More Christmas!

More about our Christmas this year!

*Christmas season seemed to start this year with my family going to Salado, TX, the weekend of my dad and Thomas' birthday. I loved seeing the cute town all decorated for Christmas and going in and out of cute shops (or at least trying with our active boy!). That really got me in the Christmas spirit.

*A week ago Monday, my mom, sister, and I got together at my parents' house and baked all night long. It was SO much fun to have girl talk, be silly, and bake all of our favorite Christmas treats!

*I already blogged about the North Pole Express, but that was one of my favorite things we did this Christmas! While we were there, we also toured the neat Christmas lights at Frisco's city hall, sled down an ice hill in an intertube (I was the only adult who did this), spent the night at my brother's house in Frisco, ate at my all-time favorite breakfast restaurant, The Original Pancake House, the next morning, and did a little shopping before heading back home.

*Saturday night, everyone came over to our house to eat and watch the Cowboys. Some of us worked on a Christmas puzzle, which I always love doing!

*Sunday, we had our Christmas service at church and sang a lot of Christmas Carols. We then ate Sunday lunch at Elizabeth and Bryon's house. That night, everyone came back over to our house to watch Christmas movies.

*Monday was lunch at our favorite hamburger place, last minute shopping with Elizabeth, hanging out, Mexican food at my parents', watching A Christmas Carol while drinking eggnog, and then off to bed for Santa!

*Christmas morning was so much fun with our little James! It started at our house, seeing what all Santa had brought! He came out in Josh's arms, wiggled down, crouched down, and then ran to all of his toys, going from toy to toy playing. It was so much fun to see him so excited on Christmas morning! We then went over to my parents and had more Christmas fun! Christmas morning is my absolute favorite time of the year. We got started on our egg casserole, got to hear all about what Santa had brought the kids, and then opened all of our presents from one another. James had never been as wild as he was on Christmas day. He was moving non-stop the entire day, excited, and talking about his gifts.

*Last night, Josh and I took down everything Christmas and I redecorated! We couldn't take it anymore, as much as James was in to everything! It feels so good, too!

That's about it! Here are some of my favorite pictures from Christmas! I hope everyone's Christmas was wonderful!

James in his chair that Santa brought over to Nana and Deedah's house!

Merry Christmas!

Thanks to Kimberly P. for taking these pictures for us!

The best Santa picture we could get! Owell! :)

North Pole Express

This has been a wonderful Christmas season! I have several experiences to share from the last few weeks.

*We tried to take Santa pictures at the mall, and James was petrified of "Ho Ho". We walked up to Santa, and James starting clinging to Josh's arm. I had a feeling it wasn't going to go well this year, and I was right!! He cried and cried. I even tried to get in there, but he was done. I was happy that we hadn't wasted too much time, because we'd gone at an off time, and we didn't have to order the picture. We tried again on Friday night in Grapevine, and he did better. I didn't even try to put him down without me. I just got in the picture with him and he did OK. He was in the middle of a blink, but I'll take what I can get at this point! Hopefully next year will be better! I will scan that picture soon.

*James only broke 3 Christmas decorations this year!! ;) He threw two Christmas coasters on the tile floor and ripped the arms off of the wooden toy soldier that I love. My aunt made it and carried it all the way from New York to Texas this summer. When he broke it, he said, "Oh NO!" I couldn't get mad at him, and luckily, I can easily hot glue it back together.

*James has been a little doll this Christmas, and we've had more fun introducing him to Christmas traditions. He won't remember anything, but it's fun anyway! We have watched almost every Christmas show and movie. He loved most of them, but he was not a fan of "The Grinch". He was trying hard not to cry, and it about broke my heart. I didn't notice it at first, but I heard a few whimpers, looked over at him, and his face was getting red, tears were welling up, and then he said, "Mama...Mama...Mama". We won't be watching that one again!

*My whole family went to Grapevine Friday night for the North Pole Express ride. It's a train that looks just like the Polar Express train, and the kids loved it! They sang Christmas songs, and Santa even came! Here is a slideshow of some of the pictures my sister took.


