Random end of December Pics....

Here are just a few pictures that took place after Christmas. Taft got sick and we delayed coming home a little. Then he got sicker and started an antibiotic. We stayed another whole day to make sure that he didn't have a reaction to the meds.Taft wearing Gran's reading glasses. We thought that he made a very cute little nerd. Then he broke the glasses.
Taft giving Aunt Teresa love.

Giving Izzy hugs and kisses.

Giving Uncle Scott a good night hug.

December Daily - Day 25

Christmas Day and the last day of the December Daily posts. The journal is only through Christmas Day.

We woke up with Taft on Christmas morning and Shane got Gran up before Taft saw his gifts. He was a little slow at first, but then he saw the Cozy Coupe. I put it on his list for Santa after he played with one at our friends house. He loved it there and it was love at first site when he saw it Christmas morning.He also got a Yo Gabba Gabba Grooving Guitar, a dress up kit for being a chef, The Wonder Pets Flyboat, toddler crayons and a big pad of paper, some Tonka trucks, measuring cups and measuring spoons.

Santa's gifts

First ride in the Cozy Coupe

Then we all loaded up to go to Teresa, Izzy, and Evan's for breakfast. It was yummy and Taft feel asleep. Shane, Taft, and I stayed there for a few hours after Scott, Gran, and the kids left for a little quality time with Teresa.

Evan on Izzy's bed.

Gran and Jenna

Aunt Teresa and Izzy

Then we went back to Gran's for dinner and presents with the kids and Scott. Taft ate and got a bath and put on his reindeer shirt and of course, threw up all over himself and me and Gran's rug. After another bath, he was able to open his gifts. Taft with his wet hair and gifts
Gran got Taft a kitchen. It is really cute. When he gets taller it raises up another level.

December Daily - Day 24

Christmas Eve. Normally, Christmas Eve in AL would mean going to Mawmaw's sister Mary's house for lunch and then dinner and gifts at Mom and Dad's. Since Mawmaw was in the nursing home this year it changed. We had a late lunch at Mom and Dad's and then gifts. Then we took Mawmaw her dinner and visited with her. Later it was time for Shane, Taft, and I to go to Gran's for the night and wait on Santa.

Here are a few pics from the day:

Taft with all his many gifts.
He just loves a phone. Mallory with her Ballerina Barbie.
Travis with Callie Cat.
Harleigh with her Barbie on a bike.

After all the fun at Mawmaw and Pawpaw's, Shane, Taft, and I loaded up to go to Gran's for the night. I was a bad mother and forgot Taft's copy of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Gran let us read the copy that Shane had as a little boy and then let us have it for our own. Of course, Taft's little hands will stay off that until he is a lot older.
Mommy reading to Taft on Christmas Eve.

December Daily - Day 21 - 23

Day 21 - We were up at 3 am. I planned on sleeping until 4 but Taft was up at 3 so we just stayed up. Somehow we were still a little late getting to the airport in Jacksonville and didn't get the picture that I wanted of Taft and I at the airport waiting to fly away. So I plan on using the picture of a Southwest plane like the one that we were on and then just listing facts from the day. Mawmaw and Pawpaw picked us up in Birmingham. Taft loved the flight. He thought that everything was fun. We went to the back of the plane and got a row of 3 seats all to ourselves. After take off, he was able to be in his own seat and liked to play with the seat belt. I guess that I was nervous about nothing.

After they picked us up, we went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Then we went to the Oxford Wal*Mart and picked up a few Taft supplies that I didn't bring with me and a birthday cake for Harleigh. She was able to come to Mom and Dad's for her birthday and spent the night.

Day 22 - On Tuesday we got up and ready to go see Mawmaw in the nursing home. Kristi, Mallory, Taft, and I took her some lunch and were able to visit for a little while before the children needed to eat and take naps. When we left the nursing home we went to Dollar General and picked up a few things for Mawmaw. We got her crackers, chocolate covered cherries, and random goodies that we think she will enjoy. Then we went to eat at Papa's Pizza and did a drug store run for Mother before starting home.

Day 23 - We got up knowing that we would go to see Santa. I can't believe that I waited that long to take Taft. I think that I was avoiding it. I knew that this would be the year that he would cry. Kristi, Mallory, Travis, Taft, and I headed to the Quintard Mall in Oxford, AL. There was a line and Taft was not happy. He did OK. Only a little screaming. Hopefully next year will be better. Then off to Target and to pick up a sandwich for Mawmaw and take it to the nursing home.

