Tennessee Christmas (Part 1)

We're really enjoying our Tennessee Christmas, so far! It was the easiest trip we've ever taken over the mountain. The drive was seamless! The boys were both perfect angels and neither one of them made a peep the entire 5+ hour drive! I couldn't believe it! (Several showings of Sid, the Science Kid and Handy Manny helped. What did parents ever do before DVD players in cars?)

On Friday, Poppy and Uncle Mattie watched the boys while Grammy and Mama did some last minute Christmas shopping. Uncle Rick and Aunt Deanna came in that evening, so we got to spend some time with them, which is always fun.

On Saturday, Grammy hosted the annual Owen Christmas party. There was tons of food, family and even the singing of Christmas carols in Owen four-part harmony! (That's a tradition, as well.) We had so much fun visiting with relatives. What a treat!

Saturday night, the adults played a rousing game of Apples to Apples and I'm happy to say that Mama won! (All I can say about that game is we're all not-so-surprisingly good at B.S.!)

We really missed Mike, though. Sadly, he was attending the funeral of Dick Hudson, Grandy's dad, in Massachusetts. I'm sad to say that Dick never met our boys, but he was an amazing Dad, Grandfather and Great-Grandfather. It was an honor to know him. He will be sorely missed by all. Our condolences go out to the entire Hudson family.

The only other bad thing about the weekend was that I got deathly ill on Saturday night. I don't know what happened... if it was a 24-hour virus, food issues, or what... but I was not, at all, well!  Sunday was a day of recouping for me, but I feel 100 times better today (Monday).

I will post another blog entry tomorrow about Part 2 of our Tennessee Christmas. Suffice it to say, Charlie is having fun playing with the pool table and riding a TRACTOR! Christmas came early for him, I guess!

Until next time...

Charlie and Poppy

Chase, with crazy hair.

Poppy was the only one Chase would sit with, other than Mama, of course.

Million dollar smile!

Charlie with Uncle Rick

Birthday boy, eating his cupcake (well, actually, he only ate the icing, but hey!)

Charlie and Grammy

Chase, with tongue (it's better than the middle finger, right?)

Chase and his cousin, Reese

Charlie, (with cousins Reese and Emory) "How you doin'?"

A Star is Born

Yesterday, Mike, Chase, Oma and I, all went to see Charlie make his on-stage debut at the StoneBridge Preschool Christmas Program. As you all know, Charlie comes from a long line of performers, so I totally expected him to take center stage to show the rest of the two-year-olds how it's done. Regardless, I was beyond excited and couldn't wait to see my little Charlie at his first show.

Come to find out, according to Mrs. Yascur, Charlie has a little bit of stage fright! I couldn't believe it! This child must not be related to me and must have been switched at birth, right? What other explanation could there be?

Seriously though, our little Charlie was a bit nervous yesterday which became more and more obvious when he didn't want to leave our side. It was the first time that he wasn't completely confident and secure. It was the first time he didn't say, "Mama, go." I felt so bad for him. He definitely wasn't himself. Luckily, Charlie has an amazing teacher, Mrs. Yascur, who came over to give him a big hug and lots of encouragement.

We eventually left Charlie with his class and took our seat in the auditorium. Our cameras were charged and ready to capture this big moment on film. Even Chase was excited, as he was dancing to the music and smiling his big, goofy grin.

Finally, Charlie took the stage. You could tell he was scanning the audience looking for us. We waved at him like we were little kids, just trying to get his attention. At one point, he must have found a man who looks like Mike because he got so excited and started waving and saying, "Dada!" So funny! But, eventually he found us in the audience.

What a wonderful show it was! The entire school sang first, then the two-year-old class sang "Away in a Manger" and "Jingle Bells," complete with their own little bells to ring. (Actually, there wasn't much singing coming from the class, but that didn't matter to us. We all loved every minute of it.) Each age group had their own class "solos," and then the program ended with the entire school singing "O Come All Ye Faithful."

After the program, we all headed to the Fellowship Hall for punch and cookies. I think that was Charlie's favorite part! He did such a great job though. He followed instructions and stood onstage proudly and with great confidence. He was a pro! We were SO PROUD!

