I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

It's hard to believe that Christmas has already come and gone and that we are already celebrating a new year!  We have been so busy lately, that I haven't really had time to catch up on the blog, so I thought I would share some of our favorite Christmas memories.

This Christmas was new and exciting because Brent wasn't on shift and we all got to wake up together Christmas morning in our own house.  It was also a little sad, because it was the first time in 29 years that I wasn't at my Grandma's house (in Florida) on Christmas day with the rest of my family.  The good news is that we got to start some of our own traditions and then Tay and I got to visit everyone else the day after Christmas. 

On Christmas Eve, I felt like a kid all over again.  I was so excited thinking about Santa visiting Taylor that I had a hard time falling asleep.  When he woke up Christmas morning, Brent had the video camera all ready to go.  Taylor was so cute in his little Santa footies and I loved seeing his face when he saw his "big chair" with all of his goodies.

He took everything off of his chair and started "reading" his "Cars" book. . . that is, until he realized that a bunch of those presents under the tree were for him too!  We had so much fun watching him tear the paper off of the boxes and seeing the excitement in his eyes when he opened something new.  He really got to enjoy everything this year.  Brent's gifts to me were fun and thoughtful.  One of my favorites was a photography class he had registered me for, which he stuck inside of a new snowboard jacket.

After all the presents had been opened, I cooked pancakes.  When we had all stuffed our bellies full, we went back to the living room to play with all of Tay's toys.  We spent the day in our pajamas and just enjoyed being together.

Nana and Papa came over and ate lunch with us.  Brent smoked some beef brisket and then it was back to opening presents again.  Taylor had fun playing with his new toys and loving on his grandparents.  When they left to go home, we were all way overdue for a nap!  Snowflakes were starting to fall and so were our eyelids.

 
When we woke up, the ground was covered in a white blanket of snow.  It was absolutely beautiful.  Taylor had a hard time trying to figure out what it was, but liked scraping it off of the mailbox and putting it in his mouth.  We spent the rest of the night over at our neighbor's house playing Wii and watching Taylor and Ryleigh attempt to share their toys. . . it's a work in progress.

 The next day, Brent was off to work and Tay and I were off to Grandma's house!  While we missed Daddy a lot, we had fun spending time with "Gigi," Mimi and G-Daddy, and the rest of our aunts, uncles, and cousins.  One of Taylor's favorite presents he got was his Dirt Devil vacuum from Mimi and G-Daddy.  His only problem was trying to figure out how he could sweep and vacuum at the same time! 

While we were down there, we got to take a "four generations" picture with my Grandma, my Dad, Taylor and me.  I hope that one day, he will cherish it as much as I do.  Before we left, we got to take a quick trip to the beach to take some pictures and write Daddy a message in the sand.

This Christmas was definitely one of my favorites.  It was filled with friends, family, and lots of love.  God has truly blessed us this year and I pray that he continues to do so in 2011.  Happy New Year to everyone!  May this be your best year yet!

The 18 Month was Nestled All Snug in His Bed. . .

Taylor -- It's Christmas Eve and you are officially 18 months old today!  Can you believe it?  Tomorrow, you will wake up and see what Santa brought for you.  I can't wait to see you open your presents and play with your new toys.  This will be a Christmas that you can really enjoy.

Over the last month, we have stayed really busy.  We went to see Santa and as you already know, you were not a big fan of sitting on his lap this year.  We got to ride the Pink Pig.  You thought the ride was awesome, but didn't love Priscilla the Pig.  We had lots of fun going to Aunt Holly's house for the Forrester family's Christmas.  You got to eat lots of sweets, open up presents, and run around with all of your cousins.

You have grown up so much over the last month and are doing so many new things.  You are "talking" all of the time now and love to talk on the phone.  When Daddy is at work and we call him, you say "Hey Daddy. . ." and proceed to tell him all about your day.  When you are finished, you say "I love you" and "bye-bye."

You have cut two new teeth (one to the left and the other to the right of your two front teeth on the bottom).  These two seem to be giving you some trouble because you are putting anything you can in your mouth. . . including Mommy's leg and Daddy's head.  We are working on making sure you understand what is off limits when it comes to biting.

I have to admit, you are a bit of a Mama's boy right now and while it may be a little annoying to others, I think it is incredibly cute.  You are so sweet and are always ready to give me a hug and tell me "I love you Mama."  In the morning, I know when you are up because you call out "Hey, Mama!  Hey, Mama!"  It starts my morning off with a smile on my face. 

You are also very jealous of your Daddy.  You don't like it when he hugs or kisses me.  You try to get between us and push him away.  The other day, your Daddy started tickling me just to see what you would do.  You climbed up on the couch, hugged my neck, and then turned around and popped your Daddy in the face!  I thought it was wildly funny, but it took your Daddy completely by surprise.  Usually, you get in trouble for hitting, but not this time because you were protecting your Mama!

