I realize that I'm ridiculous...

I know what you're thinking..."Why does this girl have New Year's paraphanalia up when it's one day away?" I give you 3 reasons:


1. I had cute pics of Sam and that's pretty much all it takes for me to do something like this. There is, however, a purpose. We gave our parents calendars for Christmas. Each month we're sending them pictures to put on their calendars so that they will always have current pictures of Sam while also having a growth chart of sorts. Guess which pictures are going in the January slots.


2. I plan on leaving this up throughout January. It is the first month of 2009.


3. I'm a former teacher, and things like this give me a pleasure I can't explain.


On to the massive Christmas update...


How was Sam's first Christmas? Suffice it to say that he received every single toy that is 6 months and up, and then we topped it off with a few more that he won't use for months. (maybe years) We had way more fun than he did, but I guess that's okay. We now need a new house with 4 more bedrooms so that we can store all of his loot. Would anybody like to buy our house for way more than we paid for it? I'm kidding...sort of.



We spent Christmas in Jackson this year, and it was really nice. My parents and older brother came down Christmas Eve, so we had a house full on Christmas day. It seems as though Sam really digs his super-cool new ride:





A souped up little red wagon.

This isn't the little red wagon like I had when I was little. It has seat backs, seatbelts, and the all-so-important, sippy cup holder. Give Sam a ring on his new Fisher Price phone, and he'll swing by and pick you up.


If a wagon wasn't enough, he also got this:





He'll whip this out when he really wants to impress the pre-school crowd. However, all he wants to do with it now is this:






The reason you buy a tricycle is to play with the pedals, right?

Other pictures from the day...

We went to Greenville on Sunday and visited Mama Rubye and more of Anthony's family. I also included those pictures on the slide show.


What did I get for Christmas?


Wii-knee.


That's right, I got a Wii and a Wii fit. I was so surprised; I mentioned one day forever ago that I thought they were neat, and Anthony actually remembered. I absolutely love it, especially the Wii fit. I've done the yoga and the balance games so much that I'm physically sore, but I guess that's kind of the point. I hope to sport a rockin' six-pack by spring. Don't hold your breath, though.


Anthony is enjoying it just as much as I am. As a matter of fact, he's played at least 18 holes of golf as I've typed this.


More Sam updates later...he's done too much lately to write in one post.

Merry Christmas

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Let me explain...

I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with the Jib Jab political satires, and you've probably seen the "Elf Yourself" versions, too. While checking out some friends' blogs the other day, I clicked on a link that had a parody of "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Sam was fascinated--completely and totally enthralled. Soooooo, today I decided to give Jib Jab a try in hopes that he would like it just as well. (Of course, I did this while Sam was napping even though I should have been sleeping myself. My bookclub had our Christmas party last night, and I can't say that drinking 3/4ths a bottle of wine by yourself is the smartest idea. My mom is definitely going to have something to say to me when she reads this.) I'm happy to say that it was a success, and I think it's hilarious. Even if no one else thinks it's funny, I know our parents will. (Except for the part when I admitted how much wine I had--sorry mom.) If you're interested, just google Jib Jab, and follow the directions for uploading a picture. It's super easy. They even have different dances your elves can do. I went with the classic, but I had a hard time deciding--the disco and Charleston versions are equally cute. Anyway, Merry Christmas!

No bows and ribbons this year...

I'm not sure if this counts as crawling, but it's pretty close. Sam has definitely figured out how to get around, and his newfound mobility is keeping me hopping. Understandably, he heads directly to the Christmas tree when I put him down on the floor. I suppose he just can't pass up all of the choking hazards that accompany a bauble-trimmed tree.

Once getting to the tree, he goes for one of the following:

1) An ornament that is low enough for him to reach (and try to eat.)
2) Lights that are low enough for him to reach (and try to eat.)
3) Ribbons on packages which he rips off and...tries to eat.

Our Christmas packages will apparently have a minimalist look to them this year; Sam keeps tearing off all of the bows and ribbons, and I'm tired of redoing them.

Samma Claus?

Yesterday we took Sam to meet Santa. I warned you that I have an inordinate amount of Christmas clothing for the kid. We decided that since he was meeting Santa, that it was only appropriate that he wear his own Santa suit. You don't see a Santa sitting in another Santa's lap that often. At least I hope not...

That's the best picture I have... Since it was a real photographer taking the pictures, I'm hoping hers turn out better than mine.

Here's a better shot of Samma:

And yes, his belly does shake like a bowl full of jelly. Literally.

With his great-grandmother

He's making a list, and he's checking it twice!

Catching up...

First of all, Sam and I want to wish a happy birthday to a sweet husband and father. I've spent the morning working on a birthday cake, and I'm praying that it tastes okay. Let's just say that as of right now it looks a little suspect. If it has chocolate and caramel, it can't be that bad, can it?

We spent last Wednesday through Saturday at my parents' house, and we really enjoyed getting to see them. I'm sure they probably enjoyed it more now that Sam is here. Thanksgiving was celebrated at my aunt's house in Tupelo, and Sam was introduced to lots of great-aunts, great-uncles, and even a great-great-aunt. I've put together a slide show with pics from our visit. He was really good; I don't think I could have asked for a better day for him.

We headed back to Senatobia that night, and Friday morning my mother and I got up at 4:30 to go shopping. Yes, that's correct--4:30. I would usually need my mom to get me up, but since Sam is now cutting his top two teeth, his sleep schedule is certainly not the best. I just happened to get up with him at 4:30, and thought, "Why bother going back to sleep?" It's amazing how little sleep I can get by on these days. Anyway, we did get a lot done. We were in Memphis by 6:45 and spent the morning in Macy's until the other stores opened up. Since we went to an outdoor shopping center, the crowds really weren't that bad. I'm sure the economy also had a lot to do with crowd control. Sam spent the day with Anthony, my dad, and my oldest brother, and they watched plenty of football. I guess his first egg bowl experience wasn't the best. Anthony was completely worn out by the time we got home. He's probably glad to be at work today.

We came back to Jackson on Saturday and promptly put up our tree. I'm all about getting a tree up as soon as humanly possible. We even have a few gifts wrapped, which Sam has definitely noticed. He's scooting around a lot these days and struggling to figure out how to crawl. His little fat legs get tangled up, so he can't always get everything coordinated. However, he does find a way to get into things. It makes me nervous. Saturday night I was putting up a garland in our house. I looked down at the floor to check on Sam and this is what I saw...

I swear, I didn't pose him. I'm contemplating using one of these as our Christmas card picture, but I can't decide.

And FYI, I have an OBNOXIOUS, and I mean OBNOXIOUS amount of Christmas clothing for the kid. I even have one of those corny Santa suits. I can't wait to see what he looks like in it.