A Christmas of Firsts and Lasts

We had a wonderful Christmas, but wait it's still not over for us. We still have to celebrate with Poppy and Moppy, Uncle Troy and Aunt Diane and the Rice cousins next weekend!

So far, we went to Bristol and celebrated with the aunts and cousins on the 21st. This is a fun little get-together, highlighted by an appearance from Santa Clause. This was Chloe's first time on this Santa's lap (of course it is her first of everything) and she did surprisingly well. This was also the first time Evan was not the least bit leery of Santa.

BTW, This particular Santa bears an uncanny resemblance to Uncle Josh, (shh!)

We went back to Bristol and celebrated with Matthew's immediate family on Christmas Eve. We had a yummy Christmas dinner and got to see Uncle Josh who lives in Massachusetts now so we don't see him very often. Evan loved opening presents, but he did get a little tired of handing them out. Preston is glad to be handing the job of the "youngest" which requires handing out presents to everyone off to Evan. This was really the first Christmas Evan was old enough to take on this task. Of course, Chloe is technically the youngest, but it might have taken her a while to get them handed out while rolling across the floor.

This Is a Christmas First For the Record Books



We came back home Christmas Eve to get all ready for Santa. We had to set out cookies and milk and tell Little Bear (our elf) goodbye. This was the first year we really began the milk and cookies tradition because Evan has never really been old enough to understand and we've never really been home early enough from Bristol to get it all together. And Matthew is likely to kill me for what I'm about to tell you, but I have to share it! If nothing else, it should make any of you who feel like your children are ever heathens feel better. Let's just say that Evan was in a "mood" Christmas Eve. We got ready to put cookies and milk out and suddenly Evan decided he did not want to share his cookies and milk with Santa. And by not wanting to share, I mean he threw the biggest temper tantrum you've EVER seen. It was truly a horrible moment. Matthew and I were horrified at the selfishness. Matthew said more than once, "What kind of kid won't share milk and cookies with Santa?!". We were totally exasperated, and of course, we were disappointed in his behavior and that our "vision"of the perfect Christmas Eve was shattered. We pleaded, we reasoned, we reminded him of all Santa was going to bring to him, we explained how hard Santa works and how tired and hungry and thirsty he would be. None if it helped. We threatened, we told him Santa wouldn't leave him any toys, we shamed him. None of it worked. Finally we just had to put him to bed and I read the Christmas story to him and talked to him about Jesus and I also read the Giving Tree. I explained about giving things to others and about not being selfish and how God wants him to be a nice boy and to give with a cheerful heart. I told him how the milk was not really his, but Daddy's and mine and that we share it with him every day. I reminded him that we always have more milk and that we will not run out and that he has never been without milk. I truly wish I could tell you that he had an epiphany and decided to be sweet. But, honestly, I had to tell him that if he did not get his little hiney downstairs and share some milk with Santa with a smile on his face he wasn't getting any to go to bed with! So, he reluctantly shared his milk and reluctantly wrote Santa a thank you note. Santa was very good to him and left him a note back and even left one cookie behind for Evan. I will say that today he told Matthew that he was going to share his new game with him because he had decided to share and not just care about himself anymore. I hope that is true, because we were mortified by his behavior Christmas Eve! We have been going over and over every decision we've made for the last three years wondering where we've gone wrong in our parenting to turn out such a little monster, LOL. I've even pulled my Love and Logic book out for a refresher course. But SERIOUSLY, What kind of kid won't give milk to Santa?!" That has got to be a Christmas first.
Here we are baking the cookies for Santa, that he did not want to share.


Christmas day was lots of fun. Evan was very excited and Chloe enjoyed her first Christmas as well. Santa brought her a new jumperoo and she loved bouncing and playing in it while we all opened gifts. I know I will always remember her first Christmas. How sweet and precious she is right now. How cute she looked in all her red. Opening presents with her snuggled on my lap. It really is a special time.

