This weekend was chock full of Christmasey goodness. First of all, my favorite holiday movies (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) were being played all weekend on TNT. Since they came out at Christmastime I cannot help but associate them with the season. Second, we took the boys to see Santa today. There is a free Santa up at the local shopping center and you can bring your own camera for photos. There was a pretty good line but the boys were more than willing to wait for their shot at talking to the Big Man. When they finally got up there, this is the picture I took:
Y’all, I just about peed myself laughing at Iain’s expression, which in my current physical state is not hard to do, but still! Isn’t it hilarious?? I did get several more shot of the boys telling Santa what they wanted but this one is my favorite.
This weekend, we also made some Christmas cookies, something I’ve been wanting to do with the boys for a while. Even though the recipe for the cookies ended up not being too good, we had a blast rolling out our dough, cutting out the shapes, and then painting them. I made a big batch of dough and gave each of the boys their own piece to roll. Once they had done that, we cut out the shapes and then got to painting:
Here they are before they go in:
And then six minutes later they looked like this:
It was SOOO much fun! Later in the day, I played around with the software that came with my camera and converted pictures of the boys taken today from color into black and white. The results were pretty cool. Black and white is really beautiful.
Ryan
Iain – he reminds me so much of the boy from Nanny McPhee and Love Actually. He and that boy share a real impish quality. Every time I watch Love Actually, I weep and weep because that boy reminds me so much of Iain. Watch it and see if you don’t agree.
Well, I hope everyone out there is enjoying this holiday season. We’re really ready for it! Sean has to work this week and then he’s home until January 2nd. The boys are incredibly excited about that! It’s finally beginning to really sink in that Christmas is almost here. Just a few more things to get for the boys and then we’ll be finished!
I have a really yummy sugar cookie recipe if you want it!
Iaian does look like the Love Actually kid. I LOOOOVE that movie!
Yes, please email your recipe to me! I need a good sugar cookie recipe so we can leave Santa some yummy treats.
I love Love Actually, too. So many great stories in there!
I love those two films & can certainly see the resemblance.
Thanks for the emailed camera info too – you’ve inspired me & I’ve taken your info & started researching what is available in NZ.
Love the expression in the Santa pic – just what did Santa tell your boy?
Does your camera have a B&W setting? Mine is supposed to but since it is so new to me I have not figured it out just yet. The book says that using the setting when you take the pictures has even better results. ??
Cate, you’re very welcome for the camera info! I’m so excited that you’re looking into it! If I can help you with anything else let me know.
LOL I don’t know what Santa said. It was really shocking I guess!
M.P., I do believe mine has a monochrome setting but I don’t use it. When I take pictures I do it in Raw instead of jpeg. Raw is basically a digital negative and it allows you work from it without changing the original file. I used Canon’s Digital Photo Professional software that came with my camera to make the B&W conversion on these two.
What kind of camera do you have?
Ha! That picture is freakin’ hilarious!! I am laughing outloud at Iain’s expression.
The B & W pictures are breathtaking. I can see what you mean about the Love Actually kid in Iain’s photo. I haven’t seen Nanny McPhee. I think they have a similar smile.
Hey Marin! Isn’t it funny? Totally cracks me up.
Thanks for your comment on the B&W photos. I am really loving them, too. You should watch Nanny McPhee when you get a chance. I think it’s a sweet movie and, of course, I cry at the end.
I love the black and white pictures!
How do you make the “paint” for the sugar cookies? Tha Park Wife
Hey Park Wife! For the cookie “paint” I just followed Ree’s recipe over at http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com which was 1 egg yolk, 1tsp water, and a couple of drops of food coloring. You do this for each color you desire.
It was simple and a lot of fun!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving me a comment!
Evie
Evie…also, re: cookie recipe, I always ice my cookies so maybe that makes them taste better!! 🙂
You are such a good mama! Homemade cookies, visit to Santa (expression is priceless!), gingerbread houses, vintage photos… yer makin’ me look bad.
Oh wait, I do that all by my scroogish self!
I love Love Actually too! And only saw a bit of Nanny McPhee, need to see the rest. Rob and I watched Blood Diamond last night and I wept. DEFINITELY not holiday movie fare.