It's A Wonderful Life!

'Tis the season for so many things, but the sweet boy in this picture sums it up best -- sometimes there's too much Christmas.  The hustle and bustle, the quality moments, the eating and visiting can really take their toll on you, especially when you're only a year and a half and none of it makes any sense to you!

Our holiday always seems a bit different. There's different versions every year and now that we have Cameron the vision has done a flip.  Now with Cameron, we learn and we adapt, we make decisions on how we want him to see Christmas in our family, through the right colored glasses. The glasses that soak in the people and the laughter, not the ones that count gifts or doesn't even stop to look at what was actually given.  The gifts are the people. The gift is believing.  The gift is the magic of the holiday and how we spend it together.

Next year we've got some tweaking to do. There will be another munchkin in our brood and our family will have to mold and shape our vision again. The magic that I want to float to the top of that vision is within us, within our family.  The family that makes the best of every situation, no matter how tired and worn out we are.  The family that sees the best in people, supports each other and loves unconditionally.  The best gift I receive every year is not found in my stocking or under a tree - it's in my heart, in the twinkle of my eye and in my spirit every time I look at my family.

Here's a poor wrap up of our holiday week in just a few pictures. Sadly, I've become really bad at taking pictures lately. There's far too much going on and very little stopping to grab a photo.  Meanwhile, I'm capturing it all inside of my heart.

Cameron's first visit with the horses - he really likes it when they run!

One of our only recent family photo's that Cameron isn't crying - I wish we had all been feeling better at the time!

Twas the night before Christmas and all of a sudden Mr. & Mrs. Claus started to battle. Apparently the gifts thought this was a competition for who's gift was cooler. Can you guess which one was from Mrs. Claus? By the way, she didn't win the battle, sadly the potty hasn't even been looked at twice.

(Also the above picture is a good view of the pretty holiday cheer before the chaos.)

Merry Christmas from our Benton World!  What a difference a year makes!

This Time Around: Volume 3

Size of baby:  hothouse cucumber - I don't understand why they use this vegetable.

Baby's size & weight:  14", 1.75lbs

Baby's development:
Nugget can likely detect light and dark and can also hear more than just my stomach making noises...things like Cameron crying! :)

Maternity Clothes: Yes! Nothing fits correctly, but we manage.

Gender:  Sorry, this will forever be unknown. We can't wait for this surprise!

Movement: and lots of it! If anything, this baby either gets really bored in there and entertains itself, or it's voicing it's opinion as many times as possible.

Sleep: So sleepy! The minute I stop doing and moving, I crash.  I find myself waking up in the wee small hours of the morning with my mind spinning.  Then by the time Tim wakes up I have a zillion things to tell him that I thought of. He loves it, I promise!

What I miss: still wine. my clothes. my body.

Food cravings: these haven't really changed much. I've been sick the last few days so things have tasted a little off anyway.  Pickles and snacky stuff have definitely been my vice.

Symptoms:  hormones, emotions, dry skin (Nugget is sucking all of the moisture out of me), pregnancy brain, tired and SO READY TO GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD!

Cameron is:  saying "nugget" as he touches my belly but still has no idea that there's a baby inside of me. I try to point out babies a lot as we're out and about. I keep waiting for him to realize that he's feeling the baby move, but he just continues to keep his head on my belly. He has no clue.

Tim is: Tim.  Whenever we're doing anything or going anywhere, he brings up the topic of "what will this be like with two kids". We both respond with: we'll adjust, we'll manage, we'll do what we have to do. It's funny to see our wheels turning though and thinking about it in a realistic manner though.

What I'm looking forward to: As much as I love the holidays and how much it's pushing December along, I'm sort of ready for the New Year's Eve celebration and for things to settle down. It all happens so fast that it makes it seem that much more chaotic. Fingers are crossed that our visit with Santa on Saturday goes well. :)

Best moments:  My family around my Grandmother's Christmas tree decorating and talking about all the very old ornaments. Singing and dancing to Christmas music. Laughing  at  with Tim trying to put together toys for Cameron. Seeing my sisters and I as adults, chatting about life and the journey of it. Hearing what their take is on it.  Cameron trying to say new words and getting what they mean.  Seeing his friends run up and give him hugs in the morning, I love knowing that he's in the right place and learning so much during the day.

Merry AND Bright

I told you I'd be MIA this month. It's been flying by with so much goodness (and an icky illness hanging on to our tails), but we're enjoying and celebrating all that we can!

We went to a local charity event a couple of weeks ago and had a ball!  I was a bit sad that there were fun and festive drinks that I couldn't participate in, but I memorized the ingredients in every one and even smelled them all! The Festive Fizz was by far the one I wanted to try the most!  The DJ was great and by the end of the night there was a small crowd making their own dance floor - you betchya we were a part of that highlight! I'm sure this belly looked silly, but I really don't care, it was fun!  We found the photo booth at the end of the night and the laughter hit the next level. Can you tell who had the holiday drinks and who didn't?

