It's the most wonderful time of the year!

We had a wonderful holiday! Christmas Eve we had dinner at our house with my family & Haley's friend Eric. It was a nice relaxing dinner followed by a fun game of Scene It Squabble. The girls won, by the way! ;o)

Christmas morning was so much fun! I was most excited about the train table that we got for Jonathan. I knew he'd love it, and I was right. We waited to show it to him until after we'd opened all other gifts. I knew if he saw it first we wouldn't be able to pull him away from it to open anything else. His face was priceless.




We were all very blessed this year. My mom made me a gorgeous ring & necklace. I'll have to take some pictures & post them. She did a great job! She also made Haley a ring & a pair of earrings. She also made all of us ornaments with a reindeer made with Jonathan's thumbprint. So precious! I know that ornament will be one of our most prized in the years to come. Haley got me the 20th anniversary edition of Monster Squad. We loved this movie growing up; I can't wait to watch it! I could list all the other gifts we got, but that could take awhile.

After gifts we made breakfast & just chilled out. Once Jonathan got up from his nap we headed over to Chris' parents for lunch & gifts. Picasa will only let me do 4 pics at a time, so I'm going to do a separate post about our Christmas over there.... stay tuned!

Merry Christmas!

"That was crazy!"

Jonathan has a new favorite phrase; "That was crazy!" Where he picked that up I have no idea. He says it a lot when we "shoot hoops" with the basketball goal he got for his birthday. Today one of us missed a shot and he says, "Almost! That was crazy! Shoot!" It was hysterical. He speaks in "complete" sentences most of the time now and we can pretty much understand what he's saying all of the time.

Yesterday we braved the mall to get pictures taken with Santa. I use the phrase "braved the mall" very loosely as there were not very many people there & no lines for Santa! Amazing! Last year Jonathan was anything but pleased to sit in the big man's lap. I made a point this time to talk about where we were going & who we were going to see. I kept asking him if he was going to sit in Santa's lap & get his picture taken. He was very excited about it. Until we got there. He didn't cry or anything, which is an improvement, but once we got up there & I asked if he wanted to sit in Santa's lap he just shook his head no. Once he found out that he got a candy cane his opinion changed slightly. LOL He still wasn't thrilled with the idea, as you can tell, but no tears, so that's good. We wound up seeing two Santa's. Expecting a big line we parked outside Bass Pro Shops knowing that Santa was just outside the store within the mall. Little did I know they had their very own Santa. After we saw him we went out into the mall & I noticed there wasn't a line for the other Santa either! Why not visit two? I knew I could use my own camera at the other one so we headed over there too. Again, all Jonathan cared about was the candy, but he did good. He's so funny when he get's nervous; he just kind of freezes & sits very still. It was all Santa could do to get Jonathan to look at him. ;o)



Every year of Jonathan's life (all two of them) I've taken a picture of him with a Santa hat on & made a Christmas ornament. I hadn't been able to get a very good picture yet this year. Mostly due to the "cheese face" I usually get when the camera comes out. Today I decided to try a little photo shoot to see what I could get. I thought this one turned out pretty good. Unfortunately we ran out of tri-color ink so the pictures aren't printing right. Sadly the ornaments probably won't get done until after Christmas this year.


Is there anything better than licking the beater when making cookies? I didn't think so. I've been on some sort of cookie making mission this year. The holidays have just put me in the mood I guess. I found a recipe for sugar cookies on Weight Watchers' website that I'd been wanting to try. Let me just say... they're not very good. ;o/ Jonathan seems to like them though, so he can have them. After that disappointing run I decided to make Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookies (minus the nuts). Of course I had to lick the beaters when I was done, and Jonathan got in on the fun! This was his first time so of course I had to take some pictures. I think they'll make a really cute scrapbook page. ;o)


Speaking of Weight Watchers. Ack. Oprah had a great quote in a recent issue of People magazine where she talked about her contiuing struggles with her weight. She said (I'm paraphrasing), "I didn't just fall off the wagon, I let the wagon fall on me." That's totally where I'm at right now. I've made jokes about having been off the wagon so long I didn't know where it was. I've said that every time I get a foot back on the wagon it slips out from under me. But Oprah's quote really sums it up. I need to do some real soul searching & figure out what to do. I know I can't let myself just get back into my old way of life, though it seems like that's where I may be headed. I KNOW what I need to do, it's just DOING it that seems to be the problem right now. I have to come out of this on the other side; healthier, more confident, with more energy... this valley just seems to be really wide right now.

Okay, that turned into kind of a bummer post. Sorry about that. ;o)

A big day!!!

What's the point in apologizing for being a crappy blogger when I don't seem to do anything about it? I'm sure I'll have lots to talk about in the coming week though with Christmas right around the corner.

Something big happened tonight (12.18.08 for documentations sake) at our house... Jonathan went pee pee on the potty for the first time!!! My boy is growing up so fast! At bathtime we've been putting him on the potty while we fill the tub. Mostly because he's peed on the floor a time or two. Everytime I tell him, "go pee pee on the potty", but he didn't ever seem to grasp what I was saying. I'm still not 100% convinced he really knew what he was doing tonight... but after the fuss we put up about it maybe he'll put two & two together. I don't know that we're quite ready to jump into potty training with both feet, but I figure this is a step in the right direction. I may try putting him on there again tomorrow & seeing what happens.

Oh! And a photo I can torture him with when he's 16! ;o) (What do you think of the bow? LOL)


Well, I'm off to bed. I'm planning to take Jonathan to the mall tomorrow to have his picture taken with Santa. I'll be sure & post pics soon!

Run to Me

Saw this over on Major Bedhead & didn't have anything else to post... so here goes:

1. Put your iTunes or MP3 player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer

YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY? You Got it All – The Jets
WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? Sun and Moon – Miss Saigon Soundtrack
WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? Old Toy Trains – Roger Miller
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? The Way – Clay Aiken
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? What Are You Doing New Years Eve – Clay Aiken
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? Again, Again – Lady GaGa
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? The Weight of Lies – The Avett Brothers
WHAT IS 2+2? Dangerous – Michael Jackson
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? Danger Zone – Top Gun Soundtrack
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE? Grace of God – Clay Aiken
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? Hard Candy Christmas – Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? Cover Girl – New Kids on the Block
WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? I Still Believe in Santa Claus – New Kids on the Block
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? Ten Little Indians – Children’s Favorite Songs
WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? Sleigh Ride – Clay Aiken
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? Bella’s Lullaby – Carter Burwell
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST? Coventry Carol – Cambridge King’s Chorus
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? Bad – Michael Jackson (LOL)
WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN? Everything I Don’t Need – Clay Aiken
HOW WILL YOU DIE? The Way You Make Me Feel – Michael Jackson
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET? You Are My Joy – David Crowder Band
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH? Just the Girl – The Click Five
WHAT MAKES YOU CRY? Rock With You – Michael Jackson
WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED? ABC – Jackson 5
WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST? Back to School Again – The Four Tops
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? Hangin’ Tough – New Kids on the Block
WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW? Blessed Be Your Name – Passion Worship Band
WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS? Run to Me – Clay Aiken

sorry for the quality

of these pics, but what can you expect from a camera phone? Nearly every time I pull out my phone Jonathan starts saying "Cheese!" & wants me to take his picture. So, here are a couple from the last few days.




Enjoy!