Christmas Day

12.25.08

We woke Andrew up early - well, early for Andrew - to see what Santa had brought while he was sleeping. Andrew's not a morning person, so when we took him to the living room he chose to throw himself on the couch in protest rather that acknowledge he had new toys. We moved onto gift opening, which he showed a little more interest in but even after that, he just wanted to go back to bed. So, we let him go back to his room and watch cartoons until he was ready to plan. Then, it was full speed a head.

We headed to Grandpa and Nana Wilson's house around 12:30 pm and had a few light snacks and a gift exchange.

Then we were off to Uncle Chubb and Aunt Jo-Jo's for the Trantham family Christmas. This year, my dad's dad joined us too. This was his 98th Christmas! It was nice to have him there and he really seemed to enjoy the meal and excitement. We had lots of yummy food and a gift exchange. Andrew had a great time being the only little one there. Next year things will be different but we're so looking forward to having a little one to share in the festivities.

Oh, and we told my family we're expecting. Everyone's excited. We did the same thing for my Grandmother as we did for William's parents and put a copy of the ultrasound pictures in a Christmas card marked as a special delivery from Santa.

Christmas Eve

12.24.08

We celebrated Christmas with the Hoffart family tonight at Grandpa and Grandma's house in Old Fort. Andrew loved all his gifts and enjoyed seeing his cousins. Allison and Nicholas were so excited about opening presents and Andrew and Ella will feel the same way in a couple of years! We also took the opportunity to tell everyone we're having another baby. Richard and Julie already knew but we put a copy of the ultrasound pictures in a Christmas card for Grandpa and Grandma and told them Santa had an extra special delivery for them. Jerome and Linda and the kids were there for the announcement too.

One of our Christmas traditions William and I started with Andrew is to open one gift on Christmas Eve and that gift is always pajamas that we wear to bed and to open presents Christmas morning. This is a tradition I grew up with and wanted to pass along to my kids. Well, Andrew's PJs are a little too big so he'll be wearing a pair that Uncle Richard and Aunt Julie gave him earlier tonight.

And after Andrew was nestled all snug his is bed, Santa paid a visit and left some toys for our good little boy.

Tomorrow we'll get up early so that Andrew can have a little time to play with his new toys before we jet off to Grandpa and Nana Wilson's for a quick gift exchange and then on to Rutherfordton for the Trantham family Christmas. Andrew's sure to gets lots of new stuff!

To see pictures from previous Christmas celebrations, click here: 7 Months, 19 Months.

Our Wedding Anniversary

12.16.08

Thursday, December 18, is our wedding anniversary. William and I have been married 4 years. We don't have any special plans to celebrate. We talk every year about taking a trip or something but it just never works out. I guess I'd say that's the biggest disadvantage of a Christmas wedding - it's just so hard to get away this time of year. But this year it's okay - I really don't feel up to going anywhere anyway and I'd hate to make a trip and be sick the entire time.

But here are a few pictures from our wedding if you're interested. The ceremony was at Chimney Rock Baptist Church and the reception followed at the Lake Lure Inn.

Our beautiful cake was a gift to us from my dear friend Brenda Boatright. We worked together when I lived in Franklin but she's always been much more than a co-worker to me!

Professional Christmas Pictures

12.15.08

Okay, so Andrew's Christmas pictures were much better than I remember. I guess I was too focused on the actual chaos of the uninterested photographer rather than the outcome.

To see previous Christmas photos, click here: 7 months, 19 Months.

And I'll go ahead and post this year's picture with Santa too.

To see photos from previous years, click here: 7 months, 19 Months.

Welcome!

12.14.08

What's New?
Welcome to our new blog. As you've probably guessed, William and I are expecting a new little one. Andrew's going to be a big brother!

The due date is July 12. We went for our first ultrasound on December 1. Everything looked good and the baby measured 7 weeks and 4 days old - a little bigger than I expected. The heart rate was a strong 160 beats per minute.

With Andrew, it seems like I was sick for 9 months. I've not been feeling great for several weeks but I've only been sick-sick three times so far. I'll spare you the details, of course, but with Andrew I was sick-sick everyday.

We plan to tell William's family on Christmas Eve and my family on Christmas Day. We've not completely decided how to tell them yet, but we're working on a plan.

So, this new blog will focus on our family as a whole whereas our last blog was primarily about the growth and development of our little Andrew. Who, by the way, is doing very well. His daddy only had to work two days this month so Andrew's really enjoying the extra time with him. So much, in fact, it's as if Mommy doesn't exist. But that's okay because it's allowed me time for some much-needed rest. Growing a baby is hard work, you know!?!

Anyway, Andrew is really talking and has a new love of trains. He spends all day constructing different routes with the tracks and today he decided it would be fun to use his blocks to make the track go up hill. He gets so excited and is so much fun to watch.

Tomorrow we go to pick-up Andrew's Christmas pictures. I wasn't too pleased with how they turned out but at least it's a memory of his sweet face this time of year. I long to find a photographer with a personality and understanding of 2-year-olds.

What's Next?
My next doctor's appointment is December 22. It's just a routine visit. In the meantime, here's the first set of pictures of our little peanut:
And a few of our little man, too. He gets so excited when he plays trains he bounces his legs up and down and waves his arms really fast. I tried to capture that in the first photo.