CHRISTMAS EVE

The cranberry gingerale exploded all over the white tablecoth at Christmas Eve dinner producing very sticky utensils. J wouldn't eat a bite of ham. Joseph's head came off during the nativity reading. I cried over the spilled gingerale. J watched A Christmas Story in his new Christmas jammies and was out by 8:15--which is quite the Christmas miracle. I tiptoed around the house getting everything ready for Santa's arrival. And I may have eaten some of the chex mix left out for the big guy. But after a pretty eventful and crazy Eve...I definitely deserved it. 

Hope your Christmas Eve was merry + bright + gingerale free!

leonard bernstein bear symphony orchestra

Charlotte is truly a great little city. Little surprises are on every corner I tell ya. A family in my mom's ward in CA (who just moved there a few months ago from Charlotte) told us about this little gem at Founder's Hall in Uptown. Dozens of animatronic bears sing and sway and play Christmas music on a snow-covered stage-- in the middle of the beautiful building's plaza-- while wild little toddlers and kids were running around, weaving in between passerbys' legs and trying to get on the escalator. Such was the case with J. He was enthralled with the bears for about ten minutes then realized he could be running.

After the show, we drove to McAdenville aka Christmastown, USA. The entire (small) town was absolutely covered in lights. Simply adorable. I want to live there. We dined on Burger King and chex mix and enjoyed driving 5 miles per hour around cute Christmastown. I'm loving Charlotte.

country christmas train

i love the south. they go all out when it comes to christmas and heralding the true meaning of christmas. and by "all out" i mean that people have trains on their property. a train! and not just any train...a country christmas train! stinkin cutest thing ever. it was covered in lights and inside the old fashioned train christmas music played. as the train made its way around the extensive property, you were told the story of the Nativity. people were in the fields acting out the story: wisemen, joseph and mary, a stable, baby jesus, they were all there. it was awesome. and in between the "actors" christmas lights were everywhere. on trees, on farm equipment, on buildings, you name it. simply adorable and so much fun.

we also waited two hours to sit on Santa's lap. scott and i would take turns with j while the other stayed in line. we got some homemade gingerbread (best i ever had), visited shops and the petting zoo and just let j run around and marvel at all the lights.

what made up for the two hour wait was the experience inside. our little family got about ten minutes with Santa and Mrs. Claus all to ourselves inside their country cottage (hence why the line took forever). j sat on Santa's lap and didn't make a peep. he just stared and stared. no emotion. ha. thank heavens he didn't cry at least! and maybe it was the puppies that kept him so focused, the genius photographer's assistant held live puppies near the camera. seriously, genius. so we got about 20 or so photos from the photographer and j has the same look in all of them. totally in the zone :)

we will definitely be going back next year. (assuming we still live here haha. with us, you never know.)

oh christmas tree

The day after we got back from California (california posts to come after christmas:) we headed straight for the tree lot. The couple running the lot had just brought a fresh grouping of trees from the mountains. So we got to watch as they were all unloaded and de-bagged. It took me forever to decide which one I wanted. J was running everywhere. If that boy sees a wide-open space, then by golly he will run. It made taking pictures a bit difficult. But the lot smelled wonderful and we had fun with the new camera, nonetheless.

When we finally picked the tree we wanted, the lot guys took it over to the tree shaker thingy. Scott asked, "What's that for?" And I replied (hopefully accurately): "That's to make sure we don't take a squirrel home with us in our tree!" I can just imagine having a National Lampoon Christmas Tree incident. I think I would die. 

Scott helped the lot guy tie the tree to the roof of our little, black car while I chatted with the Lot Owner's wife (can you believe this?: she said they have people buying Christmas trees up to the 21st! I guess there's all sorts of reasons for that but it hardly gives you any time to enjoy the tree! anyways.) So the tree is tied down and we head to the car. This is where it gets awesome.

Scott: "Ok, let me hold Jake and you climb through the window first."

Me: "Huh?"

Scott: "You gotta climb through the window."

Me: "Why.....?"

Scott: "Because I tied the tree through the car windows. I forgot to open the doors."

So I had to climb through the window, "laughing all the way HA HA HA!" We got Jake in and then Scott had to become a contortionist to fit through too. It was great. And we probably looked like complete idiots. Oh what a memory. But hey, I'd take that over a squirrel any day.

 lovely, right? taken during a tickling attack.

  

teach me

I have so many posts waiting to be written, but I'm just having way too much fun playing around with my camera and exploring Lightroom. Why can't I just be an expert in one day? :) It reminds me of "A League of Their own," when Jimmy tells Dottie, "If it was easy than everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great." Great movie. And though he's talking about baseball, i think applying it to my new photography obsession works too. Learning is what makes it fun. (Why didn't I have this attitude in college?) So I want to learn dagnabbit. I have so many friends with mad skills. So teach me or at least point me in the right direction :) Tell me what helped you learn. Should I take a class? Keep in mind, I live in Albemarle y'all. 

Oh and don't worry, I'm still crazy for quilting. I have about 3 in the works at various stages. And I still need to post about my sister Brittany's wedding quilt too. sheesh. I tell you what the Holidays really are busy. You learn that as an adult, I guess.

say santa!

Santa brought Scott and I an early Christmas gift. 

A shiny, new camera. 

And so we've been taking pictures left and right. 

And our subject is a bit unwilling most some of the time.

17 months

Jaybird is crazy silly. And crazy for chex mix and all snack foods. And flags. And still crazy for basketball. We went to my cousin Charlie's basketball game (he's a freshman at Hart) and it was pure torture for J. He could not believe that we weren't letting him on the basketball court with the big kids. He'd wiggle and squirm and go all limp in our arms to get down and run out there. I tried taking him outside to get his mind on something else. I walked almost clear over to the principal's office, let him down, and he RAN. He ran as fast as his little legs could go all the way back to the gym, his arm making a "shoot the ball" motion the whole way (he's actually got great form :). He ran through the doors and onto the gym floor and then freaked when I grabbed him right before he crossed the court boundary line. He was ticked. Really ticked. I love his enthusiasm for the game.

Lately, when J is tired and wants to fall asleep, he snuggles up close to Scott or me and wraps his arms around our necks. It's probably the sweetest thing ever. Then he'll rub my face or arm so gently and drift off to sleep. Heaven. 

Something not so heavenly: he's into throwing balls at our faces. Or any item that could made into a "ball." Scott got a plastic cup in the nose last night. This morning, J threw an actual ball at the camera in my hands and then the camera hit my face. Not funny. It hurts.

He's just so darn active. Going going going all the time. I can see "mischievous" written on his face  most of the day as he plans ways to get into the knife drawer or climb onto the bathroom sink. But he's such a love it's hard to stay mad. He's got a little dimple on his right cheek that melts my heart when he smiles. I love his two front teeth that I can only see if I push his top lip up. So cute and tiny. He's got a cowlick at the back of his head that's crazy right after a bath. And his feet are uber ticklish.

Words: That's cool! That's good! Kitty! Ball! Poppa! Cold! Bink! Phew! (as in stinky:) Dad! Momma! and I'm sure there are others. And actually he doesn't say "momma" very often. I think because I'm never far from his side that he has no need to haha. And though I'm with him almost 24-7, he is extremely social. Truly a little social butterfly. He'll climb onto perfect strangers' laps and just talk talk talk. People are always commenting on how outgoing he is (and tall of course.) 

And so I think I'm in for a wild ride with my jibber-jabber Jake and his fancy-free friendliness.