In just the past week, you have begun to say the prayer at the dinner table.  When we sit down and say "it's time to pray," you hold our hands and start "praying."  We know you are finished, because you always end with a very enthusiastic "Amen!"

You are incredibly social.  You wave and feel the need to say "hi" to every person we pass on the street and on any grocery store aisle.  I've got to say that it doesn't get old.  It's cute to see people that looked grumpy light up after talking to you.  As we pass them, you say "bye-bye" and look for the next person to greet.

One of your favorite things to do is play with your friends.  When you are at Mrs. Joanna's house, you like playing with Ella, Ruby, and Caroline.  You especially love Mrs. Joanna's daughter, Rachel.  Whenever we get together with Evan and Brayden, you boys always have a good time.  And of course, there is never a dull moment when you and Ryleigh are together. 

You have gotten in the bad habit of hitting people or things when you get mad, which these days happens pretty often.  You don't like being told "no" when you have your mind made up.  You already think you are grown up and are starting to show lots of independence.  One thing you've started to do is tell us when you've gone to the bathroom.  The other day you said "Uh oh, poo" and then went and brought me the wipes.  Now if only there was a way to get you to start potty training early.

Right now, you are obsessed with the movie Cars.  You absolutely love it and we watch it at least once a day.  I guess I'm pretty lucky that you like a cool movie and not Barney or the Wiggles.  Aside from Cars, you still love Sesame Street.  Your two favorite books are still your "Look and Find" books.  You've started finding new things in them.  Now, you can say "Lightning McQueen" and "helicopter." 

Tonight, we got out the crayons and a plain sheet of white paper, so you could write Santa a letter.  I loved watching you lay on your belly with your tongue sticking out and your head cocked to the side.  Sometimes, you really seem to be concentrating on doing things just right. 

It's almost time for Santa to come!  Even though you didn't really like visiting the "big guy" this year, you have become pretty good at saying "Ho, ho, ho!"  I can hardly wait to see your face tomorrow when you see what he brought you.  It's going to be a great morning filled with pancakes and presents.

Sleep tight my little Santa Baby. . . morning will be here before you know it.

Santa Baby

On Friday, December 10th, Brent and I took Tay to see Santa at Phipps Plaza.  We went there last year and he did great.  He smiled and laughed and we got the most precious picture.  Brent and I weren't really sure how he would react this year.  But lately, since he's been a bit of a Mama's boy, we expected the worse.

When we got there, I showed him the other kids that were sitting on Santa's lap and talked to him about how he was going to see Santa.  Then, it was our turn and everything was fine until I took him off of my hip and reached him out towards Santa's outstretched arms.  Then it was the "Mama" heard 'round the world!  Tay proceeded to cry big ol' crocodile tears, scream "Mama, Mama, Mama!," and try to squirm out of Santa's grasp. 

 They ended up taking three pictures.  The first, was of Taylor looking over at me with a pouty look and the "I can't believe you are such a traitor" look in his eyes.  The second and third were of him crying with his mouth wide open.  In one of them, he was looking straight at the camera. . . so, that is the one that is now framed in our house.  The way I look at it, everyone needs at least one picture of their child screaming with Santa, right? 

We went from Phipps over to Lenox, so we could try and ride the Pink Pig.  We tried to ride it last year, but the line was way too long and way too cold for a little baby.  This year, the line wasn't so bad and the weather was actually pretty nice, considering what it had been lately.  We got our tickets and waited our turn in line as patiently as we could.

When we got close to the big tent, there was Priscilla the Pig all dressed up and ready to take pictures with the kids.  I told Brent that I would go stand next to her with Tay, so that we could get a picture.  Brent didn't think Taylor would go for that idea and he was absolutely right!  As soon as I tried to take a step towards her, Tay squeezed his thighs around my waist as tight as he could and started screaming "bye-bye, bye-bye!" as he waved good-bye to Priscilla the Pig.  Needless to say, that was the end of that idea and Taylor kept his eye on her like a hawk until we made it around the corner.

Overall, it was a really good day. . .drama and all!  What can I say other than I love my Santa Baby!

17 Months and Still Going Strong

Well. . . here we are again!  It seems like I just wrote your 16 month update last week!  This last month has flown by and we have stayed extremely busy.  Daddy and I are always "on the go" and you keep up with us without missing a beat!

What can I say Tay, you are precious my little love bug!  You still seem to have a motor in you that doesn't stop, except luckily for us, you need to "recharge" your batteries once a day with a nice long nap.  You love to play, play, play!  If it were up to you, you'd probably eat your meals "on the run" too!  The world is your playground and you are one curious little kid.  I love that I get to see the world through your eyes.  You make me appreciate the little things around me more. 

You are definitely our own little "Bam Bam."  You love to swing baseball bats, golf clubs, and any other kind of "stick" you can get your hands on.  You have quite the throwing arm too!  You have watched your Daddy throw tennis balls against the bottom of the fireplace one too many times, because you feel the need to throw any kind of ball, including golf balls, at the tv, walls, and kitchen cabinets.  I'm going to let your Daddy handle this one for now. . .

