He's Two!

Today is a big day for us! Brennan is officially a two year old! He woke up to balloons on his chair at the table, and thought that was pretty cool. We all went to Early Works for a morning of playtime. Brennan loved getting to show his daddy around since it was his first trip to Biscuit's Backyard. After playtime we had lunch at Rolo's, where Brennan loves to see the train up high, and then did a little shopping at the Dillard's outlet for Hawaii. Tonight we had our weekly family dinner with my family. We had Brennan's favorite, pizza, and the chocolate cake he requested. I had a little table set for he and Maeleigh. Maeleigh was very excited to use it, but when it was time to eat Brennan thought he should sit at his usual seat at the big table. He also thought we would just have cake for dinner, and ate maybe two bites of pizza, all the while asking for cake. After he inhaled his cake, left the ice cream, and asked for seconds, he opened presents. Once he had opened the first one he was pretty content. Maeleigh got to help open a few which pleased her greatly. He gets so excited when his family is around that he has a hard time focusing on any one thing. Since things have calmed down, he has had a great time playing with each toy while wearing his new cowboy boots. We are so blessed to have this fun little guy! I think he's had a special day!

December 28, 2009

8 lbs. 11 ozs.        5:49 p.m.

December 28, 2011
About 30 lbs.      5:49 p.m.
He could not wait to eat birthday cake and called the little table I had for he and Maeleigh his birthday party.

Fishing in Biscuit's Backyard

The chocolate cake he requested.

A party of two very excited two year olds!

BONKERS!

He was so excited to dig into the cake and kept asking for more icing.

The bike he has told us he "needed" for a few months now.

The Merriest, Oh the Merriest!

I hope you had a Merry Christmas! We certainly did here! Brennan was so excited Christmas Eve that he would not go to sleep. Luckily he did make it to bed before midnight so Santa was able to make his stop. Christmas morning he woke up still a little tired and fussy. We asked him to go into the living room and he kept saying, "No, eat cereal!" Finally, I carried him in and sat him down in the doorway. He immediately saw his "own train" just like he had asked Santa  to bring. He ran over and began playing, and didn't stop for quite awhile. Our next door neighbors and my parents stopped by  to see Brennan and eat breakfast goodies. I would highly recommend the cinnamon minis pinned from Pinterest. They were super easy and oh so good! Mike's family came for lunch and presents. Brennan was very excited to see them, and what they brought. We enjoyed a relaxing evening at my parents with dinner and presents.

I don't think Brennan can quite comprehend that all this stuff is his to keep. He has gone from one thing to another all day, and often asks if his train is going to be here when he gets back. He is also very curious about it being Jesus' birthday. We've talked about baby Jesus, he has played with our nativity, and we sang "Happy Birthday" Christmas morning. Later in the day I told him that Gam and Pawpaw were coming to visit. His response was, "Not Jesus?" with his hands out and a puzzled look on his face. Christmas through the eyes of a child. There's nothing better.

 Now to recharge, clean up, and get ready for another big birthday. Only two days until we have a two year old!

Hank the donkey meeting baby Jesus

Putting food out for the reindeer

Opening his Christmas Eve present

The train!

Ha Ha! Gotta love toddlers!

The first thing he did this morning.

3 Days and Counting!

As my child walks around with his current favorite Christmas card (a snowy scene with a tree in the back of a pickup truck sent by the Gandys), saying "Merry Christmas" "Happy Holidays" "Happy New Year", and asking for hot chocolate, I'm making my list and checking it twice. If I can't have snow, a rainy yucky day is second best to get me in the holiday spirit. The next day or so will be filled with cleaning and cooking, so that the last hours before Christmas and Christmas day can be all about family and celebrating our Savior's birthday.

I don't remember what I did for ideas a few short months ago, before Pinterest. I realized as I made my list that almost all of our Christmas breakfast foods are Pinterest inspired. I'm planning to do egg muffins, sausage and cream cheese pinwheels, mini cinnamon rolls, and good ole' sausage and biscuits for a couple of purist that are invited to stop by. I can make everything ahead of time and have it ready to pop in the oven before anyone else wakes up to see if Santa came.

We've had a lot of fun enjoying the season over the last week.

Brennan made cookies with his buddy Connor.

We went to Santa's Village with friends.

 Brennan loved mailing his letter to Santa.

 The train was a huge hit.

They both loved the cookies.

Brennan met Santa at my Mom's church. This is the Santa that is VERY familiar to him, but he never realized it.

We've also read many Christmas books.

Today we enjoyed the much requested hot chocolate and graham crackers.

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas

It's taken me a little while to feel like it's Christmastime this year. I'm not sure if it's because I don't have a Christmas break countdown, or if it's because we skipped Thanksgiving, but I can't believe it's less than two weeks away. We got our live tree this weekend and had our first family Christmas dinner, and that seems to have done the trick for me. We have done a lot of decorating this year, thanks in part to Pinterest, and have enjoyed several fun events. I'm including a few pictures of our decorations. I hope it doesn't seem like I'm showing off because that's definitely not the intent. I'll admit I like to snoop and get ideas from other peoples' pictures, so I figure it's only fair I give back a little.

