20 minutes + 180 pictures + 1 potty training accident + 4 antlers = Christmas Card

Last Monday night we set out to make our annual Christmas card.  Not unlike last year's card, we got off to late start on putting together our annual mailing, but we were hopeful that the kids would come through with at least a few good pictures that we could send out to family and friends. 

They didn't disappoint.

As the title of post would indicate, we took alot of pictures in a little bit of time.  The majority of them were more comical than frame-worthy, but I was pleasantly surprised to see we did have a handful of gems. 

Below are a few of the non-card worthy outtakes. 

What the title might also indicate is that Addy is now potty training.  Monday was her first full day of no diapers, and she had done remarkably well...that is until just after the picture taking was wrapped up and a major clean-up was called for.  We were thankful that she at least waited until we got a few great pictures taken before rendering her Christmas card outfit unwearable.

Here's the finished product...

Parker questions the man himself...Santa Claus.

Parker's inquisitive nature (aka obsession with asking questions) has been well documented on this blog.  From the moment he could speak understandable English he has been busy asking questions. 

Endless questions. 

Some good, some bad, some funny, some hilarious. 

With that being true I shouldn't have been too surprised when I got the chance to see the letter that he recently sent to Santa.  To our delight, jolly old St. Nick responsded to Parker's letter and sent back Park's original letter so that he can hang onto it .  In his letter to Parker, Santa even noted how many questions our ever-inquisitive son asked. 

The following letter made my week. 

As you will see, he had plenty of questions on his mind when he wrote this.

Some good, some bad, some funny, some hilarious.

Enjoy!

(For those not as adept at reading the handwriting of an 8 year old, I have provided an abridged version below the pictures)

Dear Santa,

Hi Santa.  I have a ton of questions.

Is Rudolph real?

Are you real?

What's your reindeers' favorite food?

Do you ever die?

Is there an elf named Alison?  If I know, do not fire her.

When I grow up can I be an elf?

Are you magic?

Can your reindeer fly?

How many elves do you have?

How do you make toys?

Did anybody shoot you before?

Has anybody seen you before?

How old are you?

Did you ever fall off a roof?

Is the North Pole cool?

Is it fun?

What's the elves favorite food?

How old is Mrs. Claus?

Is the workshop cool or fun?

How old do you have to be an elf?

Is there a guard at the North Pole?

Do you eat steak?

There you have it...22 thought provoking questions for Santa.  I personally can't help but laugh each time I read them, especially the last one. 

Hope you enjoyed!

6 months down.

How many more to go? 

Hopefully we are nearing the half way point of our wait. 

Lleyton's day at the office.

Last week our little guy had his annual check-up with his cardiologist, which meant he had to lay very still during the tests they run.  If you have spent any time with Lleyton or just know him through this blog, you probably already know that sitting still isn't his strong suit.  With that being true, Sara came up with the fantastic idea of promising him a very nice reward if he hung in there and made the doctors job easy during his appointment. 

What was the reward you might ask?

A trip to the office to hang with me.  The idea stemmed from Lleyton unearthing a suit in his closet that was handed down to him by his cousin Tanner.  So after successfully completed the tasks required of him at the Children's Hospital, Sara and her mom brought the little man over so he could "work" with daddy.  And work he did...

He closed a deal or two by wowing imaginary customers with his over the phone sales skills.

He helped out around the office, including making sure the copier made clear copies of hand.

He even got a chance to head upstairs and join Pop in his office.

He impressed everyone with his boyish good looks and sweet disposition.  Thus, I'm pretty sure he's welcome back at the office anytime.

An afternoon to remember!

Yesterday afternoon Parker and my dad and I had a very unique opportunity to get up close and personal with the Cincinnati Bengals...and we took full advantage of it.  With the Bengals being my all-time favorite team in any sport, it would suffice to say I was like a kid in a candy store. 

We arrived at the stadium and were invited out to the practice field to watch the guys go through a practice preparing for what Marvin Lewis told us later in the day will be the biggest game he has coached in his 9 years as Bengals coach.    We spent about an hour watching practice before heading into the stadium for lunch in the visitors locker room followed by a trip onto the field.

