A Week Called Wonderful

We truly have had the most wonderful week. We were having so much fun, in fact, that I haven't had time to take the pictures off my camera or post! Finally, today at long last I have a few minutes to do so! I suppose I will begin where I left off...with Tuesday which was a MOPS day (our last before Christmas and my planet's day for set up).

Wednesday we finally got to have our several-time-postponed second playdate with Audrie and Adalynn. I took a picture of the babies together, but I don't know what happened to it. :( We all went walking together (in very, very cold wind) and Lynzie made spaghetti for the mommies for lunch- yummy. Then Wednesday night the Lowerys came over for our annual joint viewing of Christmas Vacation. We made a fire and some wassail and I put out some of my homemade holiday goodies...it was a really nice holiday get-together I thought!

Thursday evening was the MOPS gift-wrapping party- we all brought snacks and all the gifts we had to wrap and all the stuff to wrap them then spread out on the floor at church and wrapped! There was cider and cocoa and we shared wrapping supplies...much fun!

Friday we ran some errands- which is always easier to do with Josh, and had our weekly meal out. Then Josh kept Frazier while I finished some Christmas shopping.

Saturday was a big day. I started at 7am cooking. Ross was coming on Sunday and I'd planned a big dinner, plus I had to take a veggie tray to a baby shower and something to a Christmas party that night. I managed to get plenty done before the baby shower at two which I had to leave early to come home, feed Frazier and get ready for a surprise 30th birthday party for one of our friends at 4:30. We were a little late, but didn't ruin the surprise. After the birthday party we came home to regroup (and feed Frazier again) before heading to the 5th annual Christmas party at the Scott's.

It was great fun as always and really good to see friends we don't see that often. A couple of friends who moved to Houston were back in Longview and it was wonderful to see them. The highlight of the Scott's party is always the Dirty Santa gift exchange. Someone always steals the gift I want, but both of the gifts Josh and I brought were big hits so that was fun!

I didn't have my camera ready for the girls' group picture, but I did get the guys.

Sunday was our big Christmas day with Ross since he's going to Belgium for Christmas this year. I went all out and cooked a big Christmas dinner- turkey breast, dressing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and turkey gravy, ambrosia, dumplings, rolls, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and pecan pie. I even had a veggie and pickle tray with deviled eggs! And I made wassail again and chocolate covered pretzels and friendship bread.

And a partridge in a pear tree.

I have lots of pictures of Sunday:

We ichatted with Mom and Dad so it was almost like all being together! Josh took this family photo for us! :)

We rounded out last night with a family Christmas program at our church and fellowship afterwards.

And the fun hasn't stopped yet!! We were invited to a gingerbread decorating party at my friend Rebecca's (Frazier's friend Myles's) house this morning. There were lots of mommies and kiddos and we made these cute little graham cracker ginger bread houses and also the kids could make foam nativities. I was in charge of the house decorating table...a perfect job for me! I loved it!! Then we all had lunch (I made chicken salad- Rebecca made vegetable soup- and cute little cut out sandwiches for the kids...or the ones who could eat sandwiches anyway). I can't imagine how much time Rebecca put into everything, but it was really amazing...and brave...of her to have all of us over!

We really had a great time- though Frazier just hung out and watched everything. And I think it's good for me to be around kids older than Frazier with icing in their hair running circles around the living room. It reminds me of what I have to look forward to and helps me prepare. For instance, it occurred to me today as I was eating lunch on the floor and Frazier was sitting happily in Myles's bouncy seat chewing on his sweater sleeve that one day my little angel may be the one crawling around under someone else's coffee table barking like a dog.

And it'll still all be ok.

So there is our week in short...or not so short, really. We still have lots to do, but I'm thinking we might could slip in a nap...

Happy Merry!

I Have A Dream...

...that one day I will sit Frazier down for a photoshoot and the process will be easy. I will put him in one place and he will stay there. He won't whine or squirm or blow bubbles. He won't suck on his fingers or stick out his tongue or drool on his clothes or pull them off.

He will look at the camera and smile.

But I suppose on that day picture taking will cease to be a challenge. It won't be any fun. And the results, now that I think of it, will be terribly boring.

*Yes, there's a duplicate. No, I couldn't delete it.

A Lovely Little Weekend

We really did have a lovely little weekend complete with the first fires in the fireplace of the season (and plenty of camping out and playing games in front of it!), lots of spiced tea and a visit with Mae Mae and Pop!
We also finished the lights outside....a bit haphazard as always...but sweet, I think. :) And Frazier likes them.

It was red day, apparently! (Josh and Pop missed the memo). So we three red-clad folks posed in front of the red door for a pic!

P.S. That green blanket in the fire picture was a happy from Debbie. Tres cute, n'est pas?

It's a favorite Debbie, thanks!!

What I really want...

...is an aluminum tree. Complete with the multicolored light wheel. This has proven, however, not only difficult to find, but also to convince Josh we need. So, the little plastic green tree I bought for, like, $15 three years ago came out once again with all the Christmas decor. It does fit well in the little space we have in the living room, though.

My tree, even this non-aluminum one, always winds up resembling something an after-Christmas sale (circa 1968) regurgitated. But that's the way I like it. Those bubbling candle lights, the tinsel icicles...

It literally took until today (and we started Saturday when we got home from Ruston) to get the house decorated and in some semblance of order.

We got most everything set up last weekend, but it was the reorganizing the things I decided not to get out, putting away regular decor which the Christmas decor temporarily replaces, and putting all the empty decoration boxes back up in the attic, and wrapping the gifts I have so far that took so long.

Not to mention it's much MUCH harder to do EVERYTHING these days. This is the case for two reasons (both begin with Frazier):

1. Frazier wants to be held, or at the very least not ignored. The vast majority of the time. (This might be my fault.)

and

2. Frazier doesn't stay put.

Ah yes, the days when you could put him down somewhere and he'd stay are nearly gone.

He doesn't crawl yet- he can get his back end up into crawling position and his front end up into crawling position, but coordination of the two eludes him. This is entertaining to watch, however. What he can do is roll and roll he does. I can't keep him on a blanket. I can't leave him on the bed. The minute I put him in his bouncy seat or Bumbo or swing the first thing he does is try to get out. Case in point (see pic below):

He almost succeeded in launching himself out of the swing while I was unloading the dishwasher today.

Funny story (to me): Today he was sitting in his Bumbo chair on the counter while I filled containers of spiced tea mix and he just reached right over, grabbed the lid of my big orange-shaped cookie jar and flung it at me. He was as shocked as I was it happened! Note to self: keep cookie jars out of Frazier's reach.

I figure there are only so many years in your son's life during which you can dress him in furry blue jackets with ears. So I'm making the most of them. :)

It's finally wintry feeling here...mostly. Not really coat weather, but spiced tea and fires in the fireplace weather!

Well, here's hoping I get another chance to post soon!

Happy beginning of Christmas season!