Santa Claus came to town...

I guess Parker was a pretty good boy overall this year, because Santa was very good to him. It's a good thing that Santa can overlook all of those terrible two moments :) Parker fought going to sleep for a while on Christmas Eve, which I don't know if it was because he was "excited" or just having one of those nights. Either way, it made for a later bedtime than normal. So, when Christmas morning rolled around we ended up having to wake him up at 8:30. He was NOT very happy with us at all until he realized that Santa had come and he saw all of his presents! He woke up pretty quickly after that, and was excited to go check it all out! One of the best moments was when he opened a present that Santa had put in a cardboard box and wrapped. He took the wrapping paper off, saw the box, and said "A NEW BOX!!!" I realized right then that Santa could have brought him a bunch of empty cardboard boxes, and he would have been a happy little boy! It was great to see how excited he got about some of his presents though, and it makes Santa's day to see him so happy!He has been on toy overload since Christmas, just going from one thing to the next playing. Now the hard part is getting him to understand that Christmas is over, the tree and lights are coming down, and that Santa is back at the North Pole until next year. Try explaining that to a 2 1/2 year old!

I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL Christmas, and I hope you have a very Happy New Year!!

Right after we woke him up...can you tell how happy he was with us?

At the top of the steps, and yes there is a smile behind that paci :)

He was actually a little upset that Santa ate his cookies and drank the chocolate milk. He said "Santa ate my cookies. Get my cookies back Santa."

With his Thomas the Train tent, which is what he kept telling Santa that he wanted for Christmas!

He LOVES soccer balls for some reason. Am I going to be a soccer mom?

Opening some of his presents...





Playing with mommy and daddy Christmas night

Oh, the places we went....

We had 7 different Christmas get togethers this year before, during and after Christmas. It seems to get harder and harder every year to coordinate everyone's schedules, and sometimes I wish we could be 2 places at once. We did as much as humanly possible this past week, which made for a busy...but very fun week! It always goes by WAY too fast though! Parker had a ball at all of the get togethers, and quickly discovered that he loves tearing into presents to see what is inside. Not only did he open his own presents, but he assisted other people in opening theirs....sometimes without letting them know :) Sometimes I think it was more exciting for him to unwrap the presents than to actually see what was inside! I absolutely love Christmas, and although it is always busy and crazy...it is also a great reminder of how important family is, and how much I cherish each and every person. So, here are some of the pictures from a few of our get togethers!


PRE-CHRISTMAS-CHRISTMAS WITH THE YARBROUGH FAMILY

Me and Blair

Parker opening his presents from Aunt B

Wearing his cute new outfit from Aunt B



PRE-CHRISTMAS-CHRISTMAS WITH THE COLLINS FAMILY

With cousin Ethan

Opening his electronic racetrack from Giggie and Poppy

With cousin Hannah




MAKING CHRISTMAS COOKIES FOR SANTA



CHRISTMAS EVE- CHURCH SERVICE AND CRAB LEG DINNER TRADITION




PUTTING HIS COOKIES AND CHOCOLATE MILK OUT FOR SANTA (HE INSISTED THAT SANTA NEEDED CHOCOLATE MILK)


CHRISTMAS DAY AT MY MOM AND DAD'S

RIDING HIS SMART CYCLE FROM GRAMMY AND PAWPAW

OPENING WOODY FROM TOY STORY...A VERY FUNNY CHRISTMAS MOMENT :)

ASSISTING MERE IN OPENING HER PRESENTS


AFTER CHRISTMAS-CHRISTMAS WITH THE COLLINS FAMILY

Helping Giggie and Poppy open presents

Trying to take a peak at what Mayoree was opening

Good news...

I found out that I am NOT going to loose my job at the end of the year!! I am very relieved to finally have an answer, and even more relieved that I will be employed going into 2009 :) I truly do feel very blessed and lucky. I am now officially ready to kick off my 20 day Christmas vacation, and to celebrate the Holidays with my family without any worries hanging over my head. Thank you so much to everyone who has called, emailed, and had me in your thoughts and prayers. I really appreciate it!

Santa Claus is coming to town...

We have been busy lately at our house getting ready for Santa to come! It started the weekend after Thanksgiving when we hung the Christmas lights outside and put up our Christmas tree. Parker enjoyed helping with both of these things this year, and was actually a good little helper. He is OBSESSED with Christmas lights, and I think he would be happy to drive around all night looking at them. He is also very into singing Christmas songs right now. He sings 'Jingle Bells' all the time now, thanks to the singing penguin that Grammy and PawPaw got for him! His other favorites are 'Santa Claus is coming to town, and Frosty the Snowman.'

We have been talking to him a lot about Santa, and a lot of mornings he will come to the top of our steps and look down at the tree and say "No, Santa not bring my presents yet." I think every morning he is hoping that it just might be the day that Santa brings his presents. He also got to visit Santa twice this weekend, and he loved it both times. We went to the mall for our annual trip and photo, and he told Santa he wanted Thomas the Train and some cars for Christmas. We also went to a Breakfast with Santa at my friend Stephanie's house today. Mr. and Mrs. Claus were there, and everyone brought a toy to donate to Vanderbilt Children's hopsital. It was such a great idea, and Parker once again went right to Santa without hesitation. Except today he said he also wanted a hat for Christmas :)

We had our first "big snow" of the year a couple of days ago. We went outside with Parker and he had a great time until his hands froze because he would not keep his gloves on. He was pretty much over it at that point. So, if anyone has any ideas on how to keep gloves on a toddler...please share!

I hope everyone is getting ready for Christmas and enjoying the holiday season!!


HANGING CHRISTMAS LIGHTS WITH DADDY





DECORATING THE CHRISTMAS TREE







PLAYING IN THE SNOW




FIRST VISIT WITH SANTA



BREAKFAST WITH MR. AND MRS. CLAUS

a follow up from the last entry...

We had a great first few nights in the big boy bed, and then he kind of took a turn for the worst. He decided it was more fun to pass out on his floor than the bed. It was really funny the first time we went up there and found him like that, but after several days of him trying to do that and fighting going to sleep we had to lay down the law and get him to understand that he can only sleep in his bed. Not the floor, the chair, etc. I think we are back on track and he has been doing great this past week. Here is a picture the first time we found him on his floor.