Christmas Eve and Morning

Here we go.. I am finally getting Christmas video and pics posted. Christmas Eve was spent with Eric's family and was so fun and without a doubt mad chaos. With Harper (4), Saylor (almost 3) and Mason (2) there was no way it couldn't have been crazy but we loved every minute of it. We had planned on spending Christmas Day with my family but my dad came down with the flu and now my mom has it so we hope to celebrate with them sometime next week. My apologies for the picture overload.

Christmas Eve morning we celebrated with a HUGE breakfast. The kids LOVE the piano at Mimi and Big Daddy's house.

Playing with Mason's Tag Jr. we let him open early.

This is Eric's Grandma and her semi-new boyfriend Dennis. After decades living alone on her own, she was moved to an assisted living facility in the last year and met Dennis. So sweet! Christmas Eve after Church and a yummy mexican meal the kids listen to the Christmas story.

Ryan reading the Christmas Story and Brooke supplying the background music.

Finally onto the presents! Mason's a fireman.

Can you see the excitement in Harper's face? She LOVED her Belle outfit.

When Mason opened these shoes he put them on and said, "these are my dancin shoes!"

He hugged each gift and before he opened it exclaimed, "I just don't know what it is!!!!

Each present was like a magnificent prize that he just won. It was all very dramatic. I have no idea where he gets that from!

I had nothing to do with these gifts but he hugged me like I did. I gladly accepted his hugs.

Finally he got a piano of his own. He loves it!

Uncle Adam who he now calls "his bubba" got him a Handy Manny guitar. Now Mason can play his own version of the "Ants in your Pants" song.

Right after Mason went to bed (11pm) the snow started to fall.

He woke up and loved seeing his first White Christmas.

We saved a couple of gifts and his stocking for Christmas morning.
Thank goodness Bubba and Big Daddy were around to give Mason some money to fill his new piggy bank.

And now for the live action.

Pre- Christmas Video

Since we got our new camera I have neglected taking video of Mason. I tried to make a conscious effort this last week to take lots of video of him because I just feel like he has grown so much recently. I know I have said this at different stages of his life but right now, I really mean it: I just want to freeze time and keep him at this age forever. He and I carry on great conversations throughout each day and the things he says are just so cute and innocent. He keeps us laughing all the time. I am sad for him to keep growing but excited that I will get to go through this stage again with Myla. Hope to post some Christmas pics and video soon. Enjoy!

Garth

Along with the hundreds of thousands of others, Eric and I had tickets to the Garth Brooks concert. We actually ended up going twice. The opening night and the final night. Both concerts were amazing but the last night was slightly better because they worked out some kinks in the sound, he was definitely more comfortable on stage, and we had better seats. If you ever went to a Garth Brooks concert back in the day, you know Garth expects you to know the words to all the songs and sing along.

Here is some video of the guys warming up their voices before the concert.

This video is from the first night when our seats were in the nosebleed section.


Thank you Garth for 9 shows and $3.5 million you donated to the Nashville Flood Relief!

Christmas fun

The last week has been full of fun Christmas events and parties. Here are some pictures of the fun we've had.

My mom has started a Christmas tradition with her grandsons of making gingerbread men. She lets them cut out the dough and decorate them anyway they want. They have so much fun doing this each year. I think they enjoy the process of decorating more than eating them.

into the oven they go!

Mason had his Christmas performance at Mother's Day Out last Thursday. As much as he loves to sing, that morning he was in rare form and really clammed up on stage. This picture sums up what he did the entire time.. Stood there with his finger in his mouth. Hey, at least I got him smiling!

On Friday, my brother and I took our boys to the Adventure Science Center. I literally haven't stepped foot in this place since my 2nd grade class took a field trip here. A lot has changed and the boys loved it. They had a train exhibit on this day and they loved watching and controlling the trains on the track.





Learning how an engine works.







Playing in the ambulance

Out to dinner on Friday night with my friends Emily (middle) and Melissa (right). Emily moved very suddenly to Ohio for her husband's quick job transfer at the end of October. She came back in town this past weekend to do a little "housekeeping" since she still has a house here on the market. We took advantage of her time here with a fun night out- without the kids.

And the husbands- (L to R- Scott, Kevin and Eric)

This is just our Lazy Sunday afternoon. We didn't leave the house all day on Sunday and Mason even told Eric and I to take a nap on the couch. He really let us sleep for about an hour while he played quietly in his playroom. Thanks Mase! I just couldn't resist posting this sweet smile.

Tonight we went to Chick-fil-a to see the Santa Cow. I mean what could be better than Mason's favorite animal on earth dressed up as Santa? Pretty much nothing! He cried every time the cow left his sight. Pretty sure he loved the seeing the cow more than the Santa at the mall. Note to self: Skip the creepy mall Santa in 2011 and just go see the cow.

"Bye Cow!"

My Lazy Attempt

I'll admit it.. I am lazy. I didn't do Christmas cards this year so here is my lazy and somewhat cheesy attempt at a Christmas card. I know for some it's not the same as opening up your mailbox and looking at sweet pictures however, my message is the same. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and finds much in their lives to be thankful for!

23 Weeks

So I got tired of those same questions so here is my pregnancy update for this week. I am almost 23 weeks along and definitely showing.

• I got my first stranger belly touch and I didn't like it...at_all. I just freeze up and don't know what to do. I just stared and her hand placed on my stomach and couldn't even respond to whatever she was saying to me. If you know me it's okay but if you barely know me or don't know me at all, please don't touch me. Thanks.


• I am still sleeping on my stomach and will cry of sleep deprivation when I can't do so anymore.


• Myla is kicking around like crazy and I love feeling her move. The kicks at this points are sweet little taps and nudges. Not jabs into the bladder or ribs like they will be towards the end.


• I have gotten a small start on the nursery but have a lot to do. Thanks to my good friend Melissa, she has offered to lend her interior design expertise to creating an adorable nursery. She has all kinds of amazing ideas and I can't wait to see the end result. I have so many decisions to make on bedding, curtains, decor etc. I really need to muster up some motivation to get that done.


• I haven't had that many cravings recently and my soda craving has subsided..Thank goodness! I have gained a total of about 9 lbs and according to babycenter Myla is about 1 lb. hmmm.. not sure where those other 8 crept in from...maybe all that rootbeer. I am still going to the gym and doing cardio about 3 times a week and it's making me feel great! I hope I can continue my regular workouts for a couple more months at least before I have to switch to treadmill walking and pilates.


• I still hate maternity clothes.

Christmas is coming, the Goose is getting fat

We are slowly but surely getting ready for Christmas. We finally decorated our tree this past weekend but I have yet to make the long and cold trip to the attic to fetch the tree skirt and other misc. Christmas decoration that are missing. I hope to get that done one day in the next couple weeks. Below are some photos of the last week or so and some lost video that never got removed from our video camera.

So check out my super thifty Christmas decor that cost $2.50. I already had the vases and the crystals. I bought the cranberries at publix and picked the holly from our tree out back. Just call me Martha!

Mason was excited to decorate the tree. We sometimes put clothes on him when he's at home. :) He really enjoyed placing the "o-ments" on the tree.

Daddy played his final game of flag football this past weekend. Mason learned the importance of stretching before the big game.

This is how excited Mason was to see Santa tonight. He waited in line so patiently and ate his snack. The excitement wore off slightly after waiting in line for 45 minutes. Still cute!