Christmas Night at the Becks

Ok...so I decided right before we went out tonight that I needed to publish all of my Christmas posts before the New Year. And here they are!!! (4 in one day plus a Wordless Wednesday and Prayer Request post...I think it's a record!)

Our final stop of the day was at the Becks, some longtime dear friends of our family! Addie had a blast eating crackers and visiting with all the fun people there, especially her 1st babysitter Kathryn!

The Becks gave Addie an ornament with strict orders for her parents to let her play with it! So...we did! Right here and there! She did enjoy sitting with John-the-Beck and playing with her new bell!

And that's it...our Christmas. All 6 days of it! From Augusta to Atlanta to Montgomery with several stops in each city! It was quite the whirlwind, but it was wonderful to spend Addie's very 1st Christmas with great family and friends!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Christmas Afternoon in Montgomery at the Ranch

After lunch, we headed to see Addie's Papa Ray (my dad) and Pat at the ranch. Well...it's really not the ranch. It's just Pat's parent's house which happens to be in the country; but that's what I dubbed it when I was much younger! So off we went to south Montgomery county!

Papa Ray and Addie

Pat, Papa Ray, and Addie

This is Pat's Dad holding Papa Ray and Pat's dog: Bama Girl. She is quite the baby around there!

She even had her own Christmas outfit! Look at that face!

this is a terrible shot...but i love her expression here!

We enjoyed our time at the ranch, and Addie loved the dancing/singing bear they gave her! She's learning how to turn it on herself now! Alas though...she ended up zonking out in her Daddy's arms before we were off to our last and final stop!

Christmas Morning in Montgomery

Well...Christmas morning we all slept in! I guess this will be the LAST Christmas morning we get to sleep in, right? It was still really nice to wake up in our own beds though!

Santa had come and left Addie some fun presents. When Santa visited us, he always unboxed, assembled, and set up the toys he left us. We're going to have to leave him a note next year and plead with him to continue this...because Mommy and Daddy struggled to unbox this stuff in a timely organized fashion with Addie patiently eagerly waiting squealing!

After a morning with just the 3 of us, my mom came over and fixed Christmas lunch with/for us. We decided it would be easier for Addie to be able to nap in her own bed while we quietly prepared food.

This was our very quickly put together centerpiece and table setting.

Addie sat with us and ate...making quite the range of faces about who knows what! I thought she was pretty cute though!

...and then we played! This is Addie's new "Ball Popper." Make sure to click on the photo to see it bigger. She loved to watch it and hold the balls...but it was hilarious when she would knock it over, and it would blow air in her face! She would close her eyes and take a deep breath like she was trying to catch her breath! So much fun to watch her play and discover!

Merry 1st Christmas Little Bit!

Christmas in Atlanta

We left Augusta after breakfast Christmas Eve morning and had a nice leisurely drive to raced to Atlanta for brunch/lunch with Addie's Rie Rie, my aunt, brother, and sister-in-law. Judson, my brother, and his wife Anna live in Raleigh and hadn't met Addie yet. So we visited, ate some yummy food my aunt had prepared, and opened some gifts.

I had adjusted my camera to a faster shutter speed for lower light, but that made my pictures rather noisy (grainy) as compared to the lower speed. At least I can adjust a picture if the light is too low, but there's no reducing the graininess. So ...oh well!

Judson and Anna started a tradition with Addie: to give her an ornament each year. This is something my mom used to (and still does) with us! Addie loved the nutcracker they gave her.

Everything goes straight to her mouth!

Addie and Aunt Anna (now that's a mouth full)

sitting with her Nana (and making funny faces)

After brunch, some present opening, and a quick nap, we got ready to head to the extended family Christmas Eve party. A few years ago, there were only 4-5 kids...now there are 23! Needless to say, it's grown! Santa always makes his appearance (you know, on his quick trip around the world visiting every single good little boy's and girl's house...he stops for 15 minutes to visit us), and this was Addie's 1st year to get to see him. She had quite the reaction:

Who are you and what did you do with the real Santa?!?!?

Uncle Judson and Addie

Addie always loves cuddling with her Rie Rie...a very safe place in all the confusion of new faces and loud noises!

...and sometimes, the paci is the only thing she wants.

but she's never lacking for a unique facial expression!

And at the conclusion of the Atlanta Christmas Eve party (complete with the singing and motions of the Twelve Days of Christmas), we drove back to Montgomery so Addie could wake up in her bed on Christmas morning to her 1st visit from Santa!

Baby Stellan

Thank you for praying for Baby Stellan! Make sure to read the updates on him here. He's doing significantly better...but still has a long way to go before being well!

Wordless Wednesday

Work Christmas Party

Right after Paul's Christmas party for work, we got really busy preparing for Christmas; and I forgot to do a post on it! So...here it is!

We went to a beautiful Bed and Breakfast out in Pine Level, Alabama (not too too far from us) owned by the company's business developer. We had a delicious dinner in a relaxed environment with about 15 other employees and their spouses (and children).

There was a wonderful train circling their Christmas tree that Addie found fascinating. It did, however, remind me why I never really got into trains as a child even though my brother had his fair share of them: 1.) I'm a girl and 2.) I truly dislike re-railing a derailed train! Making sure every single wheel (there's like 8 of them for each car) is exactly in place on the tracks because if not, you have to start all over! None-the-less, of course I did so a dozen or so times so Addie could enjoy the choo choo train!

She loved looking at the tree!

and of course she loves sitting with her Daddy!

After dinner, Diane reluctantly eagerly held Addie for us! It was funny to watch them from across the table! It's amazing what we'll do to entertain a baby...

napkin please!