So, that was Charlie's stage debut... the StoneBridge Preschool Christmas Program.

 * A STAR IS BORN! *

Here are a few pictures from the big day:

Chase can't believe it. "My big brother is on stage! He must be famous!"

Charlie takes the stage for the first time. He's furiously scanning the audience, looking for us.

That's Charlie in the middle with his hands on his head. "Where are my parents?!"

Still looking for us... (Notice how he's the tallest!)

Charlie, doing his own choreography! I'm so proud.

Charlie, smirking.

Still looking to the left at the Mike look-alike.

And he found us! He's looking at us!

And now he's yawning... Oh, well.

It's over now. "Wasn't I awesome?!"

"Charlie want a cookie!!!" 

"This is the best part of the show!"

Chase and Mama, proud of big brother!

Visiting Santa: Then and Now

Today, Mike and I took Charlie and Chase to have their photo with Santa Claus. As you probably remember - especially if you read the blog entry, Sneak Peek a few weeks back - I was not expecting a pleasant experience. Charlie has not been all that interested in meeting Santa, and actually, has flat out refused to ever sit in his lap. I wasn't sure how Chase would do, but given the fact that he cannot be separated from me for more than five seconds, I was fairly confident that he wouldn't want to sit on Santa's lap either. But, it's Christmas time and that's what us parents do... take our kids to visit a strange, fat man and expect them to sit happily on his lap and smile for the camera.

So, off we went, to Bass Pro Shops for the annual merry/scary Santa photo outing. When we arrived, I was cautiously optimistic because the line was really short and I figured that we'd be in and out of there before you could say "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." But, then Santa went on break. (I wanted to bribe him with money to see if he'd stay for a couple of more minutes, but I wasn't sure how that would go over.)

Anyway, as you can imagine, Charlie was not at all interested in standing in line when there was so much else to see and do, so off Mike and Charlie went to explore Bass Pro Shops and all it had to offer. Chase and I held down the fort in line. As long as there's food and milk, Chase is generally happy. (And he was generally happy... for the first 15 minutes of waiting!!! But, I digress.)

FINALLY, Santa came back from break. We're back in business! (Why does Santa need a break anyway? What's he doing? Sitting there? How hard can that be?) So, I flag down Mike and Charlie and we all get back in line to wait our turn. Charlie, however, does not understand this concept, at all, nor does he care. He is much more interested in the trains, toys, cars and ATVs that are all around him, so he starts to pitch a fit. We're so close, I can taste it, so I begin bribing and general begging. "Just hang in there, Charlie! You can do it!"

After just a few more minutes of waiting, it's finally our turn. The big moment arrives. We begin the short walk up the red carpet to meet the man, himself. I'm wondering what's going to happen, fully expecting that Mike and I will have to be in the photo with the boys again, like we did last year. Mike sits Charlie down on Santa's knee and I immediately see the bottom lip puff out. I'm confident tears are sure to follow. I sit Chase down on Santa's other knee but I'm not really worried because he's busy drinking from his cup. I tell Mike to step out of the picture because I think there's a remote possibility we just might get a photo with Santa and two relatively happy boys. It can't be true, can it?

Nope. The moment I step away, Chase loses it. Drops the cup. Tries his best to shimmy off Santa's knee and desperately reaches for me. Charlie just stares at Chase and then at Santa.

And that's our first photo with Santa.

Meanwhile, Charlie is actually doing ok! He's sitting on Santa's knee and has not cried one, single tear! Granted he's not speaking to Santa either, but still, he's tolerating it! I'm shocked! What a big, brave boy!

And that's photo number two... Charlie, sitting on Santa's knee, NO TEARS! He did it! He actually did it! How exciting is that?

So, that was our 2010 Santa photo experience. All in all, not too bad! Next year, Charlie will be an old pro and it'll be Chase we have to worry about. Maybe someday we'll get a picture with both boys smiling. A mom can dream!

In the meantime, let's take a walk down memory lane...

