Post Christmas and everything else

I haven't posted to facebook or this blog throughout the week, but decided to do a posting tonight before the second half of the week begins. Last post involved Christmas Eve Eve celebrating with my immediate family. On Christmas Eve, we drove to my grandmother's house as planned. Had a wonderful time with the extended family on my mom's side. We stayed until about 8:45, then made the hour and fifteen minute drive back into town. Gray was asleep 20 or so minutes into the trip. Transitioning him from the car to his crib was a piece of cake.

After getting him settled, we set up for "Santa". The tree had been gated off from Grayson, so we took it down. Jennifer finished wrapping some last minute presents, and we set everything under the tree. Fell asleep a few minutes past eleven.

Christmas morning- Grayson was up by 7:45 and we watched him open presents and have an all around good time. Seeing him run to the tree and find his toys was awesome! Glad I got some of it on video. After he'd played some, I went to Hardees and brought back breakfast. After exchanging our limited gifts with each other, we went across town to see Grayson's Grammie and Papa. Had a good time with them for a little bit, then came back home for lunch and a nap.

The middle part of the day was a very strange time period. Totally did not feel like Christmas. I've always been doing something all of Christmas day. To have a portion of the day at home with nothing Christmasy going on was a bit strange. When Gray woke up from his nap, we headed to Uncle David and Aunt Jane's (FIL's side) for a late Christmas lunch. Had a great time over there, as usual. Grayson really started to get worn down toward the end (he didn't take a great nap) and we had to duck out a few minutes before we probably would have otherwise. We also had to allow enough time to have Jennifer's immediate family do some gift exchanging. All in all, it was a good Christmas...by far the focus was on Gray, but he's the sole baby on both sides, so why shouldn't he be? :)

This would have been a much more informative post had I done this over the weekend, but I'm taking a little bit of a break from the blog and facebook this week. Don't get me wrong, I check it periodically for email or time sensitive messages, but it's been nice just relaxing with my wife and son all week. We've eaten out a time or two (have IHOP plans for tomorrow morning), made several trips out (going to Target is fun when you have gift cards) and just enjoyed not having much of a schedule. That's going to change tomorrow, as the final holiday get-together begins. Jen's uncle and aunt (MIL's side) are making their annual trip here from Dallas. They are a fun bunch of people to get together, so I'm hoping to have some good stories to tell after the New Year. If I don't post before the weekend, here's to a great 2010. I know a lot of things will change for many people this coming year-hope it's one to remember!

Is it already here?

Let the celebrating commence!

Well, my family's traditional "Christmas Eve...Eve" celebration took place this afternoon and evening. The immediate family has always done some gift exchanging on this date. Growing up, Santa came on Christmas Eve morning, then we went to my grandparents' house for Christmas Eve dinner. My immediate family, along with my aunt, uncle, and their two children (mom's side) would spend the night together out there. As a kid, it was a time of lots of food and video games. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

But I digress. Tonight we exchanged gifts and had a good dinner together. Due to some budget restrictions this year, my sisters and I did not swap, but they did get stuff for Grayson. Even during the worst financial times, everyone likes buying toys for kids. Gray had a good time, for the most part. He did have some meltdowns- they are becoming more intense and occurring more often, unfortunately. Teething may play a role at times, but we're pretty sure it's more of a phase of development right now. I love to see him exerting more personality and independence, but I don't like the outburts and frustrations that come with it. Just part of the road to growth as a child, I know. My child psychology classes from years past really don't serve justice to living the experience out on a day to day basis.

I'll try to get some pictures or video up here soon. We're going out to my grandmother's house tomorrow afternoon, and will return late tomorrow night. That will take care of my side of the family, and then on Christmas day proper, I'll do the routine with Jennifer's family.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

Christmas Movies

Over the last few weeks, Jennifer and I have been watching Christmas movies. I love 'em. Well, these viewings have made me think about my favorites. It's hard to narrow them down, but here are my top 5 "Christmas" movies:

5. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Showing us what makes the season so joyful can also drive us mad: Family.
Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny f***ing Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of a**holes this side of the nuthouse.

4. The Santa Clause
Just a good, clean, funny movie.
Charlie, stay away from those things. They're reindeer, you don't know where they've been. They all look like they've got key lime disease.

3. Home Alone
The top 3 are quite a bit above the rest. This one is definitely watched yearly.
I made my family disappear!

2. Elf
The most recent Christmas movie to really grab my attention. I've seen this several dozen times and, for some reason, Grayson absolutely loves it. Excellent job by Will Ferrell. So very quotable.
First, I went through the seven levels of the Candy Cane Forest... Then, I went past the sea of twirly, swirly gumdrops... And after that: I went through the Lincoln Tunnel.

1. Die Hard
The perfect guy Christmas movie. I suggest reading this article regarding its inclusion in the Christmas genre. I love me some John McClane.
"Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho."

those that just missed the cut but are very worthy of being watched every year include:
-White Christmas
-A Christmas Story
-How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon)

Down with the sickness

Despite my best efforts, I came down with the same crud as the rest of the family. They seem to be over it, so it seems I'll only be down for a day or two. I'm hoping to wake up fine tomorrow morning. We have a pretty big morning set before us. The plan is to wake up and immediately following breakfast go to a nearby mall to find Grayson a Winter coat. We've found one we like at The Children's Place, just have to find a store that has his size. We'll probably do a few other errands while out, but hopefully we won't have to push his nap back too long. I'm also unsure how long I'll be able to go if I'm still sick. Illness never comes at a good time for me it seems.