We opened gifts here at home and then went to my mom's for Christmas breakfast with my aunt and uncle and Granddaddy. This was hard because it was the first Christmas without my Grandmother. And my Grandmother loved Christmas. She and my Granddaddy always wanted everyone to bring their presents to them before Christmas, but they never opened them until Christmas morning. They would open them together that morning. She would come to breakfast wearing as many of her gifts as she could and this almost always included new jewelery from Granddaddy. What she couldn't wear, she often carried in with her and she showed everything off and told who had given everything to her. She loved the ham my mom and Lynn always bake for Christmas and would eat lots of it! She also loved to talk. She loved to tell story after story and often would stay even after my Granddaddy went home and one of us would take her home later. It just wasn't the same without her. In any way. I can't tell you how upset I was and how I worried about my poor Granddaddy waking up alone on Christmas morning. For the very first time after 70 years of marriage. We wished he would spend the night at my parents' or let someone spend the night with him, but he wouldn't hear of it. I know it had to be very lonely for him, but he put on an extremely brave face. He was upbeat and cheerful at breakfast. I know it was a very hard day for him just like it was an extremely hard day for my mother. I was so touched and choked up as he said the blessing that morning as he has time and time before. Life goes on and we must too, and he continues to praise and thank God.
Some Pictures from this year's breakfast:
Some surprise guests for breakfast.


Unfortunately, Evan was not too cheerful there either. I think he honestly just had too much Christmas before Christmas ever came. And Chloe was tired and not feeling well and after finally falling asleep on my chest she got all choked and basically threw up all over me and my new Northface jacket. That was our cue to leave. After we came home and all took naps, we went back to my mom's and celebrated with Uncle Richie and Shelly and cousins, Taylor and Saddie. Evan was much more cheerful and happy that night and was very sweet when opening presents. He didn't even argue with Saddie. Again, although the evening was a joyous one, it was bittersweet as well because someone else was missing. For the past several years, Lynn would go and get Pa and he would celebrate with us. And this was the first Christmas without him as well.
Our Christmas 2008 celebration.

We've been happy for some warmer weather (although we would have loved some snow) so Evan could ride his new Gator around. He has been having a ball with that. Of course, he always gets way too much and there are toys he has not even opened yet! But, it's kind of exciting because it's like he gets to choose something new everyday to explore and play with.

We had to take Chloe to the dr. the day after Christmas. Her cold was just not getting better and in fact, was getting worse again. So, we went in to see Dr. Blevins and she has double ear infections. So, those would be her first ear infections and her first antibiotics, which she doesn't care for very much.


The last first is an exciting one. This Christmas we are expecting our first nephew! That's right, Aunt Beth and Uncle Brian are having a baby and they found out right before Christmas that it is a little boy. So, little Oliver Benjamin is on his way somewhere around May 7. We are so excited. I'm especially excited for Evan since he has 7 female cousins and a sister. I hope he and little Oliver become fast friends.


And now for the last. Sadly, this was our last Christmas with our sweet dog, Tanga. Matthew had to take Tanga yesterday to be put to sleep. She was 14 years old and getting worse and worse. For the last few days we noticed she wasn't eating, couldn't stand to eat, and could basically not walk at all. We weren't sure we would make it through Christmas. It is sad for all of us, but we don't want her to suffer anymore. We will miss her. She was a wonderful and loyal pet. As Evan says, now we do not have any more dogs to pet. But, we think we will keep it that way for a while. We lost our other dog, Kena in March. We are not ready for any more for a while. We loved our dogs and they enriched our lives, but it is hard to give them the love and attention they deserve with two little ones and also with two little ones it is better to not have any more things to be responsible for. As Evan said today, when he was playing in the backyard, "No more dogs, means no more dog poop."We'll miss you, Tanga, poop and all. Thank you for being such a sweet and loving dog for all your years. We hope you and Kena are together running and barking to your heart's delights!

Willy Nilly Wednesday

What's Not On My Tree and Other Random Things

I did not take a picture of any ornaments this week and I don't want to deal with the hassle of taking my memory card out of the computer, putting it back in the camera, taking a picture, downloading it.... you get it. So, there will be no What's on My Tree Wednesday this week.

BUT, what you will get is a Willy Nilly assortment of information and pictures from the last few weeks. The first thing you will probably notice is that my kids are in their pajamas in nearly all of the pictures. That is because one or all four of us have been sick nearly consistently for the past month. So, we've been spending lots of time at home resting. But, we've been having lots of fun while we are at it.

