have I made any sort of theme cake before. Nah! I'll look online and see a few photos...I can do that, right. I quickly saw I was way over-my-head, but my drive and Ken's confidence in me I decided to dive in. The grocery store is open the day after Christmas, right?
I had this image in my head as to what Wyatt would wear on Christmas Eve to church and I could have cried in delight when on my late shopping spree to Wal-Mart to get birthday supplies led me to an outfit with a red velvet vest with tie (pants and shirt that were included in purchase not shown in this photo). I already had black pants and white button down shirt...I just needed the finishing touch. This is by far my favorite photo. If I had it when I did the Christmas cards this would have been it. I will never forget this Christmas...he looked so adorable.
I think this should be a yearly shot...Wyatt and Pa enjoying Pa's train under his tree.December 25th - Christmas Day
Wyatt helping Ken to put together his Wheelies Ramp.
Before we head off to Ken's folks for Christmas I had to get going on the cake. Is it beginning to look like a Dump Truck yet? I was beginning to wonder...will I have enough icing? We had a glorious Christmas and in all the hype I did not take any photos.
I meant to take more photos of the dump truck cake creation, but once I got going I couldn't stop. It was a late night, but before I went to bed on Christmas Night...okay it was Sunday morning before I went to bed...the cake was done and the decorations were mainly up. Ken is great with decorations and as he puts it...wants to see my vision come to life. Who wouldn't love to hear that?
Ta- Da! Here is Wyatt's 2nd Birthday Dump Truck Cake. Not exactly my vision, but I stopped before I thought I may ruin it. Less is more, right? I did run out of black icing, but Wyatt didn't notice. For those curious...two and half 9x13 sheet cakes (2 = white cake and 1 = chocolate). The wheels are ding dongs. Orange lights on the top of the truck, red brake lights in the back of the truck and the door handles were all M&Ms. In the dump truck after icing it was crushed Oreo cookies, chopped up Snicker bars (just about 2-3 snack size bars) along with a few brown M&M's. The dirt around the truck is crushed Oreos.
Trucks had to be the theme as Wyatt is all about trucks!
A view from the back. The license plate is also just icing. I have to tell the story of Wyatt waking up on his birthday. Ken went and got him up as he woke before us around 8 am. Always anxious to be the last one out of bed and since I was up quite late I had closed my eyes for just an added bit of shut-eye. Since, Wyatt commonly comes into our room I thought I had a second or two and was surprised when Ken had gone into another room and Wyatt went into the living/dining room and saw all the birthday decorations and the "truck cake."
His absolute delight in the streamers and seeing the truck cake...'oh, Mama come see...look at the...look at the'...(assuming he is looking at streamers) then he saw the cake...'Oh, Oh, Mama the truck cake...come see.' I couldn't get out of bed fast enough. He was so excited...it was worth every minute and any stress.
Since all our immediate family was coming at 3 pm - Ken took Wyatt sledding (so far it is a yearly tradition) so he would be ready for an early nap. All bundled up and ready to go.
Believe it or not...after touring around they headed to the park and Wyatt went on the swings! Who doesn't do that in late December in Chicago?
Right before the singing and candle is ready to be lit!
We had been practicing blowing out the candle. I was holding his hands because he wanted to touch the cake with the candle being lit. 
Wyatt was anxious to dig-in!Pa took this video after we finished singing and you can hear him trying to blow out the candles. So adorable! I must thank all of our family who come to our small abode and squeezed in to celebrate Wyatt's birthday. They flooded him with love and gifts! Wyatt is in heaven...so much to play with and everything he loves.
Christmas will always be amazing for us. I will forever be humbled by the gift that God gives to me each day and especially the precious gift of Wyatt in our lives.
We hope you all had a glorious Christmas and Happy New Year. Wyatt is now 2 so 2011 shall be full of fun!