**Don't forget to email me if you want to read my blog after I make it private!** (read blog below)

Hey guys! I am going to make my blog private. If you read my blog, and I don't have your email address to invite you, please email me at laurentx20@hotmail.com. If I know you or know of you, I will be happy to invite you to read! If I have your email address, I will be sending you an invitation soon...no need to respond to this.

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MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Family tree chart

Hang your Stockings with Care!

On Thursday afternoon, James got the worst bump he's gotten so far. He pulled on one of our stockings, and the stocking holder (which is pretty heavy), came crashing down right in between his eyebrows. First of all, I have to say how incredibly thankful I am that it didn't land on one of his eyes, because I think he really might have been blind from it. It was so sad, and I felt so guilty, because it was my fault for putting it there, but he, like always, got over it pretty quickly. Ever since it happened, though, we have gotten more laughs, because the little guy has turned into quite the storyteller. James has "told me" the story of what happened I can't even tell you how many times. The first time he told me what happened, I couldn't believe it! I laughed so hard, which is probably why I've heard it so many times now. Then, he just would bring it up out of nowhere. He would say, "Dididididi socks!(while pointing to the mantle) ....Ahhhhhhh!(then point to his bump)". I started telling a friend about it on the phone, and he stopped what he was doing, and "retold" the story. Then, the next day, he got on the phone with my mom. He started "retelling" the story to her, with hand-motions and all, and when I asked my mom if she had asked James about it, she said, "No! I just asked him how he was doing!". He'll even add sometimes, "I tieee", which is "I sorry". I feel badly for him, but we have had more fun talking about it since it happened!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

1980

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(notice how my dad is holding James the same way he held me)

My dad's birthday is today, and I decided for his birthday this year to write a blog tribute to him. Here are a few things in no particular order that I love about my dad.

Since it's Christmastime, I thought I'd start out with this story...
My dad made our Christmases growing up the most exciting they could possibly be. He really got into them, would read us tons of Christmas stories, made sure we watched Christmas movies, and on Christmas morning, he would make the anticipation of Santa almost unbearable. Every year on Christmas morning, we would be excitedly waiting behind the last wall before you could see the toys/gifts Santa left for us (Santa brought us things until about the time Matthew arrived, and then he started bringing the grandchildren toys). My dad would go into the living room, start the fire, come out, and say (word for word), "Well kids, it looks like Santa made a big mistake! He left WAY too many toys!" We would follow that up with squealing/screaming, and then run out as fast as we could. Nothing was more exciting!

My dad provided such a safe, secure, loving home for us to grow up in that I am eternally grateful to him.

My dad has a huge heart and is a softy for his family. I always felt lucky to be one of his.

My dad is an incredibly unique person. He is interesting, the smartest person I know, well spoken, funny, quirky, generous, charming, passionate, sentimental, and many more things.

My dad is meticulous about taking care of his things. You will not find an item out of place or a speck of dirt on the floor. I laugh out loud when I go into his closet and see each shirt perfectly spaced apart. He passed this on to my brother, too!

Growing up, my dad loved more than anything to be with my mom, sister, brother, and me. We felt so special because of this. He was able to come home at 4:30 or 5:00 every day, and he would take us in the backyard and play sports, ride bikes, or just run around with us. He made it very clear we were his top priority. I didn't sit there and reflect on that as a kid, but I knew it. I LOVED special time with my dad, like going to McDonald's to get a Happy Meal, going to the movies just the two of us, going to father/daughter things together that he would never miss and thoroughly enjoyed. He also read to us and/or told us a story (he was an awesome story teller) as he put us to bed every night. This has carried over to him being an excellent, hands-on grandfather who adores his grandkids. He is such a neat, loving grandfather, and all four of his grandkids adore him! He beings four pieces of chocolate to church for his four specials little ones, he loves to get them all riled up and then hand them back to us, he takes them on rides in his convertible, and many more things that are making such special memories for them.