Brennan thought we should try a Charlie Brown tree.

We finally decided on a Carolina Blue Spruce (I think). It looks a lot like a Cedar and smells wonderful.

The first gifts of the season!

The live nativity at Hartselle First UMC. Brennan loved the animals....

especially Miss Judy the camel.

I am in love with reindeer and pinecones this year.

See that little guy peeping through the door? It's hard to believe he will be two in two weeks. We are also GEARING up (hint, hint) for a birthday party.

You might notice that the big tree is only decorated about halfway up. No, it's not the almost two year old I'm worried about. It's the eight year old four-legged one. All his life he has taken ornaments off the tree. I gave him another chance this year, and this is what I got. 

The big stinker. 

All Aboard!

Saturday Brennan had his first train ride on Huntsville's Santa Train. He really enjoyed himself. When we arrived the previous train was pulling into the station. Santa was hanging off the side of one car and waving to everyone. I wish I had a picture of Brennan's face when he saw him. We had talked so much about Santa and about the train, but I don't think he could believe his eyes. It was the first time we had seen Santa this year.  The trip lasted 30-40 minutes, and during that time Santa came by twice for Brennan to see him. The first time he shook his hand and was ok. The second time Santa wanted to hold him for a picture but Brennan didn't want any part of it and pretended to ignore him. I think the train ride was probably his favorite part. 

Thankful In the Midst of It All

Well, Thanksgiving hasn't gone as planned. It hasn't gone as any of the 4 different plans that we've had and changed. Brennan woke up throwing up at 5 a.m. this morning. His sickness has not been short lived. He is just now keeping some liquids down and resting. He had a flu shot yesterday, so I'm hoping at this point that we can blame that for his illness (and it will NOT be passed along). Mom called at 7:15 a.m. to pass along the news that my grandmother passed away. We had been told Monday night to expect this soon, but it doesn't make it much easier. At that point we were planning to have lunch at my parents, and Mike was going to take our food and bring back plates. Then Mom called back around 10 to say that she too was sick and lunch was canceled for now. I had already started the sweet potato casserole, a recipe passed along from my grandmother, so I made a small one for us and have a larger one ready when we do eat together. Mike's family is all out of town this year.

In the midst of all this, I find myself even more thankful. My day is much for focused on my thankfulness and less so on the feast we usually partake.  I'm thankful for the traditions that I know will now change, because they gave me a place in life. I'm thankful for the sadness I feel at losing both grandparents in the last seven months, because this sadness comes from getting to enjoy them in my life for so long. I'm thankful for the anchor they both have been to our family. I'm thankful that I will get to see all of my family this holiday season after all. I'm thankful for my precious little boy, who can manage to make us laugh even when he feels miserable. I'm thankful that his illness will go away quickly and he is overall a very healthy child. I'm thankful for a wonderful husband who doesn't mind cleaning up messes and being a shoulder to cry on. I'm thankful for a dog who can bark loud enough to wake up a hard sleeping husband, and alert him that Brennan and I needed some help at his sickest point. I'm thankful for good shows on NBC today since I'm watching more TV than usual. I'm thankful for the people working today so that we will still have some turkey from somewhere. Most of all, I'm thankful for a God who has perfect timing and a perfect plan. He never gives us more than we can handle, and always provides us with the tools to manage each situation. I love traditions and think they have an important place in life, but isn't it ironic that in the absence of them the true meaning of this holiday has become the focus..

Thanksgiving 2010

A Fun Weekend!

We've had a weekend full of fun! Mike took off Thursday and Friday so that made it extra special. We spent Thursday and Friday cleaning out the room that will become our master bedroom. We are getting ready to put a finish on the concrete floor and use the room for some entertaining before it becomes our bedroom. After the holidays, and a two year old's birthday party, we plan to finish it and move on in. I still have to decide on a paint color for the walls. Three of the four walls have windows, and it's a good size, so I can go with something deep or light. I'm debating between a soothing aquaish blue or a warm grey/brown putty color. The floor will be chocolate brown. Anyone have a paint color in those ranges that they love?

Before

 Saturday morning I went to Under the Christmas Tree at the VBCC with a friend. It was great to have a little girl time, and I saw several cute holiday ideas. I also know of a few shops I want to visit now, like Pimentos in Athens. Brennan got to ride in the red truck, a special treat, and go play with trains. Then he and Mike ate at Chick-fil-a. I'm pretty sure it was a dream day for that little boy!

Saturday night we decked the house, and ourselves, for the "game of the century". Of course this was a little unusual since I'm usually cheering for my tigers. We had a few friends over and enjoyed a great night of football, even if the wrong team managed to get more points on the scoreboard.

Today we enjoyed that extra hour of sleep before heading to church, lunch, and then Christmas open house for the businesses in downtown Hartselle. We went mostly just to support our town. I did find some yummy smelling bee balm for my terribly dry hands at the Beehive Bathhouse, and three little chairs. They are already in primary colors and will be perfect for B and friends to use. He's already put one to work.