Christmas Memories

{I WILL GET PICS UP SOON, I PROMISE!}
Nate's 2nd Christmas has come and gone....and it all went too fast. Since it has been a month since I last posted (where did December go??) I will just highlight a few things that made this a memorable Christmas:

1) Grandad, Aunt Abby and Uncle Jeff visiting - Nate was so excited, he woke up around 11:30 one night, so Abby and Mom smuggled him out of bed and he joined us downstairs in front of the fire. Normally this would stress me out, but since it was the holidays and he doesn't get to see his aunt that much....I figured, what the heck. Then, his Nena decided to feed him apple pie (that's right, at midnight) - guess who wouldn't go back to sleep and ended up tossing and turning in mommy and daddy's bed that night??

2) Santa Visit - my perfect, outdoor, free, take your own pic Santa went Commercial this year and was in a studio. Still free, but we waited too long and certainly Nate pooped right before it was our turn to go in to the dark room with the bearded man (not a good set up for a soothing Santa experience) - since I was not about to lose our place in line, we went in "as is", and he cried as expected (kinda didn't blame him). The lady finally told me to pick him up and get in the picture with him since things weren't going so well....exactly what I wanted, a pic of me and Santa!

3) Taking him to "Magical Night of Lights" at Lake Lanier - he is obsessed with "ight" (light) so we thought this would amaze him, and it did. He stared out the window intently and pointed at the "ights". And since it was a Cox Family Outing, something had to happen....we got out of the car to see the Live Nativity and I tripped and fell while I was holding Nate. That story is probably a post in itself, but I will just say that Nate was fine, I am still nursing my bruised shins, and we completely disturbed the peacefulness of Baby Jesus in the manger. But, despite my clumsiness, it was a fun family night and I loved the look of wonder on Nate's face while taking in all of the lights.

4) Christmas Eve - making cookies for Santa with Nate. Mom and I weren't exactly thinking clearly when we put raw cookie dough in front of a kid who is allergic to eggs, but we managed to keep it out of his mouth for the most part and he had some fun cutting, frosting and sprinkling. And Santa and Mrs. Claus have pretty much single handedly polished off all 2+ dozen cookies as of today.

5) Christmas Morning - the look on Nate's face as he came down the stairs, and him running to his toys. He went from one thing to the next. He actually wasn't even that interested in tearing the paper this year - he just wanted to play, so he was fine with me opening and handing him the next toy.

6) Our trip to Knoxville - Nate playing with the girls in their new Princess outfits and him pushing the Pink Princess doll stroller around the house. He tried so hard to keep up with them - he even got to eat at the kid table Christmas night, he loved it! We had a great time visiting with CC and Papa Steve and the rest of the Cox crew.

7) Playing with all of our new stuff - my favorite moments were when he realized his Power Wheel 4-wheeler had power, he hit that red button for the first time and, what a surprise! He also enjoyed me playing with my new toy....he rolled on the ground belly laughing watching me on my new Wii Fit. It was hysterical!

So, that is just a tiny snapshot of what made this holiday special. The best part was having time off of work to spend some quality time with my guys. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their loved ones as well. Have a happy and safe New Years!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are finally settled in to our new temporary home, the computer is set back up, and I have more pics of Nate to share. It has been a crazy few weeks, but even with everything going on right now we still know that we have SO much to be thankful for. This holiday came at a great time...we were able to put our worries and stress away for a day and focus on the things in our life that really matter - friends and family and FOOD! :)

It was a gorgeous day in the ATL, and we spent it with Nate's Alie (Michael's mom) and Uncle Stephen. At this time last year, Nate was just starting on solid foods and I remember his reaction to mashed potatoes:

Not good. Oddly, he still isn't a huge fan of mashed potatoes but he gobbled up his turkey and the other sides....and I think he had 3 Sister Schubert rolls. He could only handle sitting at the table for so long, so he decided he was tired of being a pilgrim and wanted to play the part of an Indian at the Thanksgiving feast - he ran around in circles, open and closed doors, he just had a huge burst of energy. I think the turkey had the opposite effect on him than it did on us - that is until we finally got him in the car and he snoozed on the way home (it's a rare thing for this toddler to sleep in the car these days). Some pics from the day...

I haven't been very good (as you have probably noticed) at keeping up with my albums, so I added a "Fall 08" album to the right. It truly has been one of the most gorgeous and colorful Falls that I can remember in ATL. There are some pics in the album from one afternoon we spent at the park watching Michael play in the ALTA city championship match - they came in second in their division in the whole city. Nate loves watching his Daddy play tennis....he carries the little racquet Michael bought him around the house (sometimes to the dogs' dismay).

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and has a happy holiday season!

Blogger Help Needed

{I hate to have a pulic outcry for help but....Can one of my blogger friends please tell me how to fix my blog?? Sometimes my entire post shows when I go to the link and sometimes only part does....sometimes text is missing, sometimes photos, etc. Anyone else have this issue and/or know how to fix it?? It's driving me nuts!}