December Daily - Day 20

Day 20 - Today was the day that we tried to see just how much you can get in a single piece of luggage. The answer is A LOT! Taft and I are flying Southwest tomorrow. He is a lap child so he doesn't get to take any luggage. I did get him a big, new, diaper bag from Jeep. It is simple and black and holds a ton as a carry on. Southwest allows two pieces of luggage per paying costomer. We are taking his carseat that only leaves one checked bag, stroller, and a carry on for us. We can do it.
Our shared suitcase.

Taft's new diaper bag/carry on.

December Daily - Day 19

Day 19 - Today Taft got a Christmas present in the mail. He got a gift card for McDonald's from his great aunt Libby. He loves fries and I know that he will get great use out of it. Also - Shane's first cousin, Charlotte, is getting married. We weren't able to go to the wedding since we are traveling to AL next week, but we heard that it was very pretty. The invites were printed with holly leaves and berries and the church was decorated for Christmas. I plan to find a way to use both in my Christmas journal.

December Daily - Days 17 &18

Day 17 - I am reserving this page for the ornaments that we collect this year. So far we have one new family ornament and Taft has 2 for his tree. I will wait and add them and their stories after the holiday.
Day 18 - Tonight we went to the live Nativity at Parkview Baptist Church. It was very well done with different parts of the Christmas story acted out. It is a drive thru Nativitiy and they give you a CD when you arrive that tells the story of each scene as you drive by. Then we had dinner as a family at Steak and Shake.

December Daily - Day 16

Day 16 - This day will have no photos. Just a copy of the boarding pass for mine and Taft's flight to Alabama. We booked it today and fly out on the 21st. It is only about an hour flight but with an 18 month old it will seem like forever. ;0

Just For Fun

Tomorrow is Taft's 18 month check up at the doctors office. I was looking at old pictures and found this one of me at 18 months. Do you think we look alike?

December Daily - Day 15

Day 15 - Today was all about the Christmas Card. Our friend, Wes, went with us to be the photographer and we drove out to the Old Brick Road in our county. Many years ago, like 100, it was the main road coming in to the beach. It was all brick. A lot of it is gone now but there are still a few places with brick in the middle. It is a county road but we only saw one other car and it was deer hunters. There is nothing out there besides road and wilderness. You would never know you were so close to town.
I added the text with the computer and took the file to Staples. Within minutes I had a Christmas Card. Now I just need to get them in the mail.

December Daily - Day 14

Day 14 - Aunt Teresa, Izzy, and Evan, sent Taft an early Christmas present so that he could enjoy it before the holiday is over. He got a Little People Nativity set. It is co cute! Here he is after he got his bath. He wanted to play with it over and over and didn't stop until time to go bed. His favorite thing to do it take the angel off the top and put it back on again. I'm sure that he will love it for years to come.

December Daily - Day 13

Day 13 - Today is the day that we will talk about Bunny and his Holiday sweater. We started getting Bunny clothing this fall when we realized that he is going to be around us a lot. Taft LOVES this rabbit. So much in fact that we know if he got lost we would have a REAL problem. With that being said, Gran found one on ebay and got it for him. Now we have two to rotate out and just in case.

December Daily - Day 11 & 12

11 -Since we really didn't do a lot on the 11th (it was raining), I am using this day to write a letter to Taft. It will include things about him at the moment and how we are celebrating the holiday with him

12 - On the 12th, we went to the Palm Coast 10 Year Celebration/Christmas parade. Taft loved it. He "talked" to the people walking by, pointed at everything, loved the bands and floats, and seemed to have a great time. It was a long parade and he was hungry when we finished. We went to eat at High Jackers at the airport and saw a lot of other parade goers and people that were in the parade. A nice older man that was driving in the parade came over and gave Taft his Santa hat. He said that Taft looked better in it than he did.

Taft with Mommy and Daddy during the Christmas parade.

Show Us Your Life - Christmas Cookies/Goodies

It's Friday, and that means that it is Show Us Your Life day at Kelly's Kornor Blog. Today's topic is Christmas Cookies/Goodies. I have not made any holiday yummies yet but I plan on making some soon. These are just a few of my all time favorites.

Sugar Cookies. Just plain sugar cookies. I like to make a simple glaze using water and confectioners sugar, brush it on with a small paint brush and use sprinkles. Super easy and very good. It also makes purchased cookie dough have more of a homemade taste and feel.

photo from dandthemom.com

I also love Magic Cookie Bars. They are also very simple to make. My mom got the recipe when I was a child. I believe it was from a box top recipe book or the can of condensed milk. I love them! I prefer them without the nuts. Eagle Brand now has a boxed kit on the market to make these making it even easier. Otherwise the recipe can be found at http://www.eaglebrand.com/.

photo from swissbeets.com
A new favorite of mine is pecan pralines. Not just any pralines, but the ones from the Savannah Candy Kitchen in Savannah, GA. The are the best on the market (in my opinion). They also come in chocolate which makes everything better. I have never tried to make them. I just buy them. You can order them at http://www.savannahcandy.com/. Totally worth it.

photo from savannahcandy.com

Fantasy fudge is also a treat that my mom makes almost every year. The recipe comes right of the jar of Kraft Marshmellow Cream. It is so easy, but it is a must that you use a non-stick boiler. We usually make it with and without nuts and I like to make a batch using the peanut butter chips insteas of chocolate. My husband loves peanut butter fudge. The recipe can also be found at http://kraftfoods.com/. And the following photo is from their website.

