Snuggling with GrandBob and Grandma

Jonas and Gavin had a good time snuggling with GrandBob.

And, snuggling is always fun with Grandma Judy.

Christmas Eve

One of my favorite Christmas Eve traditions is Judy's delicious seafood chowder. Judy and Bob made a trip to Central Market for the seafood, then made the soup. It was a delightful bowl of yumminess; there was none left. So tasty!

Prior to dinner, we went to Christmas Eve services at church. We opted for the family friendly service this year. Gavin stayed with us instead of going to the nursery. Each child was given a baggie of finger puppets to use throughout the service, and instead of candles, we had glow sticks. I missed the candles, but it was nice to have Gavin with us.

Cookies for Santa

On Christmas Eve, we baked cookies for Santa. Gavin and Jonas were so excited. When I asked Gavin if he was ready to bake cookies, he exclaimed, "First you roll the dough. Then you cut it."Thankfully, I had the dough rolled out, cookie cutters out, and two stations ready to go for Santa's little bakers.

Grandma and I did the best we could to keep up with the little boys.

The bell was the cookie cutter of choice for Jonas, while Gavin liked the gingerbread man the best.

I can't wait until next time.

North Pole Express

The family all made it in on Wednesday, so that we could ride the North Pole Express out of Grapevine. Jonas was very excited about the train ride, asking his mom each day if that was the day that he could ride the train to see Santa. Not wanting to fall to same fate, Gavin didn't learn about the train ride until the morning of the event.

First, we were entertained by a show.
And, there was some waiting for the show to start.

Then we got to walk outside the board the North Pole Express. There were snowflakes swirling through the air as we walked to board the train.

"All aboard," calls the conductor.

Jonas and Gavin were so excited. As we walked from the car earlier, both boys were being carried by their dads. Dave said that Gavin noticably tensed up when he caught sight of the train.

Gavin was so excited to get to hold his ticket.

The "gangsta" little boy look: we're too cool for this train ride. Yo, Santa!

Dave swapped seats with Jonas, who kept coming over to see his Dad and Mom.

Whew, a big yawn. It was way past bedtime; our train was supposed to leave at 8:30; it was closer to 9. It was 9:50 when we got back to the car to head home.

Ohhhhh. Santa is coming!

Cheese.

Jolly Old Saint Nick poses with the boys.

Sweet smile on a sweet boy.

Santa's Reindeer

On the drive home from Georgia, we made it to Birmingham before stopping for lunch. Gavin likes pizza so we decided to find a mall and Sbarro for lunch. Little did we know, there Santa's reindeer would be. After eating, Dave and Gavin got in line. Then discovered they needed a token, had to wait in line to get a token from a machine. It was a long process. But Gavin waited patiently.

And, he was rewarded with a ride on one of Santa's reindeer.

Though the stop was longer than we anticipated, we knew the hours of traveling that lay ahead would still be ahead whenever we were ready to go. We all got to stretch our legs before getting back into the car. Thankfully, Gavin fell asleep at some point; it rained all the way across the state of Louisiana. We did stop in Monroe, Louisiana, where we had dinner and topped off the gas. A quick break at the first rest area in Texas for a PJ change for Gavin was supposed to be our last, but Gavin needed me to hold him around 10pm. So we pulled over, I got into the backseat with Gavin and within 30 seconds he was asleep. We got to our house just at midnight. It was a long day, but Gavin was a trooper.

Thanksgiving

Gavin and I spent a fun and busy week on the farm with Grandma and Granddaddy. Gavin got to ride the Kawasaki Mule many times. He and Granddaddy had to go get the tractor and load a bale of hay for a lady. He got to play, play, play. He got to feed Uncle Matthew's chickens and pet Duke, Hayden's dog.

We got to visit my Granny for a bit. We had dinner with my cousin Jennifer, her husband, Kirk, and my aunt Martha. My aunt Lesa and her family, Dwayne, Tessa, and Bridget had Thanksgiving dinner with us. GrandBob and Grandma Judy came for lunch, tool

After a delicious Thanksgiving meal, we went outside to enjoy the beautiful sunshine.

GrandBob worked to show us how to play badmitton. I can't wait until Gavin is big enough to play badmitton with me :)

We made the poor boy stop playing long enough for a quick family picture.

Even GrandBob enjoyed a ride on the Mule.
Bridget, Tessa, and Gavin got a ride from Granddaddy.

Friday, we went to the Museum of Nature and Science in Cartersville and checked out the big trucks. Then we went to Kennesaw to play with GrandBob and Grandma Judy for a while.

Back at Grandma's house, Hayden had come down for a while. Poor guy had been sick with a fever much of the week, so we really didn't get to see much of him--maybe next time.

Road Trip

Over Thanksgiving Break, Gavin and I took a road trip to Georgia. Dave had class and work, but G and I had the entire week off. We set out Saturday morning. As you can see, Gavin was well stocked for the drive ahead. We got on the road about 9:45. I spent much time contemplating when it would be best to leave. My fear if we left at 5am was that he wouldn't go back to sleep and that we'd get to a stopping point very early in the afternoon Saturday. I considered just before his nap time, but worried that he wouldn't nap. So I decided on late morning.

Even though it wasn't Christmas and there were no gifts to transport, my trunk was still full of items to carry East.

The front seat was packed with items that I wanted close at hand for the trip.

Our first stop was Kilgore, Texas, for gas and lunch. Typically, Gavin tells me that he wants to eat in the restaurant, but today when presented with the question, he said, "I want to eat in the car." So we made our order to go and waited for it to be filled before getting on the road.

At some point in the afternoon, Gavin was getting restless. I made a stop in rural Louisiana. We found a convenience store and a bank at the exit. So, we played football in the bank parking lot. G also decided it was a great opportunity for a dirty diaper adventure. (I'm just glad I didn't have to make a special stop for this event.)

He never napped; after our football game, I fixed the DVD player. G watched a few episodes of Curious George to pass the time.

We made it to Vicksburg and the banks of the Mississippi River just at sunset. It was another opportunity for G to run off some energy.

G stuck his head between these rails and had to have me extract him.

That night, we stopped in Meridian, Mississippi. I really wanted to drive to Tuscaloosa, but Alabama played at home that day. Dave was checking on hotel rooms; they were ridiculous ($150+) for the few hours that we'd be there. So, we stopped in Meridian.

I think G could get used to life on the road. He got to eat cookies, drink milk, and watch TV on the bed.

The next morning, he was up at 5am. Lest we not be "those" people who wake everyone up, we were on the road by 6. I was so anxious to get on the road, I neglected to fill up the tank.

On we drove to Tuscaloosa for gas and a chocolate covered doughnut.

By 12:30, we were at my parent's house. Once on Saturday and once on Sunday, Gavin asked, "Where's my grandma's house?" That's the closest thing to "Are we there yet?" that I heard come from him. We really was a good sport.