Here is Parker with Bengals running back Cedrick Benson.  Right after this picture was taken, Parker looked down at Ced's arm in amazement and said to him, "Are those tattoos?!"  Ced politely responded that yes, they are in fact tattoos. 

Here's Park with his favorite player AJ Green in the background. 

Parker spent much of the time we were on the practice field playing with a couple of boys that were also there and with one Bengal was took quite a bit of time to toss the ball around with them. 

#46 on your roster, #1 in our hearts, Clark Harris.

Clark even gave Parker his gloves as we were leaving practice.

Here's Parker checking to make sure Rey is going to be good-to-go this Sunday.
 

Parker and Domata Peko.

Parker and Nate Clements.

Although we didn't get Parker's picture with him, Andy Dalton came in to talk with us as well. 

Twas an unbelievable experience. 

Who Dey!





Interview with Lleyton

Yesterday afternoon I sat our little man down (after pausing Transformers, of course) for an interview...here's a look into Lleyton's world.


How old are you today? 5







What is your favorite food? Ummm…..(distracted by Transformers) Ummm…(distracted by golf) I can’t remember.






What is your favorite thing to do? Play with the choo choo train track (which happens to be exactly what he was doing when I called him over for the interview)






Who is your best friend? Landon Walker






If you could pick where we went on vacation, where would it be? The new museum (speaking of the museum we went to last week to see the train display)






What do you like most about Parker? I like playing with him.






What do you like most about Addy? I like to…play with her.






What is the first thing you would like to teach Camden? I would like to teach him how to go down the steps on the playhouse.






Where does Camden live right now? In Korea!






If you could meet one person in the whole world who would it be? Daddy and mommy.






If you could have one superpower what would it be? Optimus Prime.






Would you rather be able to fly or be invisible? I wish I could fly. Because it’s cool…you will land on the ground and fly forever and you can sleep in trees.






What is your favorite subject at school? I like playing with Legos.






Who is your hero? Superman and Batman and Spiderman






Where were you born? In Russia!






How old am I (meaning me, Dad)? 10 bucks






How old is mommy? 7, because 7 is older than 5.






What is your favorite color? Red and black and white.






What is one thing you would like everyone to know about you? I want them to know I am Lleyton George Ritzmann.






What is your favorite restaurant? Walmart.






What is your favorite place to eat? Beef O’Brady’s

Batman (Lleyton) turned 5!

Lleyton is convinced he is Batman, which I have a difficult time disagreeing with sometimes, especially when he is donning the Batman cape that Sara made him for his birthday and flying through the house.  Today was Batman's big day, that is unless you believed what he was telling everyone leading up to today, that he was already 5.  I have a Russian birth certificate that says otherwise. 

Our little guy woke up this morning and came down the stairs to find a new tradition, balloons hanging in his honor, each hiding a surprise inside. 

After popping each balloon and feeding his piggy bank with what was inside, it was time to belly up the table for Sara's soon-to-be-famous birthday cake pancakes covered in a sugary glaze.

Along with the delicous pancakes, Sara also stepped up her game when it came to the little man's birthday cake(s).   Being that Lleyton loves trucks of all kinds, we figured he would love nothing more than a birthday cake in a dumptruck, hence Sara put together this gem...



Although Lleyton was very excited to see the cake, to our surprise he said he didn't want to eat it because it was dirty.  I guess the "dirt" cake came together a little too well. 

Onto Plan B, I threw Lleyton and Addy into the car and headed off to the grocery store to pick up the makings for another fantastic cake.  Lleyton's favorite candy cake...

That's a cake wrapped in Kit Kats and topped with M&Ms.  Could there be anything better?  Lleyton didn't think so.

Grandma Susie and Grammy and Pop joined us for dinner at Lleyton's favorite restaurant before we came back home for the cake and ice cream. 

All-in-all, I think our little Batman had a great day, and his brother and sister seemed just as thrilled to celebrate it with him.