snow

well, the first big snow of little man's life has come and gone.

it was actually the biggest snow that i can remember in years.

around here, the weather men (and women) predict lots of snow at various times throughout the winter.

children get very excited.

adults make a mad dash to kroger to buy milk and bread.

schools announce their closings.

and then.....

nothing happens.

maybe a flurry or two, but usually nothing substantial.

so we were actually very surprised when it hit us pretty quickly Friday morning, and kept on going all day long.

we hibernated all weekend long, except for an occasional trip outside.....

we didn't do much of anything for three days.

it was wonderful.

pants on the ground

no, i'm not referring to american idol, although i did think that guy was pretty amusing.

i am referring to little man.

i walked into his room the other day to get him up from his nap.

he was in his crib.

his pants were on the ground.

so was his diaper.

let's just say, the diaper was dirty.

very dirty.

there were things on his sheets that did not belong there.

he just stood there, with only his shirt on, and smiled as if nothing was wrong.

so i smiled too.

and then i laughed.

and then i took some pictures.

what kind of mommy would i be if i didn't?

i decided to spare you all from any actual images.

you'll just have to use your imagination.


speaking of things on the ground.....


every time Caleb walks by this table, he knocks the chairs to the ground.

if we put them back, he will come by and do it again.

so we leave them.

i wish i could know what was going on in his head!

happy birthday, husband!

today i am wishing my husband a happy birthday!


dear Bobby,

i am so glad that God created you! you are such an amazing man, and i am so blessed to have you in my life. i love your sweet spirit; i love that you always worry about others; i love that you can always make me laugh; i love how you're such a kid at heart; i love how you know just how to calm me down; i love how silly you are; i love how hard you work for our family; i love how you appreciate me; i love how generous you are; i love how patient you are; i love how honest you are; i love how kind you are; i love how i could go on and on about you!

just one more thing.....

i love how cute you are.....

(one cute cookie)

(he still bites his bottom lip like this, and so does Caleb)

(i am told that big hair was in?)

(did i mention that he is silly? and a titans fan?)

(promising my dad that he will take care of me at our rehearsal dinner)

(on our honeymoon)

(the day he became a daddy)

(an amazing daddy)

(an amazing husband)

thank you for being such a wonderful husband!

thank you for being such a wonderful daddy!

thank you for being you!

i love you!

christmas

christmas morning was still pretty low-key at our house, since little man still has no idea what is going on. husband and i are trying to enjoy that while it lasts!

we spent the morning at home, just the three of us, and watched Caleb open his presents.


the first thing he spotted was bob-the-tomato. he gave him a big smile.....


and then went in for a kiss.....


the open-mouthed kind that lets you know he REALLY loves you.

then he spotted larry-the-cucumber, and they all became fast friends.....


just in case anyone out there doesn't have kids or you live under a tree, bob and larry are from veggie tales - christian cartoons about talking vegetables that are obviously a really big hit around here.

he opened a few more presents.....




and then he decided that bella's new toys were more fun. so he ran around and played with them the rest of the time.....


but that's ok, because bella stole his new sock-monkey.....


we spent the rest of the day at my folks' house with my side of the family.

i went straight for mom's cinnamon rolls that she makes every christmas.

bobby went straight for the pigs-in-a-blanket and sausage balls, which have also become a christmas tradition.

we probably eat about 14,673 pigs throughout the day.

we opened more presents.....


we ate more food.

we played mom's new outburst bible game.

we discovered we don't know as much as we probably should.

but the girls knew more than the guys.

not that it matters, because it's just a game.

but if you were keeping track, the girls knew a lot more.

and we won.

but it's just a game.

and then we ate more food.

we watched the titans playoff dreams abruptly vanish because they lost really, really bad disappear.

and then we were tired. so we went home and went to bed.

too much fun, not enough pictures

WARNING: this post is very, very long.

this last week has been very full, fun, busy, and wonderful.

last thursday we celebrated the birthdays of my aunt, Becky and my kid brother, Christian.

Christian is 13.

a teenager.

my little brother is becoming not so little.

he chose to eat at Logan's for dinner, because what kid teenager doesn't think it's cool to be able to throw food on the floor?

little man was in rare form.

he decided that instead of taking his nap that day, he would sit in his crib and talk to himself for 3 hours. if i talk to myself for 5 minutes i get worn out. how he managed for so long without falling asleep is beyond me.

so, husband and i ate our food quickly, and left as soon as the screaming crying fit began.

there was no time to even think about taking a picture.


friday morning, Caleb and i headed over to grandma's (my mom's) to have a baking day. well, Caleb had a play day while grandma and i baked.

we tried to get Christian to bake with us, but baking isn't so cool when you're a teenager. so, his participation was limited.