December Daily - Day 10

Today I worked on some ornaments to give to my neighbors girls. The three girls are adorable and Taft and I are having them over for lunch on the 21st. I have made them "formal" invitations. Keep in mind they are all under 8 years all. It should be fun. Lunch and cookies to decorate. Just a little winter fun.

Here are the ornaments:

Cate is in green and so is the shimmer ribbon but it doesn't photo well.

I also started to work on the list of addresses for Christmas cards. I figure if I have all the address together it will be that much easier to get them all out in the mail. We are taking pictures this Sunday and I will order them that night. Hopefully they will be in the mail by Tuesday at least. I am not posting a photo of the list on here even though it will be used in my album. The photo makes it where you can see the peoples addresses and it wouldn't be right to post those. ;0

December Daily - Day 9

First of all - I know that I skipped 8. We really didn't do anything yesterday. Nothing photo worthy or Christmas like. Quincy came and brought Taft a book with wiggly eyes and he loved it. Since this is all that really happened, I am going to reserve those pages in the album for sample/swatches of our wrapping paper for the year.Taft got a package today while he was asleep. I opened it and removed the items for Shane and I and put Taft's back in so that he could open it when he woke from his nap. He wasn't sure what to do with it at first but then he took out all the tissue paper and found his new ornaments from Gran. She sent him a sock monkey and Grinch for his tree. After he found them, he put them back in the box with the tissue and repeated this over and over. We will put the ornaments on his tree in the morning when I can get the ladder in to reach it.

December Daily - Day 7

When we started to look for Quincy, he was in the bathroom holding a bottle of Mr. Bubble. Taft had never had a real bubble bath and when I put him in, he was not sure what to do. He even started to cry a little. I think that he was upset that he could not see his legs and feet. After I showed them to him he was fine and seemed to enjoy the bubbles.
When I was little, we would go one night in December to look at Christmas lights. We would drive to Anniston/Oxford and drive around different neighborhoods. We have one neighbor, a couple of streets away, that go above and beyond in decor. We call them the neighborhood Griswalds. He starts working on the lights in October and has been seen adding things by the day. We walked Taft up there last night. It was pretty dark on the way since our town doesn't do street lights unless you pay for one in your yard. When we turned the corner it was like daytime. Taft wasn't sure what to think. He just stared. I think that he liked the decorations that moved and played music. Never fear, we will never have a yard that looks this way.

Toddler on a scale

Need I say more....

Shane's Christmas Tree

Today I finally got to work on Shane's manroom tree. We put it up last year but I never got a topper or skirt for it and when I put it all together this year - well, it looked pretty sad.
Taft and I took a little trip out to do some shopping and found a blue tree skirt and some white ribbon with blue snowflakes. Shane's tree just doesn't have as many ornaments on it as the other trees in the house. I picked up some blue balls and decided to make him some Florida ornaments to use as fillers. (I guess with the SEC loss today I could have picked a better day). Anyway - I added blue polka dot ribbon, orange ribbon, and some cute little white ribbon with footballs on it. I really like how it turned out and it looks so cute in his manroom with all the lights on.

Quincy Update and Taft with the Tree

Yesterday evening, Quincy struck again with more Christmas jammies. If I didn't know better I would think that Quincy got a 2 for 1 on those. =)This morning, Quincy brought a scratch and sniff snowman book. Taft wanted to look at it as soon as he could get it out. Then I had to read it to him twice before breakfast. It has pictures on one page of cookies and on the next of snow cones. He acted like he was picking up a cookie to eat and when I laughed he feed me one too. He did it again with the snow cone and repeated it all again when daddy read him the book later.

Taft and the tree - When we first brought in the tree, he didn't seem to notice. The next morning when it was decorated, he didn't care either. But since then he has really liked it. He wants to play with the ornaments and just stands there and looks at it. He unplugged it once and got in trouble. He knows that he is not suppose to bother it and when I sneak up on him he runs and pretends that he was not just there.

Here is is thinking that nobody knows he is thinking about taking an ornament for himself.

And here he is caught in the act. I can just hear him saying, "It's not what it looks like".