(I think she might have been thinking here: "haha! and you thought I had it rough with Ellie! Just you wait!")

or maybe I'd just prefer the spoon.

nah...that plate looks much more appealing!

Maybe if I hide they'll leave me here, and I can go home with my Aunt Di and Uncle Tim!

...where's Addie???

There she is!!! ...and I'll take that tablecloth too please!

I know, I know. You're my Aunt Di and you're way fun! There are a lot of computer nerds in this room, Daddy included (he said that)! We don't fall into that category, now do we! ;)

So maybe these computer nerds aren't so bad! I like this one about as much as my Daddy!

Addie and Tim

One of the women Paul works with brought her little boy. He was too cute and so polite!

We had a great time visiting with everyone. Addie was pretty laid back most of the night...but then again, she had her Aunt Di to entertain her the whole time!

Baby Stellan

***Update: Monday Night
too many details and too much to type
click here to read an update

***Update:
Stellan has been diagnose with RSV (something I know every mother dreads to hear). The last reported, he was having bradies (irregular breathing episodes), and they planned to sedate and put him on a ventilator.

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For those of you who read my blog, you know I follow MckMama's blog (and apparently now so do many of you!). If so, you know the story of baby Stellan. Well, he's really sick. From what the doctors have said so far, it is no relation to his illness in the womb. The doctors where her parents live said it was just a really bad cold.

However, he's now been take to the Children's hospital where they live and admitted to the ICU due to a very off blood gas level (too much CO2 which means his lungs aren't processing O2 like they should). You can read updates on her blog here, but please say a quick prayer for MckMama (she does have a real name...Jennifer) and baby Stellan. They've been up all night, with several scares of him not breathing.

We know our God is much bigger than any illness, and we pray for His healing hand on this little life!

Not Me! Monday

We did not travel to 3 major cities over 2 states driving approximately 300 miles in less than 10 hours on Christmas Eve, stopping in Atlanta to celebrate Christmas for the 3rd of 5 times! We'd never drag a baby that far in one day. Nope...not us!

My daughter did not promptly throw up all down the front of her Christmas dress right before we walked into the very large Christmas Eve party for her to meet many of her cousins for the first time. I had not waited to dress her until we walked out the door. Had it been 6 months ago, I would certainly not have put a half naked baby in the car only to cloth her as I pulled her from her car seat. But at 9 months...who'd have thought she'd decide that one of her three times she'd throw up in the last week would be right then. I also didn't have a spare Christmas dress in her bag just in case. I'd never be that OCD...now would I?

I was not asked not once, not twice, but three times over the Christmas holidays when we were planning to have another child! Our baby is only 9 months old. Besides, does anybody really need to know that but us? I certainly didn't shrug my shoulders and say, "we'll see."

And...I didn't come home and promptly get a 24 hour stomach bug, confining me to the bed all day Saturday. We didnt have fun plans with our friends Saturday night that had to be canceled, and I didn't have a zillion and one things that needed to done around the house either. I was certainly not completely at the mercies of my husband and mother to care for both myself and our daughter. I was, however, quite thankful for both of them!!!

I did not let my daughter watch three rounds of Praise Baby yesterday either! I was not zapped of all energy from being sick. I'd never let my child watch TV, let alone that much TV in one day! Nope...not me!

Make sure to check out MckMama's blog. She's taking a "Not Me!" Monday sabbatical, but she's had quite the week!

What have you not done this past week? I do hope your Christmas was Christ centered, stress free, and blessed! Happy Monday!

Christmas in Augusta: Part 2

After spending 2 days at Addie's Grandpa's house, we went to her Grandma's. As you can see from the previous post, we had a lot of fun at the Dicken's white elephant party. This was right after she ate her yummy dinner...

She's definitely kicking her shoe off here...

Uncle Jay

Tuesday was our pseudo Christmas Day with Grandma. Her tree was so pretty and made a great backdrop for a few pictures of Addie. She's never lacking for an array of expressions.

I think she was looking up at her Aunt Millie here.

the awe

Addie had basically figured out what to do with this whole present thing, but needed help actually getting to the goods.

the excitement

Grandma gave Addie her very 1st dollhouse. I intentionally set the dollhouse to the side so I could get a good picture of them here. I love how inquisitive she looks as she's peering inside vs looking at it straight on!!!

the wonder

Uncle Jay was just a little bit excited about his new hat, shirt, tie, and socks!

Addie's Grandma's husband, Albert, is a die hard Georgia fan. He gave Addie her 1st Georgia t-shirt! Thankfully it is a size 2...so it will fit! Fortunately, her Daddy is a pretty big Dawgs fan as well!

4 Dogs
3 Women
2 Men
...and a baby
Kinda sounds like the making of a movie...or new hit sitcom. But simply stated: that was our merry band of walkers:

Grandma, Ginger, and Snook; Uncle Jay and Eli; Millie; Daddy and Abbey
(Mommy and Addie were back taking the picture!)

It got progressively colder as we walked. Addie was bundled up, but her hat kept slipping to the side. I love how disheveled she looks here: slouched down in the stroller, blanket up to her chin, hat covering one eye, and an upside down paci.

Scruff, a long-time family friend, came to visit. Addie knows him as Uncle Scruffles. I thought this was a sweet picture of them!

I love how intense she is here. As I said before, she isn't a big shoe baby. She was snuggled down in her Daddy's lap studying her feet all the while trying to figure out how to get those blasted shoes off!

the determination

Always watching. Always observing. Always taking in.

our Love

...and we were off: to Atlanta and then Montgomery...all in one night! More posts to come!