Christmas Night

By the time Christmas night was wrapping up at Mamaw & PP's, Nathan was a wild child! He was dancing, giggling, wrestling, and being mischief by pulling tinsel off Mamaw's tree. He was something else!

The best part of the day was getting to see my cousin Jacob. Last time I got to see him was the Christmas Nathan was 3 months old. Jacob will be leaving for the Navy in April. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. He is a very special cousin to me.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We love you all!

Christmas Day

Christmas morning was great! Nathan would open a present he liked and would say "YEAH!!!!" It was so fun watching him open his gifts and get so excited. I just love that little guy! After we opened all the presents, Nathan peered under the tree. He said "where presents go?" He then lifted up the tree skirt to try to find more. hahaha

Christmas Eve

Our first stop for family gatherings was to Tripp's parents house. Christmas Eve afternoon, we went to eat and open gifts. Nathan was excited. I figured he would tear right into his gifts but he started out playing Santa, handing everyone's gift to them. When he did get around to his first gift, the first thing he did was carefully pull off the name label. Then he carefully opened his gift. He was funny.

Santa's Little Helper

Christmas Tradition

This year, I wanted to start a Christmas tradition for us. My first thought was to find a book about the Christmas story with big colorful pictures. I went to Walmart and searched, but couldn't find a book at all even close to the Christmas story. But as I was about to head out, I saw these boxes sitting in the center aisle. It was called "What God Wants For Christmas". It was similar to the Resurrection Eggs you see at Easter. You have 7 boxes and in each box is a character from the Nativity. After you open the box, you read a poem about the character, written from Gabriel's perspective. On the seventh day, you find out what God wants. Inside is a mirror. He wants YOU! It is a really sweet tradition and I am so glad I didn't find that book I was desperately searching for.

Nathan has really enjoyed opening the boxes and sometimes he has snuck and opened them all! hahaha. The other night I got excited because I told him we were going to open a Christmas box. He ran into the living room with a big smile on his face. I felt proud..........but then I saw he had ran right to the tree, pulled out the first gift he could find, and ran to me saying "open box?". It's funny now, but I thought for sure he knew I meant we were going to open another box. hahaha

Nathan has really surprised me on the characters. I let him place them in the stable on his own. He placed them in places where you would usually see them in a nativity. It was really neat! :o) I hope he will always enjoy this tradition.

Seeing Ho Ho

Today we headed to Bowater to see Ho-Ho. Every year, the employees of Bowater can bring their children or grandchildren to see Santa and pick out a gift. The gifts are always very nice and it is always fun to see what Nathan will pick out. This year, he picked out a Thomas the Train set. He was so excited and held that big ol' box all over the place. As soon as we got home, he wanted to put it together. It is a cute little set. Thomas is motorized and runs around the track. He really likes it. Nathan's reaction to Santa was better than last year. Last year he screamed bloody murder. This year, he was calmer, but he wouldn't sit in his lap or even look at him. It was kindof funny cause he turned his face away from him and just wouldn't acknowledge him at all. I felt bad for Santa. He told me he wished he could get him to sit in his lap. He was a good Santa compared to last years. He was really sweet.

Weekend in Gatlinburg

Thursday afternoon, Tripp took us to Gatlinburg to see the lights. They were so pretty! Nathan really liked seeing them. The next day was definitely Nathan's favorite though cause we went to Ripley's Aquarium. He was so excited to see all the fish. He loves animals and fish so much! We also got brave and took Nathan up the Gatlinburg Skylift for the first time. He liked it too. It was good to get away.

Library Day

Nathan loves books. When he goes to potty we have to read a few. Today we went to the library to get some more books. He "read" all the way home and ended up falling asleep while reading Elmo. He likes this book really well. Elmo sneezes a lot in this book and Nathan likes to say "Achoo!" when Elmo sneezes. :o)

Hurray!!!!

Nathan did it!!! He just did the #2 in the potty! He was so proud!!!! He told me he had to do it!!! Yippiee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another First

Nathan had another first today......he went to Walmart with his big boy pants on! He did good! While in the grocery aisle, he started his dance. We rushed over to the restroom, and he made it! He is doing so good! I consider him potty-trained now, except for #2.......but that will come soon.

Sunday Morning First!!