Charlie, 2008

2009: Look at Charlie's death grip on Mike. Santa looks terrified too!

Chase is happy as a clam.

2010: Look at Charlie's bottom lip. And Chase is staring at me, screaming bloody murder. Santa's face is priceless too!

Charlie is as cool as a cucumber! 

Charlie Arning: The Birthday 300 Race Winner!

What an amazing race we had on Saturday at Arning Motor Speedway! Charlie Arning not only waved the green flag, but he was the obvious winner of the Birthday 300! With over 20 presents to open, plus cupcakes to eat and four sets of grandparents to play with, Charlie clearly took Victory Lane by storm!

Here are a couple of photos of the winning driver...

Charlie took off running for the house after he got home from Romp n Roll. He was so excited to see his birthday party!

Sponsor appearance at the downtown Huntersville Christmas event.

The Birthday 300 Race Preview

Calling all race fans!

Arning Motor Speedway has released official racing footage in advance of its upcoming race, The Birthday 300 on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. This footage features veteran racecar driver and prodigy, Charlie Arning, and up-and-coming talent, Chase Arning, with play-by-play commentary by the legendary Mike Arning.

The event is nearly sold out. For last minute tickets or to join the fan club, please contact Arning Motor Speedway directly.

Arning Motor Speedway... Where Legends are Born.

Sneak Peek

Yesterday morning, I took Charlie and Chase to the mall. We went right at 9a so we could have the play area all to ourselves. I also wanted to go to the mall so the boys could get a sneak peek at Santa Claus.

As we all know, the last two visits with Santa have been rough. The first year, Charlie was a bit unsure of this strange, bearded man. At first, he sat calmly on his lap and I begged the photographers to take the picture immediately. Of course, the camera wasn't working when we needed it to. By the time they got the camera working, Charlie had figured out that he was sitting on the lap of a very strange man and he lost it. The picture perfectly captures the terror in poor Charlie's eyes. (I will try to dig the picture up and post it on the blog later.)

Last year, Chase was too young to know any better, but Charlie was terrified, again. He must have conjured up visions of his first visit with Santa because this time, he knew not to go anywhere near the man. Mike and I had to drag him over to Santa, literally kicking and screaming. Again, another classic photo of a terrified two-year-old and a reluctant Santa.

But this year should be different... or so I thought. Charlie loves Santa. He loves reading about him. He loves looking at pictures of him. He loves singing about him. He loves Christmas. He has even told me that Santa Claus is a really nice man. I thought that maybe, just maybe, we'd be able to get a good picture of Charlie and Santa this year.

Well, after yesterday, I've changed my mind. Yes, Charlie is fascinated with Santa, but he is not at all interested in meeting him. In fact, he flatly refuses. As you'll see in the pictures below, he's willing to sit in a stroller somewhat near Santa Claus, but at first, he did not even want to look at Santa. Actually, Charlie much preferred to be on the second floor of the mall, looking down at Santa, as far away from him as possible.

So, as you can see, I am not expecting a pleasant experience when we take Charlie and Chase to meet Santa Claus face to face. Truthfully, I think it's gonna be a double whammy, because I don't think Chase is gonna find the experience very amusing, either. Looks like we're going to have another photo of two terror-stricken kids and one poor Santa Claus.

I bet Santa wonders why us parents put our kids through this...

Oh, and to top the morning off, Charlie jumped off of one of the play structures and bit his tongue. Blood was oozing from his mouth. All of the other parents were glaring at me. I whisked Charlie outta there as fast as I could. Merry Christmas!

Chase drooling - er, uh - playing in the play area.

Charlie, happy. Pre-tongue biting.

This is us sitting outside of Santa's area before his arrival. I am hyping Charlie up... getting him  exciting about seeing Santa Claus.

This is Charlie as Santa is arriving. Charlie is checking him out. (I was not allowed to take pictures of Santa, of course.)

And this is Charlie looking AWAY from Santa and thinking, "if I don't look at him, maybe he'll go away."

And this is us from the second floor of the mall looking down at Santa. Ahh. Much better.

Still here. Still checking him out... from a distance. Oy vey.