Christmas at our house

We had so much fun this morning! We let Andrew crawl into the living room and he crawled right over to his presents Santa brought and wanted to get in his beanbag. The first present he opened from Mommy & Daddy was a shape sorter and he really liked it. He didn't like it when we tried to take that and get him to pull tissue paper out of his other bag of presents! So we let him play with it (after all, it can't be much fun for someone to try to take your new toy away when you don't know there are more! Or even if you do know there are more!). He got some books and cd's and onesies and a stuffed reindeer from Santa (that he immediately tried to use the lid from the shape sorter to play peek-a-boo with!) :). He had lots of fun and we did too! Now we are off to Granny's! Here are some pictures !



PS Santa brought me another memory card so I can take even more pictures and videos for everyone!

Merry Christmas!!!

Twas the night before Christmas...

Tonight we went to a Christmas Eve service and then drove around and looked at Christmas lights for a little while. The service was really nice and Andrew stayed with us and did really well (though we did have to take a little break... and then when we got back he wanted to play peek-a-boo with the people behind us). Then we went home so Andrew could get ready for bed. Of course, before we went to bed we had to leave out cookies and milk for Santa (Andrew felt like he needed a cookie too) and Andrew had to open his Christmas Eve present! Here are some pictures from our night!

Peek A Boo!

Andrew LOVES to play peek-a-boo. He will play with anything he can find. He hides behind the curtain, he pops his head up over the top of the chair, we play peek-a-boo taking his shirt on or off... the other day he was trying to play peek-a-boo when I was trying to take his picture! I guess he only saw the camera and thought I was trying to play! :) In this picture he is trying to play with Chad while Chad is outside. We usually say, "Wheere's Andrew???" and then when he looks up, "There he is!". In the last week or two he has started saying "There!" when he pops out or looks up. He's said "There-e-is!" a few times too (we think!). It is just so cute I had to share it!

Christmas Part One

Andrew and Brennan had their first gift exchange yesterday. :) They both loved their presents... Brennan is a little more proficient at opening gifts so he ended up helping Andrew too. Andrew wasn't quite sure what to do... but he loved his present! And I have to say he is the only baby I have ever known who doesn't care when a Christmas bow gets stuck on his head! Here's a couple of pics...



Then tonight, Andrew's Papaw and Ceial came over for supper and Christmas. Andrew had only napped about 15 minutes total today but he was still ready to play! We ate supper and then he got to open another present. He started to get the hang of tearing off paper this time and he really liked the bows and kept trying to stick them back on the present (he liked the box too!). :) He got a Bounce 'n' Spin Zebra. He really likes it even though he is still a little too short to bounce by himself (no problem, he'll grow into it soon enough!). Tomorrow is Christmas Eve... we will go to church and then might go to a candlelight service somewhere and then it is time for Andrew to get to bed so Santa came come! Stay tuned for Christmas Eve pics! Oh, and here are some pics from tonight too!





Oh, while I am posting, might as well throw in a few random cute Christmas time pics! :)

Even MORE Christmas fun...

Tonight we went to try to finish up Christmas shopping and look at lights. We found a house where Santa is staying until the 23rd! We took Andrew to see Santa, but he was still pretty scared and wasn't about to let go of Mommy to talk to Santa! He did get to play a little bit in Santa's workroom though and look at some of Santa's stuff. He got brave enough to let go of Mommy and sit a few feet away from Santa and look at him while some other little boys and girls told Santa what they wanted for Christmas. He wasn't sure what to think of all of the lights! He liked some of the inflatable decorations though. He found a Santa who would play peek-a-boo and disappear into the chimney and pop back up and he thought that was interesting... he was still a little scared though! Oh, and he thought that Mommy was really funny wearing a Santa hat -- the last picture is when Andrew was smiling at Santa Mommy. :)

This is too cute!

We got our Christmas card from Chandler, Georgianne, Elaina and Eva today. We all love it -- the girls are so cute! Andrew couldn't stop looking at the picture and giving the girls kisses. :) He loves other little kids... especially little girls (because they think he is adorable!) and other babies! He is going to have so much fun around his cousins in a couple of weeks!

More Christmas fun...

We had another fun winter weekend (even though it isn't really winter yet!). Friday night, we went to Zoo Lights . Unfortunately, we were having camera issues and don't have pics yet! We did take pictures on a disposable camera but we aren't sure how well they will turn out. I'll post them later if they are any good.
Yesterday, we went to Collierville to some Christmas events at the Town Square. We shopped a little at some booths and then Andrew got cookies and milk and listened to The Polar Express . We thought about trying to see Santa again but he was pretty popular so we decided to let some other kid have a chance! Here are a few pictures from yesterday.

Thanksgiving 2006

Here are some pics from our Thanksgiving. Andrew's favorite foods are all part of Thanksgiving dinner so he of course loved it! We had Thanksgiving dinner at Chad's dad's house and then drove to Nashville to spend time with Melody's family. We went shopping on Friday and then went over to Aunt Jean's on Sunday after church. Andrew had fun and he is getting SO big! :)

Just a few pics...

Just some cute pictures from yesterday...

43 days until Christmas...

