It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas!

I love cold weather. I love the holidays. I love everything winter. The weather is finally starting to get more consistently cold, and I am glad. I am just a cold winter person. This weekend was full of the beginning of my holidays.

Friday was Noah's 18 month check-up. He had to get 4 shots and I went alone, so I had to mentally prepare myself - it is hard on a Momma to let someone hurt their child. Don't get me wrong, Noah is blessed to live in a country where he able to get his immunizations, but to go somewhere knowing they are going to hurt him is still tough. As soon as we walked in the door he turned towards me and put his head on my shoulder and started saying "bye-bye". He knew something was up. The doctor's office gave me 6 forms to complete, which should be illegal to give a parent alone with a kid. That was tricky. Noah wanted to draw and didn't understand why Momma got to and he didn't. They were wrinkled and sloppy, but they were completed. They wanted to weigh and measure Noah first, and he had other plans. He was not about to let me put him down. So, we had to weigh me holding Noah, then weigh me by myself while the nurse held him screaming. Measuring him was a screaming mess too. They acted like that was totally normal for a 1 and a half hear old - thank goodness! He is 90th percentile in weight and height and looked perfect. No more shots except the yearly flu shot until he is 4! Yay for healthy kids!

We stopped by to see Daddy at work after his shots for extra love!

I had big plans of decorating my Christmas tree after I dropped Noah off at the sitter on Friday. Well, I then realized we bought a tree 2 feet taller than we normally do and we have baby gates up with an opening smaller than the width of the tree stand, so I was going to need to wait on Nathan. But, I went ahead and rearranged the living room to get it ready. I haven't ever had to rearrange it, but this year Noah's toy corner is where the tree usually is, so I had to move the tree somewhere else. I LOVE the rearrangement and I think I will just keep it that way. I also got a Fisher Price nativity scene for Noah to put in his room, so we can keep the real meaning of Christmas around. It is so cute!

I had ballgames all day Saturday - we won all of them again - Go LAMAR!  Then Nathan and I took Noah to his first Christmas parade. It was raining off and on but it wasn't too bad. Noah likes all the lights and sirens. He also like the horses. I can't wait to watch him get even more excited next year. We then headed to my mom's to decorate her tree and have some homemade chicken-n-dumplins. My stepdad David and my niece Eliza did the star, me and David did the lights, and me and Mom did the beads. Then everyone joined in on the ornaments, except Nathan and Noah - I sent them to watch Mickey to make it easier and so he wouldn't break anything either. Nathan was all about that anyway. Everything was going good until I went over to the ornament box and saw a bunch of plastic molded packaging that came out of the ornament boxes and was not put back in the box they came out of. Apparently the kids were just throwing them down, so there we were, taking the molded plastic over to the tree and trying to match it up to the ornament so we knew what box to put it back in. That was a little much for my OCD. We finally got the tree done and I could not believe it was 9:00! I felt so bad, Noah wouldn't eat earlier so he was starving my then and it was his bedtime! I rushed him home and fed and bathed him and he grabbed up his Blue and Mickey and said "nite-nite". The poor guy was ready for bed!

Watching the Christmas parade!

Eliza and her Hello Kitty ornament  - she had to have a hat and gloves to decorate too - she cracks me up!

Special Christian decorating the tree :)

Noah helping clean up after we were done!

Kesha straightening up a few ornaments on Mom's tree.

Sunday we went to church, where my son only cried for about one minute when I left him by the way! We then went to the Kountry Kitchen like always and home for Noah's nap and me and Nathan's decorating time. I managed to get the decorations out and the tree up and decorated while Noah napped. I end up decorating the tree alone every year. I do the lights and all the ornaments. Nathan says he will be "in my way" - excuses, excuses. It is not how I want it to be in my head, but it is what it is. I think it all turned out beautiful! We then watched Mickey's Christmas Carol together. Noah didn't notice the tree for awhile so I took him over to check it out. I put the Mickey Mouse ornaments at the bottom and he kept pointing to them wanting me to tell them each of their names. He kept petting the tree, then he would run off and do something else. So, hopefully he won't mess with it too much. I put all the ornaments I can live without at the bottom in case he gets too curious! :)

Before

After!

I LOVE our pine cone star!

The "A Christmas Story" section :)

Nathan's ESPN section

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation section :)

Noah watching Mickey's Christmas Carol

Noah checking the tree out for the first time!

Examining Mickey Mouse :)




All of the stockings were hung with care...

(My mom made mine [left], Nathan's mom added Noah's name to his for us, and I made Nathan's [right])



He LOVES the tree!