Holidays – Page 93

The North Pole

December 12, 2012

On Sunday, we all took a little trip to North Pole to visit someone very special! Luckily, we had tickets for an express train ride so we were able to get back home in time for dinner!

Maxwell was SO excited to ride the train and see Santa. I’m not sure how much he fully understands about the whole Santa thing, but he knows he really wants a fire truck and, as he’s been told, Santa will bring him one so he’s all in! He also loves trains so the whole night was a win-win!

Spencer was ready to meet the jolly man too…

Me and my boys ready to go!

Handing over his ticket to get on the North Pole Express!

We were all pretty excited to be on the train…

and Maxwell even got a glowstick! oooh!

There were all sorts of fun lights and decorations to look at on our trip and we listened to a story over the loudspeaker. When we arrived at the North Pole, Santa and Mrs. Claus were outside waving to everyone!

Maxwell had to go on the other side of the train to see them but this nice lady let him sit in her lap. I really can’t believe he sat in her lap for as long as he did! She said she could feel his little heart just beating a mile a minute when he saw Santa out there!

While waiting for Santa, some elves came on board and gave everyone a special present…

and Maxwell visited with some of the other kids on the train.

Then Santa and Mrs. Claus were on our train car and stopped to visit each kid! When Santa got to our seat, Maxwell pinned himself so tight against Robert…

He was TERRIFIED! Robert said he could literally feel Maxwell shaking!

Despite being scared to death, he still managed to eek out that he wanted a fire truck for Christmas! sweet, sweet boy! He just watched Santa with big eyes the whole time…

But, once Santa was past us, he was happy again and happily waved Bye-Bye to Santa when he left!

After Santa’s visit, the elves came back and gave everyone hot chocolate and chocolate muffins (why not cookies? who knows?!)

Maxwell didn’t care if it was muffins or cookies, as long as it was “choc!”

It was a great night! Can’t wait to visit the North Pole again next year!!

ps – today is 12.12.12! Cool!

Oh Christmas Tree!

December 4, 2012

As I said yesterday, we got our tree this weekend. It was a gorgeous day with temps in the 70’s…sounds like Christmas weather, huh?! Last year we got our tree at Home Depot and while it looked great, it was hard to find a good tree there because they have them all stacked up on each other. This year we decided to go back to a tree lot like we did 2 years ago.

Robert and Maxwell checking out all the trees…

I like how you can see the shadow of me and Spencer in the carrier…kinda like a family portrait! 🙂

Maxwell helping Dad measure to see if it’s the right size…

I’d like to say he’s actually “helping” Robert but Maxwell is actually about to throw a fit in that picture because he didn’t want to hand over the tape measure to Dad. Holly Jolly!

This is the one!

Bringing the tree home…

Looks just right!

That night, Maxwell helped me decorate the tree while the AL v. GA SEC Championship game was on. I was watching while decorating and liked having the distraction from the occasional tension in the room when the score wasn’t going the right way! Luckily we ended the night with a beautiful tree and an AL win!

Me and my helper…

My other helper was snoozing away in the swing…best way he could have helped!

I think it’s the best one yet! and, yes, we say that every year! 🙂

and, my favorite pic from the night…

He really was a great helper handing me ornaments and telling me where to hang them. Christmas is so much more fun with kiddos around!

Happy birthday to Aaron today! Hope it’s a great one!

ps – I put that picture and others on Instagram. Are you on Instagram? I’m sjpbrown. Follow me and I’ll follow you!

Weekend goodness

December 3, 2012

We had all kinds of weekend goodness around here!

1. We got all of our Christmas decorations up inside and out!

2. Spencer slept in his own room for the first time and slept great!

3. AL beat GA to be the SEC Champs! Roll Tide!

One of these things made me really happy, one of these things made Robert really happy, and one of these things made us all really happy! Can you guess which is which?

What made me really happy? Spencer sleeping in his own bed! It was so nice to sleep in my bed for the first time in 6 weeks without a baby either laying on me or right beside me. He slept ok on Friday night but Saturday night he slept GREAT! He ate around 7:30 and then after a bath and some rocking, I put him in his bed at 10:00 and he didn’t wake up until 1:30. I got to bed at 10:00 so that was 3.5 solid hours of sleep for me! hooray! I fed him and then rocked him for just a bit and he went right back to sleep in his bed until 5:00. That meant another 3 solid hours of sleep for me! hooray x 2!! I fed him, rocked him and put him back in his bed asleep where he stayed for about another hour and then Robert got up and held him and let me sleep until 8:00. hooray x 3! I feel like a new person! I’m so glad that Spencer did well with ZERO crying except when he wanted to eat. This kid is proving to be a pretty easy baby!

The monitor view of him all snuggled up like a burrito in his swaddle blanket in his bed…

and happy in his bed on Sunday!

What made Robert really happy? Roll Tide of course! It was QUITE a game against GA and I wasn’t sure Robert was going to make it through at some points but the Tide pulled it out and we had quite the celebration around here! The celebrations continued the next day when Maxwell wore his cute new State Traditions shirt and “butt-ball” hat!

What made us all really happy? Christmas decorations! Everything is up inside including our tree! We also got all the new decorations up outside on Saturday. Unfortunately, some of my lighted garland didn’t light up when I plugged it in on Saturday so I need to replace that. I also need to add one more wreath so will share pictures when it’s all complete. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peak of our mail box all done up by Susan! It’s holly jolly festive around here!! I love Christmastime!

Hope you all had a great weekend too!

Doc update

November 30, 2012

I took Spencer to see Dr. Walley for his 6 week checkup. Robert and I had a bet on what he was going to weigh – Robert guessed 9.5 lbs, I said 10. We were both wrong! My little chubbo is 11 lbs, 4 oz (75th-95th%)! chunk! He’s also 22.5 inches long (85th-95th%) and has a head circumference of 15 inches (75th-95th%). I looked back to compare with Maxwell and, at 5 weeks, Maxwell was 10 lbs, 1 oz and 22 and 1/4 inches long. Spencer’s a week older and almost a pound heavier! We’ll see how they compare as they grow.

Spencer did great at the doc again. Happy and chubby…

I mean, could he be any cuter?!

Nope, he couldn’t. and being that cute is exhausting!

Getting checked out by Dr. Walley…

Post-shot in thigh…not happy!

Overall, Dr. Walley said Spencer looks just great! Hooray for good doctor reports!

Just a few other things to wrap up the week around here.

Maxwell has enjoyed being back home around all of his toys again…

GJ and Daddo stopped by on their way back to FL…

and Maxwell gave us all hats to wear as usual…

GJ and Daddo are good sports!

And last but not least, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!

Ho ho ho! I LOOOOVE Christmas time! My decorations will be mainly the same as last year, but, with Susan’s help, I am doing something new to the outside. Will share pics next week.

Have a great weekend!

More Thanksgiving

November 29, 2012

While in Arkansas, we also stopped by to see my Dad’s side of the family. My cousin Amy had her little girl Savannah with her and, although she’ll be 1 year old next week, this is the first time we’ve gotten to meet her in person! She is even more precious in person than in her pictures…