Holiday Get-up

A gift arrived for AJ from Mia and PapPap. A pre-recorded book about the miracle of Christmas. AJ loved it! He was all smiles and super talkative when we flipped the pages and heard Mia and PapPap's voices.


AJ's first haircut. Yes, there was enough hair to cut. It was super long and fine. The minute the hairdresser cut it and would turn around to put it in a ziplock, the hair would just 'float' away it was so fine. Thankfully, we have enough blond hair to cherish this memory. He was again, super good and I didn't have to use my bag of tricks... AKA: Yogurt Puffs

O' Christmas Tree

On Sunday, 12/5, we went on a hunt for our family Christmas tree. We meet about 15 people for breakfast (people that I work with) and headed to Elizabeth Farms. We took a horse drawn wagon ride out to the fields to find our perfect tree. AJ had a wonderful time watching all the other kids and he was fascinated with the horses as well.



Our baby all tuckered out on the ride in from the fields. He was such a great boy, but the gentle bouncing of the wagon wheels put him right to sleep.

Merry Christmas!

First Haircut

My grandmother recently had surgery on the vessels surrounding her heart. Because she will now be out of commission for 6-8 weeks, our family has picked up some of the slack of her yearly sand tart making. She cancelled most of her orders (she usually makes hundreds of dozens) but still had a commitment to bake for the holiday bazaar. We were all clueless for the most part, but with my grandma giving instructions from the kitchen table, we did fairly well. I must say, we only burned a few and we worked well together. Thanks to my grandpa for making all the dough the night before.




AJ eating his first sand tart

My lovely Christmas decorations. I was sooo excited to finally have a mantel to decorate. I loved it!

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving was spent with me having being able to have off work! YEH! It saved me tons of sleep so I had even more energy to out Black Friday shopping! My parents came up from NC for a few days and stayed with us. From there, we hung out and made our journey to relative's homes for a wonderful dinner. My aunt and uncle did a great job and so did Janelle. She is actually becoming quite the little cook, as she hosted Thanksgiving last year as well.



AJ had his first taste of all the good treats. He loved everything from the turkey down to the cranberry relish at the Simpson's. He was such a good boy and did a wonderful job at the table while at the adults were eating. I think we'll bring him back next year... :)



I have had this winter jacket for him which I really have yet to use. It's too bulky to put it on while he is in the car seat, so to be honest, I rarely use it. This picture just reminds me of the little boy from A Christmas Story. He truly couldn't put his arms down. Poor baby....


AJ had a blast helping me search through Black Friday ads. You better believe I had all my grounds covered and a strategic plan for the morning. This was also the first year Kohls opened at 3 am. It wasn't a problem for me as I wake up at 1am to get ready for work, but you could tell Janelle was hurting a little. This was her first year and I think she was pretty impressed with the deals she got. Lines moved super quick and I got most of my shopping accomplished.


My vehicle after 6 hours of shopping. I still wanted to go back for more, but I think John and my dad were getting a little antsy at home with AJ. Overall, we had an awesome time together.

September-October

2 weeks before out big move, our basement flooded. This time, it was a disaster! The sump pump was not installed correctly and the water just rose as it flooded down rain outside. Thankfully, we had some insurance for the sump pump and were refunded only a little. My worst devastation, our wedding album. Everything else is just "materialistic," but our wedding album is all our memories. Hopefully because it was a digital album, we will be able to order another. :(




Farm show season again! LOVE IT! Unfortunately, we only went once this year because of the cold weather. AJ had the opportunity to see all the animals, I have the opportunity to get warm toasted subs, and John got a dreamy glimspe at the John Deer epiqument. Andrew seemed to enjoy all the animals except the huge pigs, which really surprised me. He knows what a pig sounds like, but I guess they were a lot bigger behind the cage. We also got to see the baby pigs born only 2 days before.


AJ has really started to crawl and scoot to wherever he wants to go. To reward his big accomplishment, John and I ventured to Toys R Us. What an ordeal! We got AJ a rockin' band set that he can sit at or push. It makes tons of noise and occupies him forever. When he showed it to him at the store, he got the biggest smile on his face. Softy dad, gave it and wanted to buy the whole store. What a change in roles for him! I wish I could upload the video of him playing with this toy, but the picture will have to speak for itself.