Rocking Around the Christmas Tree

This is the cute picture I promised with Aunt Lindsay and Steven wearing her old hospital t-shirt. We had so much fun spending time with her and Uncle Kyle; we hope they come to visit again very soon!

O Come All Ye Faithful

Oops...I thought that the December Blog Challenge ended on Christmas Day but realized after reading Jamie's blog that that is in fact not the case. So as a faithful friend (?) I went back and added a Christmas Carol title to my posts that had otherwise boring names so that I could finish out the fun. I have also added my trophy for participating to the sidebar. Thanks, Jamie, for spicing things up!

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

We headed over to Charlton's parents' house Christmas Day after Steven's nap to be with Mimi, Popo, and his siblings. Mimi developed a good plan to open the kid's presents first so they could play until bed when we could then enjoy each other (and our presents) after they were each asleep in their own pack and plays. As a side note, maybe we should buy stock in Graco with the way things are going in our family. Last year we had two babies with a 1st Christmas and then added another this year...and everyone's just getting started.

The tricycles were a big hit! Steven and Saige look so grown-up and cute. It didn't take Steven long to figure out how to stand on the back and climb all over his. In fact, since Christmas he continually gets on and off of it all day. He hasn't quite figured out how to pedal (his feet fall a little short) but he likes to sit on it, have us pull him around in it, and put stuff in the "trunk."

Steven also got a guitar that looks just like Charlton's. He hasn't realized that he can actually play it by himself though. He generally picks it up and brings it to Charlton or I to play so that he can dance or occasionally strum it while we're holding it. During this week, I tried not to be offended when he brought it to me and then quickly took it away with a look of disgust. He keeps bringing it to me so I guess he's hoping I'll improve with practice even though I tried to explain that Daddy is the one who really knows how to play.

Johnny Cash himself

This is about the only way to get a picture of Steven and Saige together these days unless we want to subject them (and ourselves) to torture. His t-shirt was a present from Aunt Jenn and Uncle Evan and says, "I'm kind of a big deal." Very cute...however, it recently hit us that those kind of shirts can get us into trouble. A few months ago, I was looking for bibs that would go over head instead of velcro because Steven had decided that he didn't like to wear them anymore. The only ones they had at Babies R Us (appropriate for boys) were two that said "Chick Magnet" and "I'm the Boss." Even then I didn't like what the last one brought to mind but I decided since he really needed one it wasn't that big of a deal at his age. Steven is usually really good even in restaurants. However, one particular time he was teething and had a pretty big meltdown while of course wearing the "I'm the Boss" bib. We decided to only use that bib at home from then on. It's like when you see a kid with a t-shirt that says "I'm Spoiled" and they're throwing a huge fit in Target. Don't you think that that mom should discipline their child better? Jumping to conclusions maybe since everyone has those moments but the shirt seems true rather than ironic and cute.

Wow! I got so many presents this year I COULD wear a shirt that says, "I'm spoiled but I'm still sweet.",

Birthday of a King/Christmas Morning with Elmo

I kind of feel like Scrooge when people ask me what we got Steven for Christmas. We technically didn't get Steven any Christmas presents. Our reasoning is that we buy plenty of stuff for him all year around when he "needs" it and this is probably the last year we can get away with no presents on Christmas. We had bought Steven a few new sweaters a few weeks before, two small toys to keep him busy on our road trip in early Dec, and a sand/water table in the fall. See, he just got his presents early...now I'm just justifying myself to prove that I'm a good mom...I don't need to, so why do I do that...moving on... Also, all the presents that he receives from his grandparents and aunts and uncles put this kid on a whole new level of being spoiled (we just hope he never acts like it).
Anyway, we did get Steven two little things for his stocking...an Elmo and a cell phone to replace the one he got last year that broke. I never understood the whole Elmo craze. I personally always thought he was kind of annoying, but now that I have Steven, I can appreciate his odd, dare I say cute, laugh. We don't let Steven watch a lot of TV. We aren't some of those parents who won't let their children watch any, but we would rather him entertain himself by doing something else or playing outside. I turned on Sesame Street the last time I was sick (I was desperate to be able to rest), and Steven totally loved the "Elmo's World" segment which has it's own theme song. So, now we'll catch it a couple times a week and he is totally mesmerized by it. We were in Target about a month ago (he had only seen the show a few times at that point) and he started pointing and wanting the Elmo dolls that were on the shelf. One played the theme song and he started dancing in the shopping cart. This boy loves to dance...but still I was really surprised that he made the connection and recognized Elmo. Elmo's probably a conspiracy because you can see how much he loves it in these pictures- he even wanted him in the highchair while he ate his breakfast. And this Elmo doesn't even play any music.