How Big Is Chloe, Now?

This is a question that Matthew and I get a lot. The answer we always give is "She's so BIG!". And people who see her say, "Oh, I can't believe how big she is getting!". And I also get a lot of, "How old is she? Really? Only six months?" (We are used to this since literally at least five times a day when we are out in public we hear, "He's so tall for only 3 1/2!!" about Evan.) But, due to Chloe's chubby little thighs, people's reaction to her age, etc, I fully expected her to be in the upper percentiles today.

Well, I told you to be prepared to be surprised, I was surprised...

6 Months Growth Stats

Weight: 15 pounds 71/2 ounces 39%

Length: 26 1/4 inches 68%

Head: 41.7 cm 29%

So, apparently, according to the growth charts I have a long, skinny baby with a little head. But, she looks anything but skinny, I can assure you this. I think maybe she lost a few ounces with her back to back colds and possibly shot up recently, too. I don't know. She's healthy, that's all that matters. She checked out great and got her full round of yucky shots including a flu shot. Evan went with us, and he was quite upset by all her crying during the shots. He felt so sorry for her and, unfortunately, all of his funny faces didn't help. She's doing better tonight though and resting a lot. Having a cold doesn't help any.

My Long, Skinny Baby

Just a Liquid Diet for Me, Please

Chloe is not a fan of solids! In fact she hates, hates, hates cereal. We tried rice cereal about 2 weeks ago. She literally gagged and threw up. So, I decided to wait until she turned 6 months, my original plan anyway. We tried again this weekend, she did not throw up, but she basically made the most horrible face you've ever seen, bucked in the seat, knocked the spoon out of my hand, and cried. Gagging was involved as well.

So, I decided to try oatmeal instead. After me pretending to eat it, which she thought was funny, she will tolerate the oatmeal. By tolerate, I mean she does not gag immediately and will even pretend to chew if I make really exaggerated chewing motions and loud sound effects in front of her. She does not however swallow. Basically she just lets it sit in her mouth until so much saliva builds up that it falls back out with the drool. It's lovely. If perchance she happens to swallow by accident (such as an involuntary reflex), gagging is usually involved and the meal is then over. So, basically her bib is getting a lot of oatmeal... my clothes, her seat, the kitchen... but not her tummy. I took some pictures of the oatmeal mess after breakfast this morning, but after looking at them, I decided the green snot running out of her nose was too gross for the Internet, sorry! I hope none of you are eating as you are blog reading!

My instinct is to go ahead and start giving her some fruit with her cereal, but I'm afraid she will then never eat veggies. However, with this severe of a reaction to cereal, I can only imagine where the green beans will end up! I guess we'll just keep trying for a little while longer.

3 1/2 Going on 13!

Teenagers today! I swear, every night at dinner it is such a fight to get him to put the video game down and remove his hood at the table! What's that? He's not a teenager? Only 3 1/2, you say. Yikes! I guess we are in trouble!

A Nutritious Breakfast

You know that you are probably not eating something good for you, if you feel the need to hide under the dining room table to eat it. Hey, he had 1/2 a banana first, doesn't that count?

Backseat Driver

So, on the way to the dr's office today Evan is barking out orders from the backseat...

"Mommy! Pass that car!"

"Turn this way, right now, Mommy!"

"Go faster, Mommy!"

Chloe was trying to sleep, so I said..

"Evan just be quiet, I know how to drive."
He was quiet for a minute and then said..

"Mommy..... you 'member that time that you bumped into that other car that time a long time ago?"

"Yeeesss, Evan."

"Well, I think that means that you don't know how to drive."

Smarty Pants! Memory like an elephant, I'm telling you.

This is his "smarty pants" face.

An Apple for the Teacher

Evan went with Granddaddy the other day to pick up Saddie from school. When she ran out and jumped in the car, she said, "I've got an apple! And I'm going to eat it!" (I'm sure the na-na-na-boo-boo was implied). Evan said, "Saddie! You were supposed to put that apple on the teacher's desk!" Can you tell his parents are teachers?

The List for Santa

You might find one unusual item on our family's list for Santa this year... baby spoons!

