Peanut Butter Balls turn Buckeyes

For as long as I can remember, December held one very special night in our home (in addition to the 25th itself): Fudge and Peanut Butter Ball-making night. My brother and I would sit on the counters (through high school, I do believe!) as Mom directed our efforts (and, of course, supervised the appropriate licking opportunities). Since I graduated from college and began spending my Decembers in my own residences, I have held together that tradition. But, for the most part, it was MY deal. MY responsibility. MY thing. Last year, KK joined in. She was a faithful peanut butter ball dipper. But THIS year was the first year it felt like the tradition had translated into a TRUE Arthur Family tradition. Lynette faithfully balled the peanut butter dough with me while she visited (about 250 in all. YIKES!) and the rest of the project happened Sat with just our fam. Take a look below at my boys in the act!

Especially take note of the baker's outfit (apron and hat) Grandma Lynette gifted Jackson...

Scott carving out the marshmallow cream

This captures one of my favorite moments in Jackson's 18 months and 12 days of life... he patiently played while Daddy and Mommy did their diligent work. But when his curiosity got the best of him, he joined in on the fun on a chair. With no tutorial other than observation, this child went right for a toothpick and stabbed one of those balls in preparation for dipping. He's a natural! It makes me so psyched for next year, when he becomes more and more aware of those

magical traditions we all cling onto, child and adult alike!

PS. As for the title of this blog... in Kentucky, the treats we made were called "peanut butter balls" (and were completely coated in chocolate). When I moved to Ohio, I was alarmed to find that an entire GLOB of chocolate was missing from the top of each delicacy, revealing a small circle of the peanut butter dough.... hence the Ohio name: Buckeyes. Despite the 10 years I resided in Ohio, I resisted making anything BUT the full-out peanut butter balls (let's face it, they taste identical, but it was the principle of the whole thing... in my family, we made PEANUT BUTTER BALLS!). But this year, given that our friends here call us their "friends from Ohio," I buckled to make this year's gifts to them symbolic of our "home" state, good ole O-HI-O.

There's nothing like...

... a visit from a grandparent. We have had such wonderful visits from grandparents since we moved to Minnesota. And, for me, watching a young one experience a grandparent in high, concentrated volume a few times a year is a new concept; my kid days included grandparents RIGHT THERE IN TOWN. So we saw them ALL the time.

But there's something special about this version of Grandparent love too. Jackson got a visit from Grandma Lynette last week and he was stuck to her like glue. I still worked my normal morning schedule, so he and she had a few hours to themselves in the morning. By the time I got home, Jackson still greeted me with enthusiasm. But the hugs to Grandma were hard to compete with! He just had such an affection towards her. Grandma Lynette did a lot more than love on Jackson during her time here too: celebrated an early Christmas (the toy gifts for Jackson she had mailed here so that prevented us from having to drive them back), laundered and ironed, helped me around the house, and tons more. Thanks, Grandma. It was fun!

Jackson, see your really great outfit? Headed for the truck, Grandma.