While other kids are attached to blankets and pacifiers, you my darling are an original!  When all else fails, all I need to do is give you a kitchen spoon!  You carry them around like they are prized possessions and it makes me laugh every time you spot one in the dishwasher or under the cabinet, because you won't stop saying spoon until you have one (or two) in your possession!  They seem to be everywhere. . .in the diaper bag, the backseat of my car, and even my purse!  I was out the other day and reached into my purse to get a pen, and pulled out a kitchen spoon instead!  I know the people around me probably thought that was a little odd, but it made me think of you, and all I could do was shake my head and smile.

Aside from your obsession with spoons, you love brooms and balloons!  You would find any way you could to get my broom out of the garage.  That is, until Mimi and G-Daddy bought you your very own broom.  It's hilarious to watch you "sweep," and by sweep I mean scatter all of the trash that I just finished cleaning up!  Now if only there was a way to teach you how to use the dust pan.  Hmmmm... I will have to work on that one!  And where do I even start when it comes to balloons?  We can't even go into the grocery store without you pointing at everyone and asking "please, please, please" (which still comes out "puh, puh, puh). 

You are the most polite 16 month old I know.  Whenever anyone gives you anything, you say "thank you" (usually without prompting) and when we say the prayer at mealtimes and before we go to bed, you enthusiastically say "Amen!" on your own.  You still love Sesame Street and can say "Elmo" and "Big Bird" pretty well.  A glass of chocolate milk and either Curious George or Between the Lions usually gets our day started and on the right track.  Books continue to catch your interest and I love seeing you start to really examine the pictures.  You have a couple look and find books and are so proud of yourself when we tell you to "Find the hat" (or ball, or car, etc. . .) and you can point straight to it!  You love the page with Lightning McQueen and the other characters from Cars and you take great pride in pointing at every car and truck on the page.

I am amazed by how much you can understand and do.  The other day I told you we couldn't go outside because you didn't have on shoes, so you started looking for them.  When I say "Where are your socks?" you search for them, bring them to me, and lift up your feet for me to help you put them on.  Yesterday, we went outside and the wind started to blow.  You looked up at the trees and the leaves started to fall down.  You started running, trying to catch the falling leaves, and were saying "Uh, oh. . .Uh, oh. . . Uh, oh!" over and over.  You knew the leaves were supposed to be on the trees and were worried about them!  I must say, that was super cute! 

You have a definite sense of humor.  Right now, you find it wildly funny to go into the bathroom and close the bathroom door whenever anyone walks in there.  You love to run and "jump" around the living room, spinning and twirling around and around.  You have perfected your jump by getting a running start while poking out your Buddha belly, swinging your arms in the air, and then getting on your tippy toes.  And you find it down right hilarious when you run around the whole downstairs part of our house (through the living room, dining room, kitchen and back to the living room) just to do a belly flop on a comforter piled up in the middle of the room.

Over the course of this last month, a couple of very special things have happened.  On October 28th, Daddy officially graduated from the Fire Academy.  He's already our hero and the best firefighter we know, but we were so proud of him when he won the Top Rung award for his class!  We got to go up to the front and pin him.  Chief Myers took you from my arms and Daddy and I both held our breath, waiting for you to start screaming, but you didn't. . . at least, for a couple of seconds.  You held it together long enough for me to take the badge in my hand before you started screaming "Mama!  Mama!  Mama!"  with arms wide.  The audience and Chief Myers found it hilarious.  Don't worry, someone got it all on film, so one day, maybe you will get to see it.

That night, you and Daddy surprised me with a 30th birthday party dinner.  You boys are definitely tricky!  We ate at Dominick's and I couldn't have thought of a better way to celebrate.

On October 31st, Mama officially turned 30!  Daddy fought a fire the night before, so you and I picked up some lunch and it was nice enough for us to eat outside.  Daddy gave me a book he made on Shutterfly that had birthday messages from my family and closest friends.  After we went to church that night, we went Trick-or-Treating with the Chapeaus.  You had a blast!  You were a Georgia Bulldog, of course and in my opinion, the cutest kid ont he block!  We couldn't believe that you actually kept your hood on.  Daddy and I thought you were so funny.  You would go up and knock on the door.  Sometimes you would randomly say "Go Dawgs!" other times you would say "Trick-or-Treat" and proceed to try and go into complete stranger's homes.

 Now, you are kicking off your 17th month recovering from the flu, bronchitis, and pertussis (the whooping cough).  You poor thing!  If it were up to me, you would never get sick and I could take your place.  Daddy took you to the doctor last Friday and then we got the call that your cultures came back positive for the whooping cough yesterday.  Those things haven't seemed to slow you down much.  You are a pretty resilient kid!  Although, I would say that the steroids, two anibiotics, and breathing treatment may have helped out a little bit.

Happy 17th Month my little Turkey!  Here's hoping that this next month is filled with health, love, and lots of laughter!