You see, Evan (in a desperate attempt to control his environment in response to a new sibling, I'm sure) has laid claim to every baby spoon in our house. He has two dolls. One that I bought when I was pregnant the very first time to kind of introduce the concept of a baby to him and one that we bought when we were potty training. He hardly ever plays with them. But he found the baby spoons in the drawer one day and decided that he had to have them for his babies. So, all 10 of them have been in the toy bucket that holds the babies. Well, now that I need to feed Chloe, I need spoons, so I've been slowly taking them back. First, I took a white one. He wasn't happy about it, but he understood that Chloe had to eat. Then, when the white one was still dirty, I took a red one. He was keeping close tabs on those two spoons, checking to be sure they were in the dishwasher, etc. Well, tonight, both were dirty, so I went to get another spoon. That was the straw that broke the camel's back! He threw the biggest fit you've ever seen.

I kept telling him he had lots more, but he said they were not enough. Finally I said, go count them. That kept him quiet for a few minutes, but then he came wailing through the house...

"MOOOOOMMMMY! I only have six 'poons! Six is not enough. I have TWO babies. Six 'poons is not enough. I need ALL the 'poons. Six is not enough!"

He followed me from room to room wailing about how his six 'poons were not enough to feed his TWO babies. I tried reasoning, ignoring, even threatening. Nothing worked. Finally, I had to pull the... one more word about the 'poons and you are going to your room, I'm not listening to it anymore! He threw the 'poons down in frustration. I looked at the spoons. I didn't have the heart to break it to him.... Unfortunately, he had counted wrong, there only FIVE 'poons. Five would definitely not be enough to feed TWO babies.

So, I hope that Santa will remember this little episode and maybe, just maybe Evan and Chloe might find some new 'poons in their stockings.

Kids Always Prove You Wrong!

So, at the dr. today, Dr. Blevins asked me if Chloe was rolling all over the place. I told him that although I knew she could roll both ways, she hardly ever did. She mostly just rolled from back to belly and then fussed. I said, Evan was rolling across the floor at this age. He said don't worry. We came home and this is what she did:

Ok, actually, those are from the other day, and she did just roll onto her tummy and fuss. I just wanted a reason to post those adorable pictures. BUT, she did come home today and has been rolling all over the place, sore legs and all. I guess she is like her mommy. Let someone say she can't do it and she'll prove them wrong!

Same thing about babbling. She has JUST started making a few little consonant sounds here and there. Mostly very soft "f" sounds and raspberries. So, when Dr. Blevins asked if she was babbling, I told him she was just starting, but not really stringing sounds together much. We come home and what does she do.... You guessed it...

DADADADADADA! DADADADADADA!

Apparently not only did she want to prove me wrong, but she was mad enough to say DaDa and not MaMa! Of course Matthew is eating it up! (She doesn't really know she is saying his name, shhh!) But, it is so funny because he will say "DaDa" and her eyes just light up and she gets a big grin and says DADADA! It's like she's saying, "Hey! You can speak my language!" LOL. I say "Ma-Ma" to her and she just grins and then says "DADADA!". Evan used to do the same thing to me! All I've done for them, and this is the thanks I get!

Passing It Around

I've discovered the sick chain continues. I came back out here after putting Chloe to bed and Evan said something to me and he's totally all stuffed up! So far, this would be how it has gone:
Evan, then Chloe, then Daddy, then Chloe again, I've had a sore throat today, and now Evan again!
Yuck! Luckily they are just mild little colds. But still, YUCK! And we haven't even been to the Chick-Fil-A playground lately.

Still Holding On

I got my grades from this semester and I got all A's, so I managed to hold on to my 4.0. In this particular grad program, I'm not sure that is all that difficult, since it is a lot of busy work, BUT I was kind of sweating it this time. We had a group project with a professor who was a big stickler that had to be completed online without meeting. I had completely missed one assignment for that class (one of those little blurbs in the syllabus that says to e-mail her if you read it, which I apparently did not. At least not closely enough.) And our group had already lost points on another assignment because one member left one detail out or something silly. Anyway, we pulled it out.

Ok, enough ramble about absolutely nothing! Here are a few pictures of us around the house. Enjoy!