So this is Christmas...

Hard to believe that this time last year I was a few weeks from having my second baby boy.  I'm now trying to sneak in a first birthday party in the middle of Christmas, bowl games, and general holiday chaos.  I'm determined that the child will have some kind of celebration--even if it kills me. 

At almost a year, Alex is still cruising around furniture.  Every once in a while, he'll let go and balance on his own, but as soon as he realizes it, he plops down on his little fanny and crawls.

We've had a busy holiday season filled with birthday parties, drinks with friends, bookclub fun, baby showers, and my parents' move.  It has been nuts, but in a very good way.  This time of year can be stressful, but I'm always struck by how lucky we are to have the friends and family that we have.  I hope and pray that we're always this fortunate. 

And now I present...

Christmas card picture rejects 2012

I'm hoping it's his age...

Sam.

Poor, poor, Sam.

Unfortunately, he gets a lot of negative attention these days. My shy, tentative little boy no longer exists. He has been replaced by a little boy who LOVES to push limits. If he is told not to touch something, he will find a way to touch it anyway. He will then smile afterward.

Some days I feel like all he does is push my buttons. Probably because it's true.

But...

The other night I was reading him his bedtime story, and we were having such a good conversation. He was twirling my hair, and I was stroking his cheek, and it hit me-- his sweet cheeks won't always be this smooth. Eventually, they'll be covered in stubble much like his father's are.

So for now, I guess the kid can continue to push my buttons. That's his job. And I'm praying it's also his age. 

Halloween...

I suppose I should post my Halloween pics since it's almost Thanksgiving, right?

Alex was a little devil.  Literally.  It's hard to see the costume because I used my iPhone as my camera, but it was cuter in person.  I thought it was hilarious.  Anthony wanted to know at what point was it okay to put a baby in a devil costume.  I didn't have an answer for that. 

 

Sam was a dinosaur.  A stegosaurus, to be exact.  We still haven't kicked the dinosaur habit.  He attended a school party, our church function, and our neighborhood party/trick-or-treating.  It was a long Halloween week this year. 

 

His costume was too short by several inches, but we rolled with it. 

 

Pretty sure Alex was eating grass in this picture. 

 

What better way to spend a 10-month-birthday than to hang out at a neighborhood party?

 

We really do have a FANTASTIC neighborhood for trick-or-treating.  We always have a great time. The kids collect candy, and the adults escort them.  (with red solo cups in hand)

 

And some other random pics of Alex.  He keeps me busy. 

 

 

This kid is going to be the death of me...

Alex is EVERYWHERE...and it's making life pretty difficult right now.  I'm afraid he's definitely going to be my daredevil.  In the past few weeks, we've had multiple bumps on the head, a horrible accident at a tailgate that left him with a black eye, and last night we got to hang out at the ER until around 10:30.

That's right.  The ER.  On a Friday night.  Good times.

I'm not even going to get into what happened at the tailgate last time because it was probably my fault, and I've still not forgiven myself.  Last night, however, we discovered that he had some kind of minuscule, white pellets in his mouth.  We got most of them out, but we had no idea what they were, where he got them, or how much he had ingested.  After calling Poison Control, our pediatrician, and a friend who is a pediatrician, the general consensus was to go to the ER just in case.  We were there for about 3 hrs. 

I was getting a roasted chicken out of the oven when this happened.  I had to throw it in the fridge before we left.  I didn't have time to make the sides.  We ended up having Taco Bell at 10:30 at night.

Guess what we're having for lunch today?

Anyway, he's just fine.  On to the random photos...

Annual pumpkin patch pics

 

Maroon Friday.  This was a few weeks ago when we were about to play Middle Tennessee.  I tweeted it to Scott Strickland with the tweet, "Happy Maroon Friday from St. James School.  We're studying numbers 7 & 0."  I thought it was clever.  I didn't get a retweet, though.  Boo.

What's going on...

I always feel so guilty because I don't blog as much now that Alex is here.  Having two children running (and crawling) around the house definitely makes me prioritize my time, and unfortunately, blogging gets pushed to the bottom of that list.  Boo.

 

First day of Pre-K 4.  It makes me sad this will be his last year at his little school, and it hurts my heart. 

 

Whenever this baby quits sleeping with his booty in the air, I think I will cry. 

 

And he LOVES to eat.  Sam was a picky eater, (and still is.)  It looks like Alex may not be so discerning.

 

 

 

 

Officially crawling at 8 months, and now he's pulling up everywhere.  He's also falling everywhere.  I expect Child Protective Services at any moment. 

 

God bless him--Anthony took Sam by himself to his first football game.  I had planned on going, but Alex got sick, so I stayed home.  I think I won on that deal.  According to Anthony, it was blazing hot, and a 6:00 kick-off made for a long day with a 4-year-old. 

 

Sam enjoyed it. 

 

A little FYI for boy parents.  Transformers Rescue-bots are almost IMPOSSIBLE to find.  Some are currently going for $85 on eBay.  They retail for $14.  It's ridiculous.  We have searched high and low for them.  Sam sleeps with his. 

 

More crawling cuteness

 

Oh, and Alex has said his first word..."mama."  As he should. 

Summer vacation...

Yes, I know it's September.  Yes, I know that summer is over.  But I didn't post our vacation pics, so that's what I'm going to do.  We went to the Grand Hotel for the 4th time.  We've gone since Sam was 3 months old, and we always enjoy it. 

 

Spending a little time building sandcastles at the beach.

 

 

Insisting on pushing his brother around in the stroller.  This action is a little risky. 

 

Early morning swinging with Papa.

 

Sweet, sweet, baby. 

 

Sam's first bike ride.  We WORE OUT the bike rentals while we were there this time.   Sam is now the proud owner of a new bike.  He loves it. 

 

A little date-night action.

 

Daddy and his boys

 

Every year we take a picture of Sam in this tree.  Now we have another boy to add to the tree bough. 

 

Painting on the balcony

 

Sam's really into making silly faces right now...I wish he wasn't.

 

 

I don't know why I like this imperfect picture so much.  I guess I feel that it's a little more accurate.