We love how much my dad loves my mom. He always wants to be with her. It is so neat to see a couple married as long as they have been, enjoy each other as much as they do. My mom and I teared up recently talking about how much we love Dad, and she says that he was so easy to love and be married to, some of the reasons being that he was devoted, honest, forgiving, gave the most sincere apologies, hard working, humble, sweet, and consistent, not to mention fun to be married to. They are such a great example of what a Christian couple should be. I am SO thankful to have them as role models.

My dad wanted us kids to go on a trip every summer with Mom and him. My brother, sister, and I called them "educational opportunities". He would research the place for about a year and would plan it out to a T. Everything went smoothly with my dad.

My dad was the one we would go to when we were having the bigger problems growing up. We told my mom the little things, but we wanted to go to my dad with the bigger things. He was the best at saying the right thing to make it all better, and it made perfect sense when he said it! He is incredibly wise.

Every so often, my dad will tear up when we're all together, talking about how much God has blessed him with our family. My dad is a strong man of God, who truly lives out his faith. He has been an incredible example to us on how you never lose your passion for Christ and you never stop growing in your faith.

Today is also my nephew, Thomas' birthday. My sister, Elizabeth, wrote a blog tribute to him today if you'd like to check it out!

Georgia's #1 in this house!

Okay, it's official, James has decided to be a #1 Georgia fan along with his daddy! Somehow he picked up perfectly along with way the Georgia cheer (whatever you call that), and it's one of the things he says best! He says, "Goooooooo, Dog! Woo-woo-woo-woo" and does the hand motions perfectly! The only thing he leaves out is the "sic'em" part in the middle. I kinda knew he would be, and I think it's really cute to see Josh beam when he does that. He says that every time he sees football on tv, but what made it official was what he did this morning. Josh was just putting him in his car seat and was wearing a Georgia hat (it has a big G logo on it). James saw his hat and said, "Goooooo, Dog! Woo-woo-woo-woo!". When and how did he learn the Georgia logo??? We have no clue, but I guess it's official!

This is more evidence that James is paying attention to everything, whether we think he is or not. Yesterday, we went to pick up Josh for lunch, and when we got up to his office building, he said, "Daddy!!!". Well, when we got to the parking lot before the parking lot of his office to take him back after lunch, James started saying, "Bye, Daddy!" over and over! He did the same thing with my mom the other day during her lunch break. We had gone shopping, and on our way back to my mom's office, she got her purse ready in her lap, and James said, "Bye, Nana!". It's so crazy to me how aware he is of everything we do.

The picture above is a picture of us last night at our church's Children's Christmas program. James sat perfectly still in his daddy's lap most of the time, which is so rare for him (and nice for us). He was obviously enjoying the music very much!

James is happy and he knows it!

James really gets into the "then your face will surely show it" part of If you're happy and you know it.

Tina Fey and I think alike!

This is spooky! I got my People magazine today, see an ad for American Express with Tina Fey on it, and I decide to read the whole ad, because I think she's hilarious. It was a questionaire, and one of the questions was her Perfect Day. This is what she put...

"coffee/playground/nap/exercise/flea market/playground/bath time/dinner with grownups/see a great movie/asleep by 9pm"

Now, if you'll recall, I posted a couple of weeks ago my perfect day, and it was eerily similar!

Here's what I put...

"Josh and I wake up 30 minutes before James(who has slept late), have our coffee talk, James wakes up, we eat blintz (that my mom just happened to bring over for us to eat), we go to the park and play, we go shopping and find a really good deal for each of us, we come home and take a nap all at the same time (just long enough to make us feel refreshed), we wake up and get ready for dinner with friends, go to dinner and the food was delicious, we rent a movie on our way home, play with James, get snuggles from James after his bath, put him to bed, pop popcorn, watch the movie that happens to be fantastic!"

Does anyone else think that's crazy? She must read my blog! Ha! ;) I wish I could contact her and send her this. Mine was a little wordier, but we pretty much said the same thing, except she included exercising and I included eating. That was spooky!

