Getting Ready for Christmas

I am fully aware that the title of my post seems rather ridiculous since it is mid-January. However, although I have gotten very behind on my blogging, I still want a somewhat organized flow as my blog is a keepsake for our family. So now that I've explained the title, I will move on to why I've been so absent from the blogging world. In no particular order my excuses include: the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I have a newborn and a toddler, Anna had a 3 night stay at Vanderbilt, Jacob fractured his leg, and Jacob turned two. We are all doing fabulous and there will be more information regarding hospital stays, X-rays, and birthday parties in future posts. For now, I am going back to early December 2010. :)

Our Christmas Tree
Jimmy and I get a real Christmas tree every year. This decision was made the first Christmas we spent in our house. We purchased a gorgeous fake tree and spent hours "fluffing" it only to have one of the light sets not work. (And, yes, we did check the lights before we fluffed it.) Jimmy took his frustration out on all fake trees in the whole world and vowed that we would never have one. I happily took the vow with him as I love real trees.

Every year we visit Home Depot for the authentic suburban Christmas tree experience. As we loaded up the family for our annual trip I asked Jimmy to put the double stroller in the car. He said we didn't need the double stroller as Jacob would just walk with us while we pushed Anna in the single stroller. I didn't think this was going to work but decided to let Jimmy "win" this one. We arrive at the Depot and Jimmy gets the stroller out, puts Anna in it, and then takes Jacob out of the car. As expected Jacob starts saying "mine, mine, mine!!!!!" to the stroller and is trying to get in the stroller. Jimmy explained to him that Anna was going to ride and he was going to walk. You can imagine how well this conversation went! (I should also mention that Jacob's nap time was in 30 minutes.) To prevent a complete meltdown Jimmy picks up Jacob. However, as we go to look at the first tree he realizes he can't hold Jacob and help me pick out a tree. We were laughing and loaded back in the car a mere 5 minutes after we arrived with a plan to come back with the double stroller and a well rested Jacob. Trip two was very successful and we had a beautiful tree that our family enjoyed all season.

Christmas Cards

We decided to get professional pictures taken of Anna and Jacob in mid-November. They were to serve as Anna's newborn shots, Jacob's two-year pictures, and our Christmas card photo. Unfortunately none of these goals were achieved. Therefore, I was stuck trying to get a good Christmas card photo of my kiddos. Jacob and Anna just weren't good photo subjects this Christmas. Jacob stopped smiling when he realized you were taking his picture and Anna just couldn't understand why we kept taking her away from our warm, snugly embrace. Here are the pictures we decided on for our card.

Nana came over and I snapped this cute picture Jacob LOVES laying down next to Anna with his head touching hers. It is the sweetest thing!Jacob discovered how much fun Reddi Whip is. (I was probably trying to bribe him into smiling for the camera.) I love squirting Reddi Whip on my fingers or directly into my mouth. My mom introduced me to this great treat as a child and I am happy to pass on this joy to my son. Jacob requests it by making the noise the can makes when it being dispensed. It is pretty cute!Around the House
Jacob LOVES Anna and is so sweet and gentle with her. I love seeing them together and am so excited about watching them grow up together. Here are a couple of sweet moments.

I love Anna in her reindeer footed sleeper and Santa hat! And last, but certainly not least, two pictures from Jacob's PDO Christmas party. After being on bed rest and missing out on all previous school events, I was super excited to spend time with Jacob in his classroom and meet all the other kids and moms. We had a great time!

Jacob enjoying his candy cane treat

Jacob showed me his favorite toy - the vacuum!