Christmas Weekend, 2011

Merry Christmas to all!  Celebrating Christmas for the first time as a real family was awesome.  We had a flurry of traveling over the weekend, but it was all close by--and no snow on the roads to compete with made it a piece of cake!

Christmas Eve day was celebrated at Grandpa Randy and Grandma Chris's.  Cooper loved ripping off the wrap and crawling like a crazy man through the paper pile in the middle of the living room.  He got spoiled with some exciting gifts, all of which he'll love even more in the coming months as he gets a tad older.   The evening was great... heading off to church and then home with just the three of us to celebrate our own family Christmas.

Cool-a big box I can stand up by!

Back and forth, back and forth through the paper...

4 generations

Cooper and Great Grandma Betty

Christmas Morning: If we thought there was any chance Cooper might sleep in for such a special day as Christmas, we were sorely mistaken.  He was up an raring to go at his usual 6:15 am.  He must have known what was waiting for him downstairs!  Santa was good to Cooper, bringing him some pretty cool gifts.  As he gets older, his toys are becoming more and more BOY.  As a girl who grew up with only girls, it's taking me some time and some deep breaths to realize that Cooper may not think so highly of the toys I thought were so cool as a kid.  But 'my boys' are teaching me quickly.

Then it was off to church, followed by brunch at Grandma Dawn's.  More presents!

Our Family - 2011

So sleepy!

Up from a nap and ready to go!

On our 'recovery' day after the busy weekend, we started going through Cooper's toys to decide which ones could be put away and marked as 'baby toys.'  After gathering up all the toys from various rooms in the house and emptying diaper bags, we barely felt like we made a dent in the toy collection.  I think Cooper knew something was up, because as I was sorting through things, he kept thinking he needed to dump out the box and play with the toys he hasn't cared about in months.  We also decided to take advantage of the warm weather and no snow by trying out Cooper's Power Wheel in the backyard.  He's not too sure about it quite yet, but I bet we'll have a track warn in the yard come summer.

"What do you think you're doing with my toys, mom?!"

Evil Knievel will be ready to ride solo this summer!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Sky Zone

What a wonderful weekend... it began on Friday night when we got together for our annual "Sister Christmas."  Dana, Amanda & Dan, Missy & Phil, and Jeremy & I went out to SkyZone in Plymouth.  It's a giant trampoline warehouse--AKA playground for adults on a Friday night!!  It was so much fun.  My cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling so much while we were there.  Competing in the foam pit, playing Butt Wars, and jumping (or in my case, biffing) off the trampoline wall was just the warm up.  Dodgeball was absolutely brutal.  I got annihilated by some psycho high school kid in full Spandex and sweatbands.   I decided to sit out for a while so I didn't lose a limb.  But it was still super fun watching full grown adults acting like big, crazy kids.  Once the game was over, Jeremy assured me he got Mr. Spandex back really good for me.  Like-in his face-really good :) 

After we were all jumped out, we went to Old Chicago for drinks and our little gift exchange.  We sat around and laughed and visited for a couple of hours and headed home for a good night's rest before the busy Christmas weekend was upon us.

And no, Jeremy and I did not plan to match.  Cheesy, I know.

Check out Mr. Spandex in the back! 

The Crew.  Dana insisted we wear the Christmas socks.

Sisters ;)

Christmas Break, how I LOVE you!

As I write this post, we're lounging on the couch in pj's while Coop takes a long morning nap.  Ahhhh... Christmas break, how I love you!  Although we have not a single gift wrapped or even one of the three 'dishes' prepared for the weekend, we are soaking up this hour of relaxation.  And, hey, it's even snowing outside... but we know it won't last :(

We cannot wait for Cooper's first Christmas!!  He's already attempted unwrapping a couple of gifts, and he loves the paper more than the present-naturally.  He also loves the Christmas tree.  Well, he loves the ornaments and especially the ribbon I so stupidly wrapped around the branches.  At one point, he had the tree spinning in its base by pulling and pulling the ribbon. 

Here are a few pre-Christmas photos to share.  We wish you and your families a happy, healthy, and blessed Christmas. 

 His newest fascination is anything on our head-a block, a rattle, a hat, and in this case, Christmas lights.

Let's unwrap the tree!  And he got himself tangled in it--no help from us!

What?

Merry Christmas 2011

We probably won't be winning any parents-of-the-year contests for letting him play with a string of lights, but he was having fun, there was no harm done, and he looked pretty darn cute :)

A New Camera :)

Finally!!! A new camera!!!  I am so excited to start getting some quality pictures.  I really didn't realize how crappy our old camera was until I started missing or messing up so many shots of the little man.  Cyber Monday was good to me, as I snagged a new Nikon for about $100 off and free shipping.  So far, I've only been using the auto settings, playing around here and there with the occasional special setting.  I am anxious to read up on how to use this new beast to its fullest!  Below are a few shots from the couple of weeks. 

We are very, very slowly getting ready for Christmas... our holiday shopping list has only two recipients crossed off it, so this weekend is going to be a bear.  I am most excited to look for some presents for Cooper for both Christmas and his big 1st birthday.  I still feel a little sad for him that the two biggest celebrations of the year are three days apart for him :(  I really want to make sure we always keep them separate for him!

Our house is now decorated, and Cooper has been excitedly rearranging the bottom branches' ornaments.  Jeremy and I thought we were so smart when we decorated the basement tree with only plastic balls.  But tonight Cooper's sharp chompers scraped paint off them!!  So yes, our son has eaten paint chips and he has not even reached the ripe old age of one.  Sign us up for parents of the year.

I am dying to get Cooper to sit on Santa's lap... sort of.  I am positive he will freak out, as he doesn't like strangers much.  But I can't think of having a Christmas without a Santa picture! We'll see what the weekend brings...

Enjoy the rest of your week and the rest of your holiday preparations.  Don't forget the true REASON for the season :) 

Enjoying the Christmas tree

Using those chompers

Teeth!  5 full teeth and 11.5 months old... where are the rest of them!?

Let's go play outside!

Goofy Boy!

Big Boy Lunch!  Grilled cheese, peas, and peaches-yum!

The little penguin's first trip to play in the snow

Cooper and Mommy

Shout it to the rooftops!