Happy New Year! We begin 2009 with a REALLY long blog entry. Its been several weeks and lots of pictures since we went to visit Santa. We have had 4 Christmases, 1 week off, and 1 New Years party. Here we go...

We had our first Christmas on the 20th at MaMaw's house (click here for pics) with my sisters and Cooper's cousins. We had our traditional spaghetti dinner with meatballs and breadballs which ultimately lead to a carb-crash and home by 10pm... but not before having fun with the family and giving and receiving some great gifts. Cooper got several great things, one was a Lil Quad from Aunt Stacy. It stayed in the box that night, but reappeared (magically assembled) under the tree on Christmas morning. In addition to lots of other toys that night including lots of trucks and cars, there was a big winner for the evening... a microwave complete with plastic food! You cant imagine how much this gift was enjoyed that night and into 2009. Cooper already has a fascination with all things cooking (he is his Mommy's boy), so this to him is the coolest. It has buttons that set the timer and a start button that turns it on. It spins and a light comes on and then it beeps when it is done. The only downside to this great toy is the myriad of little plastic food pieces. There are two pringles-style potato chips, all the makings of a hamburger (including an individual piece of lettuce, a tomato, meat, pickles, cheese, buns), ONE hotdog bun and TWO wieners (hmmmm), a croissant, a whole turkey, and on and on and on. Every night I am picking up plastic food which, on day one, filled a little square tupperware bowl that is now only half full. You see the dilemma here... I am not sure where the rest of it went. Maybe the dogs or under the furniture? Who knows.


The next week we packed up and headed to the lake on Christmas Eve (click here for pics). There we prepared a truly spectacular dinner that consisted of homemade pizzas. This year we kept it simple. The next morning we got up, made a fire, and got ready for the first Christmas where Cooper would really "get it." We started with the aforementioned Lil Quad which was a great hit until he pushed the button and it took off across the carpet. As cool as it is, he hasn't gone near it since. Next was a series of very large trucks including a massive fire engine and the worlds largest Tonka dump truck. So big, in fact, Danny thought it would be fun to load up the dog and dump her out. All these were from GrandMother as well as a weird little scooter. I am sure it has a name, but I don't know it. Whatever it is, it is big enough for one of us to sit on with Cooper and every single one of us, both with Cooper and without, rode that thing around the house multiple times over the weekend. Next were the little gifts form Mom and Dad. We kept it simple because we want to buy a big thing after Christmas (see future blogs on this topic) so we gave him a xylophone that he actually picked out at the store and Bob the Builder Tool Set that we had put up from his bday (sneaky) and a potty seat. Danny thought it was ridiculous to give him a potty seat for a present, but why not. It is time for him to begin getting used to it and why not just wrap it up. Trust me... he loved it. He sat on it in the floor all morning. We also got him a potty chair and a stool but saved them for home.

Danny and I also exchanged gifts Christmas morning. I got Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere from Danny. Also, Danny gave me a Date Night cooking class at Sur La Table that I am so excited about. First of all, who better to go to a cooking class with then Danny. It might sound funny to say, but I cant think of any better partner! Also, there are lobster potato skins on the menu... who wouldn't want to try that!! And what did Danny get from me? A book. At least that is what he got on Christmas morning. I actually gave him his present a few weeks before when he ran the White Rock Half Marathon; a GPS watch. He was very excited.

Also, GrandMother gave me an awesome new lens for my camera. It has a longer distance zoom and vibration reduction. We went to see Christmas light in Athens and this amazing exhibit they have setup there and I took some really awesome night/light shots. Click here to see them... It was really fun to play with settings so that I could leav the lens open longer to get the different effects without a flash (no there wasnt really a two-headed dinosaur).

Uncle Britt and Aunt Heather came down with Ford and Waylon and we had our third gift exchange of the season (more pics here). All the kids dug in together and demolished the tree. The parents mostly got stocking stuffers, but Cooper got the Little People Garage and the Airport which are both awesome. I tired to put the garage together while we were there, but it was late and there were TOO MANY parts... plus it called for a screwdriver so I waited until we got home. But, it is now fully erected and serves as a garage and ramp for all manner of trucks, cars, and random balls that Cooper can find to send down the shoot. Very fun. The other great gift was a pillow, perfect sized for Cooper to snuggle and with a burnt orange plush cover and his name embroidered on the end. He sleeps with it every night and for every nap at home. It has become a staple at bedtime.

Last present opening was here at home with Danny's Dad's family: Big Papa, GrandMa Cindy, Uncle Cameron and Aunt Taylor (more pics here). This was my one excuse to whip out all of my Christmas china for a Christmas dinner and by God, I did it! Even though we had humble home-smoked barbecue and black eyed peas, I made sure that we used every last serving piece that I owned... and I loved every minute of it. Gifts were great, Danny and I got a BlueRay player to go with our new TV and Cooper got more toys including a Little People Race Track. This is a MUST HAVE toy for any little boy. I just read the reviews on Amazon and they are not great, but I disagree completely. Cooper LOVES how the tracks spin around and he puts every toy he can find on it. It does get jammed with all the blocks, cars, balls, etc that he piles on there, but that is no big deal. Anyway, it is a great toy and a gets played with most every night.


Whew! Wasn't that enough for one holiday season? Oh yeah - one more big night - New Years Eve. We hosted the Bright's and the Reese's at our house for BYOM(eat) and grilling. The Bright's came over early so Cooper and Ellie could spend some quality time together. Ellie was wowed by all the new toys at her disposal including the Lil Quad which she loved. She hopped on it and rode it across the room giggling and laughing. We asked Cooper if he wanted to ride it too and he said, "Nohm." After the kids went to bed (and a bit before), we shared two of our special bottles of wine and also partook in the other 4 bottles brought by guests. Needless to say, after 6 bottles of wine, we were ready for midnight... too bad it was only 11:15pm. Man, having kids can wear you out. So we watched Ryan Seacrest and then shut it down at 12:02ish. But it was a really great night with great friends.

One last note as we head into the New Year -- Cooper had a first on New Year's Day... he peepeed in the potty on his own. I went to change his diaper mid-morning and it was dry, so I grabbed him up and ran him to the bathroom. It was that easy. We were so proud that we kept going back to it to cheer and then called all the grand parents to let them know. We have since bought him some pull ups and plan to start using them when he is at home. He hasn't done it again, but it is only a matter on time. What a way to start the new year!