Holiday Express at UT Gardens

On Sunday, Dec. 19, Noah and I had a mommy/son day at the Holiday Express at UT Gardens. We had such a great time and Noah was in awe of the model trains zipping by. It took nine men and seven days to put it all together. Parts of the city were replicas of historic Knoxville. The toughest part was reminding him to not touch the trains. One kid accidentally derailed a train, but the owner was so nice about it and said, "That's just part of it." After watching the trains, Noah made magic reindeer food, got a candy cane from Santa and warmed up next to a fire pit in the gardens. We'll definitely be back next year!

I thought this sign was kind of funny.

We've also had a great start to winter! The snow and chilly temps have been welcome...the ice, not so much since schools were out for three days.

I love to watch the relationship between Noah and Brenton. Noah is Brenton's favorite thing to watch. He makes him smile (and sometimes cry when he gets too rough), but for the most part they love each other dearly. When Brenton wakes up in the morning, Noah always asks to hold him. Here they are relaxing on the couch together.

Noah is always concerned about Brenton -- his whereabouts, needs, etc. When Brenton cries, Noah will say, "It's okay, brother. No need to cry" or will start singing him the Barney song. You know, the one that goes, "I love you, you love me. We're a happy family with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you, won't you say you love me too?" It actually quiets Brenton down (usually) if he does get fussy which is pretty rare. I sang that song a lot to Noah before naps and bedtime when I was pregnant with Brenton, so maybe that's why he likes it so much. All I can say is that I'm quite content in a house full of boys!