i put little man down for his nap upstairs.

he talked to himself again for 3 hours.

apparently, he has a lot to say.

sleep finally won.

we were able to finish up the baking, and actually had a very productive day. we made shortbread, cookies 'n cream shortbread, fudge, and mints.

you would think that at some point during the day it would have occurred to me to take a picture.

it didn't.

we packed up all our goodies, little man, Christian, and grandpapi (my dad), and headed over to my cousin's house for dinner because we had a lot of family in town visiting.

we had a great time seeing everyone and had a yummy dinner.

little man did pretty well, considering he had a short nap - but at least he had one at all!


on saturday, when it became obvious that Caleb was, once again, not going to be taking a nap, we headed back over to my parent's house to visit with family again and have dinner.

and if you're wondering where Bobby is this whole time, he was working. a lot. Christmas time is the busiest, craziest time for them.

anyways, we had so much fun that, guess what? i didn't take any pictures!


but on sunday, we did!

sunday was our Chirstmas dinner with Bobby's side of the family. yes, he finally had an entire day off to spend with us! so, we put little man down for his talking session nap, and we started in on all the cooking.

i had to limit Bobby's participation in the kitchen. he gets a little carried away, and i really wanted to serve dinner at some point that night.

so, he was in charge of the shrimp cocktail.

if you know my husband - you know that he did not simply buy ready-to-eat shrimp and cocktail sauce and call it a day.

no - he cooked and seasoned the shrimp the way he wanted it, he made his own cocktail sauce, and then he spent an hour garnishing away.

he even made lemon baskets.



after dinner, we opened gifts.

the boys got some toys and clothes and matching teddy bears.....


but they weren't really interested.

next year, we are going to save some money and give them a roll of wrapping paper and some bows instead.....




this little guy did a lot of sleeping.....


this little guy posed for me the whole time.....


this little guy just hung around.....


and these little girls were worn out from it all. here is Ebony and Ivory Bella konked out.....


Caleb and i have been in the house ever since taking it easy and preparing for Christmas.

how is it possible that it is only 3 days away?

catching up...again

i have been an awful blogger.

we are trying to slow down a little and really enjoy the season, so blogging has taken a back seat for now!

here is a little of what has happened since last time:

the day after thanksgiving, little man and i helped grandma and grandpapi put up their christmas tree.

their tree is ridiculous.

you have to fluff each branch in a certain way, and then attach each one in a specific row, and it takes forever.

here they are surrounded by branches.....


and here i am stringing the lights.....


somehow, i have become the designated light stringer over the years.

i love them, so i do it.

but it takes a long time, and a lot of patience.

so when we bought our tree, i knew i wanted something easy and pre-lit.

we get our entire house decorated in less time than it takes to put up their tree.

okay, i exaggerate.

slightly.

anyways, i absolutely love christmas decorations, but husband is a typical man, who doesn't really understand it all. but he loves me, and he does a wonderful job at humoring me.

i was very surprised that little man seemed to be leaving the tree alone.

until yesterday.

he started to remove ornaments, and bring them to me one by one.

so the baby gates went up, and he has been banned from the den.

i have also gotten most of our christmas shopping done. i actually did a lot online this year.

talk about easy!

i used to really enjoy going shopping - just walking through the mall with a starbucks in hand, hearing the christmas music, seeing the decorations, and just browsing.

that doesn't happen anymore when you have kids.

so online i went, and online i will be going more often!

christmas also arrived in our kitchen.....




i will not be telling you how many cookies i ate yesterday.

and last, but certainly not least, this little guy was born.....


our sweet nephew. pretty cute, huh?

we got to visit him and his mommy at the hospital with little man in tow, who was fairly oblivious to anything except eating goldfish.

we are very, very thankful for goldfish.

is this post all over the place, or what?

okay, i'll be back soon (hopefully) with more updates and pics of our decorated house!

catching up

i've thought about writing this post all week, but every time i start to sit down, i remember something else that needs to be done.

so, finally, as i ignore whatever else needs to be done, here is a quick recap of our Thanksgiving:

we all gathered at my parent's house (where we always gather), and were there for most of the day.

we had a wonderful time, full of way too much yummy food, time with lots of family, football watching, football playing, cider drinking, game playing, and on, and on.....

oh yeah, there were also some naps going on.....

what is it about Thanksgiving and naps?

little man also took a long nap upstairs (which gave bobby and me some great grown-up time!), and then woke up happy as can be.....


we played "apple to apples" for the first time, and even though the guys pretend to not like playing games, we know that secretly, they had a blast.

uncle JaiSun won, so he was in a great mood, and decided he would tickle little man.....

.....which wore him out and made him ready for bed.

so, we came straight home, and to bed he went!