Thanksgiving in Atlanta

We got back Saturday from spending a week in Atlanta for Thanksgiving! Every year we have been able to do that but 1, when I was teaching through Tuesday one year, and it is one of our favorite things we do all year! My sweet, smart, and beautiful niece, Josie, blogged so well about some of our trip, so you'll have to check it out! We had a wonderful time, as always, with everyone, and we got to see almost every relative on Josh's mom and dad's side in one day! We are so thankful for that! Here are some highlights from the trip
* James slept in my arms almost the whole way on the plane ride to Atlanta.
* Besides the first night, he slept pretty well the whole week for not being in his crib.
* James recognized Papa Joe when he picked us up Sunday afternoon from the airport, immediately went to him, and wouldn't go back to us to get in the car without some persuading.
* We had the best time spending all of Monday at Jerrod (Josh's brother) and Amy's house, spending lots of time playing with our adorable nieces and nephews.
* James got to see Amy's dad's cows right up close and loved it!
* Josh's cousin, Jennifer, just got engaged, so we got to see her with her ring and new fiance, and talk wedding talk.
* We spent Monday night, Tuesday, Wednesday, and 1st half of Thursday at Aunt Ally and Uncle Eddie's house with Josh's mom and cousins.
*Jo Anna (Josh's sis) and Hannah came over to see us the first half of the week as much as they could with school still going on, and then we got to spend pretty much the rest of the week with them.
*James went a little nuts with all the attention he received and cracked us up all week. He was the biggest ham for the family all week!
*He is saying new names for people...Aunt Jo Anna is "Jo-Jo", Aunt Amy is "Mamy"(like Amy with an M in front), Papa Joe is "Papa", Josie is "Jo", this was my favorite-Hannah is "Nina". Those were the most clear. He almost said Jerrod, Jackson, and Jeb's names, but they weren't too understandable. He would whine and whine and whine for Nina and Jo, and loved every second of their attention.
*We spent the last half of Thursday and Friday at Papa Joe's house.
*Jo Anna and I got up early and went shopping on Friday. It is one of our fun traditions that I appreciate even more now, since getting up early is a little easier than it used to be. We got some good deals, but I had to be reserved in my buying, since we were flying home. I got some good ideas from Christmas presents, though, that I'm going to start on this week!
*We had the best time on Friday night at Jo Anna and Charles's house. We had our family Christmas with them, since we won't be there for Christmas, had a great meal cooked by Charles, and exchanged presents! James had the best time out of everyone, I think. He really enjoyed every second of the festivities.

We got up EARLY EARLY Saturday morning and flew out at 6:30 am Atlanta time, which is 5:30 am Texas time. The good thing in getting up that early is that it makes traveling so much easier! The main reason we did it was it saved us $200, but there was hardly a line at security, which is much appreciated when you have an extremely active toddler!

Yesterday, we rested, started decorating, watched lots of college football, and ate yummy turkey soup that Elizabeth made for us last night. Today was lots of fun, because I got to see Christine at church this morning, and then we spent the rest of the day decorating, cleaning, organizing, and just chilling before the work week starts!

Well, I'm off to bed! I hope everyone has a wonderful start to the Christmas season!!

James' First Haircut and Our Date with Matthew

Our little boy looks more like a big boy now, because he got his first haircut yesterday!













He would not sit still, except while he was eating his twix bar. Too bad I didn't have more than one, because the rest of the time, he was wiggling and trying his best to get out of the situation! He has a twix smear on his forehead from when the barber was cutting (trying to cut) the front part.



















We laughed because here, you see him eating. It looked pretty neat!













THEN...he takes his hand away, and you see this...













Here's the finished product! I think it looks adorable on him!

































Last night, we took out Matthew for a special time. James LOVED having Matthew there with him! Matthew is turning 8 on Sunday, and I just love the "big kid" Matthew is turning into. He made me an aunt, and he was my world from the minute he was born (besides a little issue at first with me not being the baby of the family anymore...that seems crazy to me now! Ha!). Josh and I love spending time with you, Matthew, and we are so proud to be your Aunt and Uncle!


























I hope everyone has a very blessed and happy Thanksgiving!