I'm watching my partial alma mater, MTSU (I went there two years and my wife is a graduate), hang tough in a bowl game right now. Will probably watch Julie & Julia after Grayson goes down.

I hear the boy requesting my presence, so I'm done.

oh by the way, this a is picture of Grayson vegging Saturday morning:

I'll not become sick

A brief summation of the past 24 hours:

We went out with Kristen last night, as planned- bought gifts for Grayson from her, my grandmother, and one from us (more to come, I'm sure). I'm naturally a kid at heart, so it was as exciting for me to pick toys out as Grayson will be opening them. We're trying to get a nice balance of "new technology" toys (i.e. electronic dog that talks to you, toddler laptops, etc) and simple, imaginative toys (i.e. building blocks, cars, barnyard sets). Too many kids these days are obsessed with the latest gadgets, and I don't want Grayson growing into that kind of kid. Nothing wrong in using those toys, but a balance is necessary- especially in the 18month-3 year range. Kids are unbelievable creative.

Jennifer came in from work yesterday sick. She's a tad better today, though not completely better. Grayson was pretty miserable today..well, as miserable as he can be. He handles being sick quite well, in my opinion. Fussed about various things off and on. Fever wasn't ever very high (10o.4, adjusted), so we'll just kind of keep an eye on him tomorrow. He ate very well tonight, which is a true indication of his feeling alright. Hoping he sleeps through the night.

Going to finish watching Angles and Demons before it gets any later. Must get my wife to sleep at a decent hour tonight. Final week of Christmas prep is before me!

The Lights!

Thursday was a fairly relaxing day, all in all. Gray had a bit of a fever earlier in the afternoon- wouldn't have known it from his behavior, but his hands were burning up, so I decided to check it. It seems to have gone back down now, though. Not sure what caused it, but he did get the flu shot on Monday, and he was around a snotty kid at church Wednesday night. He's also in the middle of some serious teething, and although many doctors say teething doesn't cause a fever...he's had some low grade fevers while teething in the past, and I don't think it's a coincidence every time.

Last night, after dinner, we took Grayson to see the Christmas lights on Hwy 109. He's a big fan of Christmas decorations in general, and was fascinated by every lit up Santa and Snowman we passed on the way. It took about 10 minutes to drive through the place. Took some video, which you can see below. The final clip has him seeing Santa.

Big news today: Jen's last day of the semester! We're going to take Grayson to Target with his Aunt Kristen so he can help pick out his Christmas gift from her. Should be a good day.

House shopping

The buying of a house is one of the biggest decisions one can make.

You can say that again! We've been looking at houses since April of this year, and still don't have one. Some may say we're being overly picky, but I say we're being intelligently selective. It's not like we're setting our standards too high. We know what we need, and what we can afford-the right house just hasn't come our way. We actually have an offer on the table for a really nice house here in town. Problem is it's a short sale. So we're dealing with a bank that is taking its sweet time in handling our offer. We really want this house, and it's a perfect setup for several years out, with room to expand the family. That being said, we're still looking. Saw two this evening that on paper looked appealing, but aren't really what we need. If pushed came to shove, I think either one would work, but we don't have to move right now, so why settle for something that simply "works"? Praying for movement in this aspect of life, especially as I have the next month without school. I'd love to move between now and January 15th.

On the Grayson front, he loves seeing Judy ("JuJu"), our real estate agent. She had a great time watching him while we walked through those houses tonight. He's been waking up these last few nights crying out- 5 new teeth have broken through and three are on their way. Poor guy.

Jennifer is wrapping up this semester- Friday is the last day. It's been chaotic this week, with her trying to get grades done, and exams made. Maybe that'll be me next year.

Oh, big plans tomorrow night! We're going to see "the lights" about 20 minutes from our house. I don't think there's a website, but it's a private home that goes all out, with several acres of lights, music, Christmas decor, and Santa. Usually near the top of the list on national Christmas displays. We're looking forward to it. I expect Grayson to have a blast.

It would seem that I'm getting sleepy. Did quite a bit these last two days, so tomorrow should be fairly relaxing.

Let's try this one more time

The semester being concluded, I figure it's now or never on this blog thing. I've been pondering how to recap the past 14 unblogged months, and have decided that it's impossible to cover everything in less than 2500 words. Therefore, Cliffnotes are in order.

Since the last post, Grayson is now:

• Walking (well, running)
• Talking up a storm (150+words that those around him regularly can comprehend)
• Eating everything in sight, with fork, spoon, and fingers
  
• very strong willed and increasingly independent
• loving, sweet, caring- unless you prevent him from doing what he wants
• sleeping from 8:30 to at least 7, without interruption
• fascinated with trains, planes, and the movie Elf
  
• requesting specific books
• still teething (has about 10 with 3 or 4 more nearly through)
  
• loving going out
• in his second car seat
• rambunctious, always moving at full speed
• constantly getting bruises and scrapes
• kicks and throws balls (at both appropriate and inappropriate times)
  
• loves giving hugs and kisses

So, suffice it to say, what we have here is...a full fledged toddler. Life is tiring, stressful, but completely good. I have about a month until classes start back up, so here's hoping I can find a rhythm for blogging. The content may be a tad erratic for a while, until I find my feet. Consistency is number one on my agenda.

A Blogging Renaissance

Blogging to some extent will return soon. I promise!