We had a relaxing Christmas morning. I love that Steven was wearing Christmas pjs- so cute for pictures- so maybe we'll have to make that an annual thing. Charlton's cousin, Kristi, does that for her kids and I think it's a great idea. We opened stockings, had breakfast and tried to have a time of family worship. We did succeed in reading the Christmas story so maybe we can incorporate the Christmas carols we intended to get to next year. Family traditions are a work-in-progress, right? After Steven's nap we headed over to Charlton's parent's house for our Christmas with them.

Here Comes Santa Claus/Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve at my parent's house with them, Aunt Lindsay, Uncle Kyle, and Gama. It was just as nice being so close by for Christmas as it was for Thanksgiving. =)

Mammaw and Pappaw got Steven this car which he absolutely LOVED! We're going to keep this one at their house, and the times I've taken Steven over to their house since Christmas he already makes straight for it. He won't actually put his feet down when he gets in it so we'll have to work on him making himself go.

Charlton's helping him unwrap a present. Steven still wasn't that into the wrapping paper and packages until they were all opened and crumbled, so we ended up opening most of his presents for him.

Aunt Lindsay made my mom a scrapbook of Steven's first year for Christmas and she was thrilled to finally get to see it.

Steven really loves "using" the Swifter around our house and thinks the broom is really funny when I use it. So, I told my mom that Steven would probably like one his own size. Interestingly enough, "Dirt Devil" could probably describe Steven on certain days as well.

Opening his stocking with Mammaw.

I had to change Steven three times that day. He got his red polo shirt really messy during lunch (that was probably my fault since I forgot to pack a bib) but I had grabbed an extra t-shirt just in case. Then after his nap, his sippy cup lid came off while he was drinking his water and soaked his t-shirt and jeans. Mammaw came to the rescue with an old hospital t-shirt that was Aunt Lindsay's (there's a really cute picture of them together that I'll post when I get it) and it fit him perfectly while his clothes were in the dryer. Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Kyle also attended the Christmas Eve service with us at our new church that evening.

I'll Be Home For Christmas/Stocking Photo Shoot

This post marks the beginning of many Christmas pictures to come. Just remember that you were warned, because it's hard for me to pick out just a few pictures to post so usually many get chosen instead.

We went to church Sunday morning (Christmas Eve Eve) with my parents. Steven wore his "Christmas" sweater and I was shocked at how grown up he looked; although, I wasn't shocked by how cute he looked. =) After his nap, we put the sweater back on to take pictures by the tree and with his stocking. Charlton's really good at making him laugh and smile for the pictures and put one of Steven's toys in his stocking so that he would be more interested in it. He didn't get his actual stocking until Christmas morning.

Another comparison between last year and this year.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Gonna Find Out Who's Naughty or Nice

The Most Wonderful Day of the Year

This weekend we traveled (without the little man) to College Station, TX to attend my sister's graduation from Texas A&M University. It not only marks Lindsay's completion of school but also the completion of graduations in our two families until Steven and Saige graduate from high school (I don't want to even think about that!).

We drove in Friday night and had an excellent dinner at Christopher's World Grill with my parents, Lindsay, and Kyle. It was so nice to be able to enjoy the food and conversation without constant interruption (I won't say by whom...). Lindsay graduated on Saturday morning; there were several babies around us that did pretty well but I was very happy that we didn't force Steven to sit through the ceremony for all our sakes. That afternoon we went to celebrate at a friend's house before driving back to pick up Steven.

Walking in...Our view of the stage...

at Lindsay's graduation partySteven had a good time at Mimi and Popo's while we were away.

Still, Still, Still

3 cousinsSteven smothering Meadow with a hug and kissLast weekend we traveled to see Charlton's grandparents and have the annual family Christmas gathering for all Charlton's aunts, uncles, and cousins. I didn't get a chance to post these pics before we left for this weekend's festivities but I'm a creature of habit and have to go in order so you get these first. It was great to see everyone and spend some extra time with Ma and Pa by ourselves. We were also excited for Steven (15 mos.), Billie (15 mos.), and Saige (16 mos.) to be able to play together this year since last year they were pretty much oblivious to each other's existence as you can tell from this picture:
what a difference a year makes...