Questionaire

1. Name: Lauren
2. Birthday: April 24
3. Birthplace: Birmingham, AL
4. Eye Color: Blue
5. Hair Color: Dark Brown
6. Height: 5'7
7. Ethnicity: Caucasian
8. Weakness: good food at expensive restaurants, James clothes, cute shoes
9. Most missed memory: 1)college 2)Harding in Florence
10. Thoughts first waking up: Coffee! Seriously...the first thought!
11. Last time you cried: I cried a few days ago watching a touching video on the computer.
12. Song title that currently says how you feel: Something that has to do with being sick, since I have a bug and allergies right now
13. What is the perfect day for you: Josh and I wake up 30 minutes before James(who has slept late), have our coffee talk, James wakes up, we eat blintz (that my mom just happened to bring over for us to eat), we go to the park and play, we go shopping and find a really good deal for each of us, we come home and take a nap all at the same time (just long enough to make us feel refreshed), we wake up and get ready for dinner with friends, go to dinner and the food was delicious, we rent a movie on our way home, play with James, get snuggles from James after his bath, put him to bed, pop popcorn, watch the movie that happens to be fantastic! (That was fun thinking that out! I can think of other great combos, but I'll leave it at that)
14. Ever been asked for an autograph? Only as a teacher signing a yearbook
15. How do you vent anger? talk it out, cry
16. Who do you talk to most on the phone? longest amount of time- a tie between Amber, Amanda W, and Kim.
17. As a kid, were you a lego builder? If my brother wanted me to play with him
18. Do you chew on your straws? Yes.
19. Do you sing in the shower? Yes!
20. Who's the last person you stayed up late talking to on the phone to? I hardly talk late anymore, so probably Josh when he was out of town
21. The last place you went to in a plane? Atlanta
22. Do you cry at weddings? Yes
23. Are you afraid of the dark? Yes, never thought about it, but I really am!
24. What are you addicted to? Coffee, James, my friends' blogs
25. Crunchy or creamy peanut butter? I have to switch back and forth
26. Who do you fight with the most? I hate fighting, I talk things out mostly
27. Who can you tell anything to? Josh-it goes nowhere
28. Who can't you get enough of? my little family-Josh and James
29. Who makes you laugh the most? Josh and James
30. What is the worst feeling ever? When someone is hurting
31. How many pillows do you sleep with? I've recently gone from 2 to 1
32. How many rings before you answer your phone? However close I am to the phone.
33. How many times do you press the "snooze" button? Josh is in charge of the alarm, but he never does.
34. How do you sleep? On my right side to fall asleep, then on my back. I used to sleep on my tummy until I was pregnant, and it's never been the same.
35. Last time you laughed: Today when James was doing something he shouldn't have been (hitting his mama), I turned my head and bit my cheeks, pulled myself together, and then disciplined him (more on that in another blog!)
36. Ever looked at someone ugly and said "EWWW"? Probably when I was younger and immature...sadly.
37. What is your favorite color? hard to say, blue, green, pink, brown, black
38. What is your favorite state? Texas

I love reading these, so I tag all of my blog friends!

Future GQ model?

I was snapping some pictures this morning before church, and James actually just stopped and posed like this! Check out his feet in the second picture. He has really big feet, and these shoes seem to enhance that fact. :)

My boys rough-housing

Random Tidbits

This has been a busy but wonderful week. Our church held a marriage seminar Sunday-Wednesday night that was excellent (our preacher blogged a little about it here). I love going to things like this, because you end up taking a little nugget from each night that stays with you for the rest of your life!