And Andrew saw Santa for the first time today! We went to the Collierville Town Square to look around at the shops and see Santa and hear a few school groups sing. By the time we saw Santa, Andrew was tired and ready to go home (so were we!), but we decided to go say hi anyway since there weren't a lot of kids around. Andrew was a little concerned about going to see this strange man in a furry red suit! He didn't cry but he sure got his pout on! Santa was very nice and let Andrew try again after Andrew watched a few other kids go and tell Santa what they want for Christmas. Andrew still wasn't sure what to think. Then Santa went to walk around and Andrew sat in his chair and when Santa came back he thought he'd try a different approach. Oh, well, Santa said "maybe next year!" But then he told us he would be back December 2nd, so maybe we will go see him again then (or maybe we'll just go for the milk and cookies and stories and singing).

Just an ordinary weekend...

We didn't do anything special this weekend... which is why it was so special. It has been a long time since we haven't had somewhere to run to on a weekend and we know with the holidays coming up life is going to get even more hectic! On Saturday, we had fun introducing Andrew to the fall leaves and letting him explore our backyard and the swingset and little car we got with the house. Then we went to a park near our house so Andrew could swing in the baby swings. I made pumpkin bread (a new recipe that I didn't really like so if you have a good recipe send it my way!) and we went to the library and Andrew checked out his first books. He got Spot's Toy Box (which reminds me... if you have little ones check out Spot's Web Page ) and Five Little Monkeys Jump on the Bed, and cried when it was time to give his books to the librarian to check them out. Here are some pictures from our weekend!

Holding on to a moment...

Our Christmas tree is filled with ornaments which mean something to us -- ornaments Chad or I made while we were growing up or since we have been married, ornaments people have given us over the years, ornaments we have purchased on vacation and which tell the story of our life together. This year we get to add some more special ornaments... and I found one this past week at a conference my work hosted. I was captivated not so much by the artwork as by the poem, which you can read in part on the card above. (Not that the artwork isn't wonderful, I am just more of an artist of words than a visual artist!). It captured beautifully the miracle of the baby we are blessed to spend Christmas with this year. The artist's work is beautiful... it isn't all on her website (and unfortunately you can't read her poetry on the website), but at least you can get a taste.

Halloween 2006

Andrew had such a big day! In the afternoon, he and Kim and Brennan went to the Collierville Town Square to go Trick-or-Treating. When Chad and I got home, we all went to a church nearby that was having a Fall Festival for preschoolers. They had games set up for the kids to play and, of course, gave out candy! Andrew was too little to play most of the games, but he loved picking up ducks from the duck pond and playing in the ball pit! He was dressed as a little penguin and everyone thought he was adorable. Andrew also got presents during the day -- he got a hat full of baby treats from Martha and a tin of butter cookies from his Antzy. He thought the cookies were yummy (and the box was a hit too!). We had so much fun this Halloween! Here is a sampling of our night!

Our Fall Weekend

We had another big weekend. Yesterday we went to a Trunk-or-Treat at Melody's work. Andrew loved getting to see the other kids and babies, looking around at the Halloween decorations, and playing with the balloons (he likes to tug on the strings of helium balloons... and crawl around taking them with him too!). Then tonight we went to a family night at Grace Crossing, a church we've been visiting. We had a chili supper and an amazing devotional outside. Andrew loved the singing and looking around and playing with a basset hound puppy one of the members brought. We all had a wonderful weekend (and wish we could have taken more pictures!)

Pumpkin Patch Pics

Just some pictures from this weekend...

A night at the fair

We went to the fair tonight. Andrew was really tired at first but then he woke up and couldn't figure out where to look first. He watched a tiny bit of a circus and saw some animals at the petting zoo and got scared by Daffy Duck (Daffy gave him a kiss and startled him and he started to cry :( ). He loved looking at the baby pictures in the baby pic contest (and he would have won if we had been organized enough to enter! Not that we are at all partial...) and looking at all of the plants in the Horticulture building. He also really liked the giant Pooh Bears that people had won. We told him he had a huge Pooh Bear at home to love on. :) And of course... the best part of the fair... the FOOD! Andrew got bites of a Pronto Pup (well at least of the bread part), grilled corn, his daddy's funnel cake, and (his favorite) mommy's frozen banana-on-a-stick. He cried everytime I took the banana out of his mouth and when Chad pushed Andrew a little ahead of me in his stroller he looked back and fussed at me until I caught up and gave him another bite! We didn't stay too long, but we had fun! We are already looking forward to next year! Oh, pic to come!

9 month update

We had Andrew's 9 month checkup today (a little early). He is doing great -- he weighs almost 19 pounds and is 28" long. He had fun at the doctor's playing with other kids who came in (he and a 15 month old had a whole conversation but us mommies don't know what they said!) and playing in the waiting room. It is just amazing how much he has developed since his last visit 3 months ago! He is crawling really well now and pulling up on everything. He loves to "walk" as long as he is holding someone's hands. He's starting to get into everything. It is so much fun to see him develop his own interests and see what he is interested in (other babies, people in general, ink pens, straws, kitties, and water top the list! Oh, and of course mommy and daddy and all the other grown-ups he sees on a regular basis). He is eating mostly table food except we haven't been cooking much lately between my crazy work schedule and moving so he has still been getting some baby food too. He can say "bye" and wave bye-bye (when he wants to) and say "mama" and communicate that he wants you to pick him up. He is doing great and we are all having so much fun together! :)

Heartlight 2006

Today we went to Heartlight, a fundraiser for Melody's work. It was held at Canale Farms which is about an hour from our house. We took old-time photos (which I'll have to post later), had an ice-cream social, had lots of games, watched the ponies (Andrew trried to crawl to them the second I put him down!) , listened to great music, and hung out with a lot of friends and co-workers (who are also friends! :) ). We all had fun even though it was a tiring day. Here are some pics of our day!