As a family we surprised my Grandmother for her 80th Birthday this past weekend!

What a treat!

Sadly, I didn't take one picture and have to borrow from others to mark the moment.  

We did a family bowl-a-rama and had a wonderful dinner. I worked really hard to organize this trip, but sadly we hit a wall when Cameron got sick and then it finally got me by the time we left. We still made the best of it though and I'm so thankful to say that we got to be there. My Grandmother's face when she saw us was priceless! There's the magic of holidays and then there's a whole other level of magic when it comes to family!  (FYI: Cameron is officially the kid with his own seat now. We've reached that point!)

It was his first time bowling and boy was he curious! He got so frustrated when he couldn't pick up the bowling balls by himself - It was hysterical!

Notice that big ol' bump?

(A special thank you to my sisters and aunt since I down-right stole these pictures from them.)

That flying and traveling stuff? Yeah, we're becoming pros!

pedicure with the birthday girl!

Even though he gets flustered at times, it sure does make it nice that he's there and sharing the moments!

My Favorite Things

In honor of this weeks airing of the "new", Carrie Underwood version of The Sound of Music, I thought I'd make a list of some of my favorite holiday things. (side note: I'm a little nervous about this new version and I'm already warning everyone I know that I'm sure I will be picking it apart as I watch it because there is nothing like the original and I'm a little bummed that they're even attempting to re-do it.)

I do indeed love brown paper packages tied up with string. However, my favorite wrapping paper, to this day, was when my Uncle painted brown paper and wrapped all of our Christmas presents in his paintings. It was absolutely the best!
I love scarves and kids in hats.
I love the warmth of a mug of coffee or hot chocolate all the time, but mostly in the morning.
I love that we wave goodbye to the Christmas decorations in our neighborhood in the mornings.
I love that we still get a real tree, but sometimes it makes it difficult because we have to make a plan and set a date to go pick one out. It's not as easy as getting in down from the attic.
I love looking through all of our old ornaments. One of the coolest gifts that Tim and I received when we got married was our childhood ornaments from both of our parents. It's amazing what a "vintage" collection they have become!
I love all of the Christmas movies - even the extra cheesy ones, they always sucker me in!
I love all of the holiday cards. It's by far one of my favorite things. I also love that I know exactly whose is going to be the first one to hit my mailbox! :)
I love that Cameron and I went from the kids station on Pandora to the Kids Christmas station on Pandora.
I love online shopping.
I love picking a cold day and sitting in front of the tv watching movies while I wrap all of the presents. (Thanks Mom for doing this with me when I was a kid!)
I love decorating and frosting sugar cookies. I wish that I didn't love eating them so much.
I love how excited Tim gets when he knows that the 24 hours of A Christmas Story is about to start.

Hope the holiday season is treating you right. Snuggle, Hug, Smile...this time of year is magical and it goes by far too quickly to spend it grumbling. I hope to pay it forward as much as possible and share the magic of the season, for there is a reason for this season isn't there?

Oh and this "new" Sound of Music? I'm just going to go ahead and say it now: Carrie, you are gorgeous and talented, but you're no Julie Andrews. #sorrynotsorry

What's that? Did someone say holidays?

I know... I know... I've been missing in action. You may just want to count me out for the month of December, it's nutty how days just begin to roll into each other once Thanksgiving hits. I don't want to even discuss December goals... the goal is to live in the moment and capture it all. That's it. It's the holiday and we're going to soak it up, none of this crazy thinking that I can craft or cook -- just gonna enjoy! :)

(excuse the funny expressions: a friendly bystander was taking our picture and we weren't really ready for it.)

Highlights and Confessions of recent days:

- Thanksgiving Day, Cameron and I braved the cold with Tim so that he could go do a 5K. I didn't run as I had hoped (or mentioned in my November goals)...I think my running days have come to a close, I don't have that body, or that will power. After the cold walk to cheer on Tim, we went to Kerby Lane Cafe and ate our faces off. It was delicious! I fantasized about the craft of mimosa's that the table next to us got, but instead got a mocha -- with whip cream!

- I talked our group into going to dinner and the Marble Falls Walkway of Lights the day after Thanksgiving. We ventured to a new place that I was sure would have plenty of televisions since I knew that the Alabama vs. Auburn game would be on. Nope, there were only two tv's in the whole "tavern" and poor Tim had to keep running back and forth bringing us highlights every time the whole bar cheered. Needless to say, we had to watch the final kick return on a replay from our iphone. It wasn't as exciting.

-The lights that we went to see -- duds. It was a display made out of rope lighting. Sadly, I wasn't impressed.  I do love, however, that Cameron can say "Santa". I only hope he keeps the excitement for the big guy when we go visit him. I have visions of a great big NO being screamed throughout the mall this year. Please don't call the authorities on us, it's just a child being forced onto Santa's lap.