A Whole Lot of Christmas (part 2)

So, our Christmas fun with family continued on Christmas Eve with a big breakfast. Josh's family were on their way back home and my family arrived. So, we all enjoyed a big, tasty breakfast before the Garrett clan left. Shortly after our breakfast settled, there was more gift exchanging...

So many pretty packages...

His very own cash register. Ding, ding!

One of Sam's favorite gifts: his very own Molly pup. Named after Uncle John & Aunt Lisa's sweet dog. Hoping this will teach Sam to be more loving (and less torturous) to the real Molly!

Lisa's crafty wrapping included stamps. Maybe Jack could help out next year?

So true.

"Mom, take my picture with my tower!"

Speaking of towers, this one is coming down! The big blocks are a hit, Uncle John & Aunt Lisa!

Later that evening we all headed to my grandparent's house just outside of Athens for our annual Christmas Eve feast with extended family. The gathering is a tradition, but the menu is anything but. Featuring low country boil, fried shrimp, hushpuppies and fries, it's definitely not your typical ham and turkey. It's always a house full when we get together, and all the great grandkids make it a fun time. Here they are all patiently waiting their gift to open.

Everyone, except Sam, who couldn't care less about opening a present. He is much too busy to sit down and open something!

Shortly after the gift opening it was pajama time. We loaded our boys up and headed home. The boys watched Elf on the way home, and the last thing we did before turning in for the night was put out the cookies we made for Santa and strawberry milk (as Jack requested).

Stay tuned for the final installment of Christmas. Part 3 coming soon!

Superman and A Giraffe Walk into a Bar...

You'll remember we did a trial run of our Halloween wardrobe several days ago, and the boys gave their costumes another workout this past weekend during our trip to Amelia Island. So, I knew that Sam would not only tolerate his costume, but actually kind of enjoy it. What I didn't really expect was for him to enjoy carrying his treat basket so much. He pretty much refused any help with his basket. The little guy loves to be on the move, so I should have known he'd love going from house to house to collect treats.

We even had a visit from Mema and Pop on Monday night. They decided that instead of handing out candy to other people's kids, they'd rather drive up and watch their own grandboys collect sweets. I'm not sure who is having more fun?

We made it around to about 10 or so of the houses on our street, and then Jack was ready to head home and play! Not to mention the fact that they couldn't wait to sample some of their loot.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

On Memorial Day, we were thrilled to have Josh at home...especially since he had worked on Saturday and Sunday. We enjoyed spending our morning swimming with some friends. Jack loves the pool. Sam enjoys it, but really prefers to get in and out and explore all the surroundings.

Later that day, we all went shopping in Buford. The crowds were out for sure, but Jack still got to enjoy several trips on the escalators (his favorite part of any trip to the mall). Eventually, Josh had to head back home for his Monday evening shift, and the boys and I headed to my brother and sister-in-law's house nearby for a cook-out with Mema & Pop. The highlight of a stop at Uncle John & Aunt Lisa's is always fun with their playful and energetic dog, Molly.

After lots of fun and food, we all headed to the Gwinnett Braves game. Jack particularly enjoyed the inflatables and popcorn. Sam enjoyed the freedom to roam as we elected to sit on the outfield lawn. We can't wait to go back with Josh in our party...especially since chasing Sam gets exhausting :)

Happy Birthday, Mom/Mema

Happy birthday to my dear sweet mom. Also known as Mema (pronounced Mee-ma) to the boys. We hope you've had a day as special as you are!

Here she is opening her birthday gift yesterday. Moments earlier we'd been outside and asked Jack if he wanted to give Mema her birthday present. He said, "Yes." And then in his best sing-songy voice he added,  "Me-ma, it's a neck-lace!"

We are thankful to have you in our family. Looking forward to celebrating you again with the whole family.

Operation Heal Mema

Last Thursday we headed down to Athens to visit with Mema & Pop and help play nurse to Mema as she recovered from gall bladder surgery. While we waited for Mema & Pop to return home from the hospital we hit up a local park. The park's playground is aptly named "World of Wonder." Despite the heat, Jack had a ball exploring this new and different playground. His favorite was bouncing on the bridges. Somehow poor Sam managed to drift off to sleep in the extreme heat. He was a trooper for sure.

After the park we headed to my parent's house to help with Operation Heal Mema. Pop headed back to work for a few hours while we destroyed the house. I'm guessing Mema was still so groggy from the anesthesia that she didn't hear all the ruckus. Thank goodness, because after laying down for 20 minutes Jack said, "I done my nap." He doesn't do so great with napping/sleeping in unusual places. After a while I made dinner, and then dad got home. Soon my sister arrived with her dog, which thrilled Jack. He had a ball playing with him. He also easily convinced Pop to play some baseball in the front yard. We left Friday morning and headed toward Greenwood, South Carolina to catch up with some old friends. My sister stayed home with mom; so I guess we left her in good hands?! ;) No doubt quieter hands!

Here's what we've been doing

Celebrating Christmas has made for such a fun weekend (and several more days it seems). Enjoying the excitement of the season has kept me from updating my loyal blog followers (read with extreme sarcasm) and for that apologize (for both not updating & making that terrible joke!) There are too many pictures to share here, so a good sampling are in my December album.

Jack & I spent early last week with some friends at the new Babyland General in Cleveland. And shame on you if you didn't know that was the birthplace to millions of Cabbage Patch Kids until after clicking the link. Anyway, the new hospital is enormous and was jazzed up for Christmas. I wasn't sure how interested Jack would be in the baby dolls. He seemed to gravitate towards the stuffed animals and loved it when we spotted an Elmo doll. His second favorite part of the tour was probably the giant Cabbage Patch doll, Noel. Her fuzzy outfit was irrestible to him! I also managed to get him to sit on Santa's knee, which was a huge accomplishment! He loves Santa from a distance. As you can see, he wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but there were no tears...so I deemed it a success.

On Christmas Eve, we headed to Athens to celebrate with my parents, brother and sister-in-law. Jack had a great time at Mema & Pop's house. He loved his new camera...he's still learning, but looking forward to keeping up with his mommy and his Pop in the photo department! He was over the moon for his new bubble mower, courtesy of Uncle John & Aunt Lisa. We headed to my grandparents for dinner with my cousins. It was a fun night, and Jack stayed awake all the way home!

When Jack woke up (after 8, which was a nice treat), we saw that Santa had come. He left the most fun surprise for Jack...a shopping cart that he has been pushing around for days! Jack finished the morning with a bubble bath with his new Elmo bubbles, a gift from friends!

That afternoon, Josh's parents and family joined us for dinner and more Christmas fun. He loved his talking Elmo and Little People racecar track. He also got his very own rocking chair. We also enjoyed "sort-of" surprising Josh's parents with their gallery of family photos from our shoot with Sue Ann back in October.

The next day, Josh's aunt & uncle and cousins, as well as my parents, all joined us for lunch and a little gift swaping game...which remained pretty tame. I love Nathan's expression in this photo of Ryan opening a set of TV trays! We don't get to see them as often as we'd like, so it was a real treat to get to spend the better part of the day catching up. The kids had a blast. We are looking forward to ringing in the New Year in a relaxing fashion tonight. See you in 2010!