Christmas Memories 2008

We had a great Christmas - lots of fun this year with Jackson. We took almost 200 pictures, so be glad that I have narrowed them down. :) On Christmas Day, we woke up at 5:45 am (we think the steroid shot was messing with J's sleep a little bit) and Jackson got to practice opening gifts. He had a great time (sorry no pictures b/c we realized our camera batteries were dead)! Then it was onto my parents' house for more celebration. . .

Mimi made Jackson a pancake in the shape of an airplane! Eggs and pancakes for J - yum!

Then J helped B.B. read the Christmas story.

Time to tear into the gifts! He would tear the paper into tiny pieces. After he opened his gifts, he decided he would steal everyone else's presents and help open them.

After all the exciting gift-opening (boy were there a lot of gifts), it was time for a nap and then time to hang out on the couch with dad and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Dad, Grammy, Me and Jackson

Mom, Jackson, Mama and Me

Christmas Night we headed to Grandmother's house (Jeremy's mom). We celebrated Christmas with everyone there on Friday. More gifts for everyone!

Family pic with Jeremy in his hunting gear

Judson telling Uncle Jeremy to wake up and come eat Grandmother's great dinner!

Look what Santa brought Jackson AND Judson - a tool bench (one for each, of course). :) They're not really into sharing.

Jackson dancing/laughing while looking for something to fix with his screwdriver.

Posing for a quick picture. . .

Catching Judson in the act. Fun memory - by the end of the day, Jackson would go over to Judson and say, "No, no, Judson!"

Playing with the toolbench and Aunt Glenda - boy is she fun!

Jackson, Granny, and Aunt Cotton

We are extremely blessed. Although our house now looks like a toy store (and Jackson's new word is "open" as he thinks all gifts are for him), it was wonderful to spend time with family and celebrate the true reason for Christmas. From our house to yours - hope your Christmas was very merry!

Merry Christmas

Visit my college friend's, Courtney, business website - Come Together Cards

Christmas Memories

Christmas 2008 will always be remembered as the Christmas when Jackson had the bad rash (reaction to his antibiotic for his ear infection). After numerous calls to the doctor and a visit this morning (Christmas Eve), J got a steroid shot and a prescription for more steroids for this weekend, if needed. We are praying that this keeps the rash from getting worse - as the doctor said - our goal is for it to stay the same - not get worse.

When we went to get the prescription filled, Jackson saw the Mickey Mouse balloon and was so excited. I decided he deserved it. You can't really tell from the pictures, but the rash is all over his entire body (fingers, feet, neck, ears, etc.).

Can it get much better than this? Watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with my Mouse balloon, blanket (bibbet as J calls it), and Mickey Mouse plush toy. Well, I guess it would be better if I didn't have this yucky rash all over my entire body.

Fun memories of coloring and playing with play-doh on my new toddler table while dancing to the music of my gingerbread house.

And, of course, being silly with Mommy's glasses. I love playing with her glasses cases!
(this picture was pre-rash)

Santa and a Sucker

My hairdresser, Jajuan, invites Santa to her salon every year so that all her customers' kids can have their picture made with Santa. She has a photographer come and then gives us the prints as a gift (I had to scan them in, so the quality might not be great).

The best picture we got (see the rest of the "process" below).
Just relaxin' with Santa and my sucker. . .

Mommy trying to get me in Santa's lap

Ms. Jajuan had a good idea for Santa to give me a sucker.

The sucker worked! No more tears. :)

Just hanging out with Santa.

Happy Anniversary (Late)

Jeremy and I celebrated 5 years of being married last Saturday, December 13th. The week leading up to our anniversary was a little crazy (with Jeremy's work schedule and the toy drive at my work). Then Jackson came down with an ear infection (see previous post). So, my parents called last minute and said they would come stay with Jackson (canceling their previous plans) so that Jeremy and I could go out to eat (I had canceled the babysitter b/c Jackson was so fussy). Yeah! Jeremy and I enjoyed a nice, quiet dinner out and laughed about how things had changed over the past 5 years. It's been fun - and we know that the next 5 years will bring even more changes. :)

And if you're curious to know about our gifts to each other. . .we gave them to each other this past summer. Once Jeremy gets his mind set on something, he can't wait (if you know him well, you understand). So, we gave each other watches earlier this year.

And yesterday, we gave each other an early Christmas present - a new garage door opener. How exciting, huh? Ours gave up on Friday night, so Jeremy headed to Sears first thing on Saturday morning. And one of the things I love about Jeremy? He's pretty handy! He installed it himself (with a little bit of assistance from me - mainly just holding things and following his instructions).

I love you, Jeremy. Happy late anniversary!

Hanging Out

Jackson has been doing a lot of "hanging out" at home and watching "Mouse" (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) for the past few days - he's had an ear infection. He stayed home yesterday with Daddy - and then stayed home with me today because all of our schools were closed because of ice (unfortunately no snow). :) Today he asked for "Brown" and I was all too excited to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas - a very nice break from the Mouse. He seems to be back to his normal self and I think will be ready to get back into his school routine tomorrow.

21 Months Old

Jackson is 21 months old today! Jeremy let Jackson play with the webcam this past weekend and the hilarious recording was too big to upload. So, we tried to recreate it tonight. Not as funny, but I thought our family would enjoy seeing him laugh. Oh, and this video allows you to see the ever-changing emotions of a toddler (from laughing to screaming in 2.5 seconds). :) Now Jackson walks up to the laptop every day and says, "Where's Jackson?"

Breakfast with Santa

We went to Breakfast with Santa again this year. It was really more of a breakfast than spending time with Santa - as you can see below, Jackson did not enjoy Santa's company.

Eating and coloring was much more fun than seeing Santa. . .

A picture from a few days ago - we do have ornaments on the tree now. :)

Cookie Decorating Party

Erin hosted a cookie decorating party on Saturday! What a sweet friend! She had thought of every single detail (including personalized aprons, precious take-home cookie boxes, snacks for the kids & moms, and lots of wipes). :) Here are a few pictures from the fun time! Click on Erin's blog for more pictures and details. Thank you, Erin, for hosting such a fun party.

Jackson and Sydney making sure enough sprinkles are on the cookies. Please notice their precious aprons (Erin made these for all the kids).

Concentrating on the cookie decorating. . .

Thanks, Ms. Erin, for such a fun time!
Had to take a break for a snack after all the decorating fun. Whew!