Here are a few new things James has said lately:
~~Last night, Josh and I were driving up to Taco Bueno and James said, "Nana! Deedah!". They weren't there, and we weren't meeting them there, but when my family meets up for a meal, that is one of the 3 places we go.
~~James has played with the Thomas the Train table at Barnes and Noble a couple of times, and Friday night, my parents took him there while Josh and I went out to dinner. They said that when they pulled up, to the parking lot, James said, "Choo-Choo!".
~~This is my favorite... When I went to pick him up from class one night after the marriage seminar, James got me face to face and said, "Mama, Dabatikaputa (something like that) bubbles!" I asked his teacher, "Did y'all play with bubbles tonight?" and he said, "Yes."! He reported to me for the first time what he did in class! That was a big moment to me.
~~James has a name for Elizabeth now! We've been trying to get him to say Auntie Beth for her, but he never would. We then decided we didn't like it, because Auntie Beth kinda makes you think of Anti-Beth. Elizabeth and I agreed on EB. James wouldn't call her that, but he has decided her name should be BB! It's so cute coming out of his mouth, and since he came up with it, Elizabeth approves! She said at church one night this week that he said, "Hey, BB!"
(I can't wait to hear what names he comes up with for the rest of our family! So far it's Nana for both grandmas, Deedah, Nana (for Hannah), BB, GG for my grandma, he said Jo once for Josie, and then he mumbles things that start with the letter of their names for Papa Joe, Matthew, Thomas, Mary Beth, Jackson, and Jeb.)

James is starting to know and love people who are not in his family, but are around him on a regular basis. One girl in my class named Jordan is one of James' favorite people. He gets excited when he sees her after class at MDO (she always gives him tons of attention). Yesterday, Amber's husband, James, said that my James saw him in the halls at church bringing Amber lunch, and he got really excited and tried to get out of line to go to him. He's turning into a little person! This makes me think about how when I was exactly James' age, we moved from Tuscaloosa to Abilene. I got really attached to an elderly lady (the mother of the professor who brought my dad from UofA to ACU), and I wouldn't go to anyone but her! That's crazy to me that we were at the same age!

James makes old people's days at the grocery store, because something about being there turns him into a greeter. He will make a connection with one and talk to them for as long as they'll sit there and talk back!

Well, I didn't mean for this to turn into a James update, but I thought those were worthy of sharing! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Pictures from our Halloween

I just love Halloween! We started our celebration on Tuesday with dressing up in our costumes, class parties, and office trick-or-treating at Mother's Day Out. I don't have these pictures yet, but I dressed up as a country bumpkin/cowgirl. It was hilarious watching James and his class try to take pictures. James saw me and started crying for me, which got a couple others crying for the class picture, but what else can you expect from the 1's class?! James' teacher said that he and one other are the class parrots, and they were getting them to say trick-or-treat! I tried and tried to get him to say it, but he wouldn't say it for me.




















Last night was Trunk-or-Treat at our church. Josh had strep throat, so he came for pictures and to watch James play from a distance. It just about broke his heart to not pick him up and kiss him. He's feeling much better tonight thankfully!







The night ended with us going to Elizabeth and Bryon's neighborhood to do a little trick-or-treating. We got the biggest kick out of James, because he was trick-or-treating like a pro! So different than last year, when he was just 6 months old! He was not a bit timid wiggling his way through the bigger kids, going right up to the lady with the candy, and putting his hand out. After he got his candy, he'd say, "Thace" (thanks) and then "buh-bye!" over and over again until we would be out of sight. The most he said it to one person was about 15 times! It was so much fun seeing him trick-or-treat for real this year! I also loved going around with Matthew, Thomas, and Mary Beth. Matthew is a teenager-in-training, and one teenage boy shouted, "Your costume RULES!", and you would have thought he had just won a million dollars. It was hilarious how excited he got!

Fun at the Ranch

Saturday night, my dad, mom, James, and I went out to a ranch and had such a fun time (Josh had somewhere to be that night). All of James' favorite things were out there: horses, cows, doggies, tractors, and space to run around and explore! James rode a horse for the first time (in my lap), and it was the sweetest thing how excited he got. He was giggling non-stop for the first few minutes on the horse. It was one of those moments that I will never forget. James also had a blast with his Deedah (my dad). I just melts my heart watching my parents with my little boy. Deedah showed James the tractor.

It was a BIG tractor, so James was a little timid when we got up to it, but he eventually warmed up to it and loved it. Halfway through the night, Bryon showed up with Matthew, Thomas, and Mary Beth (Elizabeth was out of town). We had a wonderful time and beautiful Fall weather to go with it!

Pumpkin Patch Pics

My friend, Amber, and I took our boys to the Pumpkin Patch today to try to take their pictures. They were not cooperating very much with us, but we managed to get a few cute ones!