Today, Nathan had a first.........first time to go to church with big boy pants on! He did sooo good! We kept him upstairs with us in worship (which he did really good at too) and didn't wet at all! He was so quiet too and well behaved. I also found a good ol' lollipop will stop a lot of the "what's that?" during the sermon too. HAHA! I'm glad he did so well because I really want him to learn to be upstairs during service. I feel that is very important. I think kids now a days don't know how to act once they are old enough to be upstairs. I want him to know. :o)

Day at Imagination Station

Since it was a nice day, we decided to go to the playground and let Nathan play. He also climbed around on the train caboose. Afterwards, we took a walk down the greenway and Nathan got to see some ducks. Had a good time today.

Ho Ho Tree

I just couldn't wait to put up the tree, so today Nathan and I put up the "Ho-HO tree". Nathan was so excited! He was jumping around the living room saying over and over "ho-ho tree!". He loves looking at all of MeMe's ornaments and has taken a few off the tree already to play with. We also put a tree up in his and our room. Friday, we will put out the outdoor decorations. I love Christmas! All the excitement has finally put Nathan to sleep. He and Tripp both are crashed out on the couch right now. Peace for Momma! :o)

Nathan The Viewmaster

A while back, we came across a ViewMaster at Toys 'R Us. Nathan thought they were really neat! So today while shopping at the mall, we came across one. I couldn't resist getting him one with a few other discs to go with it. Nathan has really had fun looking into the viewer and makes sure everyone else sees in it too. I'm glad the "old" toys I remember are making a come back. :o)

The Youngest Red Hat Member

This morning, I met with my Red Hat lady friends for brunch at Panera Bread. I got to wear my new hat! When Nathan saw it he immediately ran into the bedroom saying "Where Naynee's hat?" We had to go find him a hat to wear too. Then, he realized Daddy needed a hat too! I think he would fit in just fine with the Red Hat Society. :o)

I'm A Big Kid Now!

I started a new thing with Nathan last week. I found some old charts that I used with my AWANA kids, along with some stickers. I taped a chart on the fridge and everytime Nathan went potty, he got to pick out his sticker and get a surprise. When he fills up his chart, he gets a Hot Wheel. Since doing this, Nathan has really done super on his pottying. Today, I thought we would experiment with going out in public with no diapers. Nathan did such a good job! He wore his underwear most of the day and went potty quite a bit. He did such a good job!!

On they way to our destination, I popped in a new Veggie Tales CD with Sunday morning songs on it. The whole way, Nathan was singing the songs! We sung "This Little Light of Mine", the "BIBLE", and "Zaccehaus". He was singing a lot of the words........especially the important ones, like God, Love, Mine, etc. It was so great to hear that! I wish I could have recorded it somehow for everyone to hear.

This has been a great day! :o)

Mystery Illness

Tuesday night, around 5:30 pm, Nathan developed a high fever. When I first checked him he was around 100.4 degrees. He rest of the night he laid in the bed, which is very unusual for him. I stayed awake till 3:00 this morning checking on him because I just wasn't sure what was wrong with him. His fever wouldn't go down and the last time I checked him it was 102. Finally after 3, the fever broke. Today he is back to normal..........you'd never know he was sick. He didn't have a runny nose or anything, so we are wondering if maybe he just may be cutting another tooth. I sure hope he goes to bed tonight for I am beat! :o)

Surprised Momma

A little bit before Tripp came home from work, I sent Nathan to the living room to watch cartoons so I could get things together for dinner. When Nathan watches cartoons he is usually very quiet so I didn't think much of no noise coming from him. When I got things set for dinner, I walked into the living room to check on him. My heart started racing cause I found Nathan on the floor, motionless. Nathan never ever has fallen asleep on his own. He always puts up a good fight........but today he just laid in the floor and dozed off. We couldn't believe it!

Boo!!

Tonight, we took Nathan to the mall to Trick-or-Treat. It started at 6 and was supposed to last till 8. Thankfully, we got there early, cause in no time the stores ran out of candy. Nathan was so cute in his outfit. Lots of people would pass by and say how cute he was. One lady even took a picture of him.

Reading While We Wait

Nathan reading a book on the BIG potty while we wait patiently. :o)

Busy Weekend

This weekend was certainly a busy one for us! Saturday morning, Nathan and I got up and drove to Cleveland to attend a family reunion. This reunion was my Granny and her brothers family. I don't know many of the people there, but I wanted to take Nathan to see his Great-Granny and Great-Aunt Shirley. He doesn't get to see Granny much for she lives in South Carolina and this was the first time he met his Great-Aunt Shirley. It was good to see both of them. :o)

After the reunion, Nathan and I drove back home to pick-up Tripp. We then went back to Athens to a Halloween party my sister was having. We all had a good time. My sister really had her house decorated up. It was really fun! Nathan dressed up as a clown, I was a 50's chick, and Tripp was a convict.