Christmas Fun

Christmas Day was so much fun and so exhausting!!! Ava Grace had a BIG morning since Santa found our house! She talked non-stop and attempted to pull some bibs out of her stocking. Of course her gifts were more for her mommy and daddy (hand sanitizer, bath wash, bibs, etc.). She did receive her very 1st baby doll though and I have to say, it was a hit! Ava Grace stared at it and talked while looking at Tim and me like we knew what she was saying (we know it made sense to her).

After opening presents, we headed down the mountain to Uncle Doug's house to see if Santa found Luke and indeed he did. Luke and Ava Grace exchanged presents and she was so excited to receive her gifts (ok...so I was so very excited and she just put it in her mouth). Aunt Stacey and Luke went to Washington DC a few weeks ago and brought back Ava Grace a Redskins cheerleading outfit and t-shirt that she can wear next year. To some of you that may not be a big deal, but to me that is a HUGE deal. I have been a Redskins fan since I was a little girl, so you can imagine how excited I was to open the gift. We will have to add some Miami Dolphins (Tim's and Uncle Doug's team) and Panthers (everyone's team, especially Uncle Steve and Jen) gear too. We ate brunch with Cece, Uncle Doug, Aunt Stacey, Luke, Cousin Lee, and Cousin Avie. Cece made shrimp and grits (a favorite)...yummy!!

We then traveled to Meme and Pop Pop's house for the Perry Christmas. Everyone was there - Uncle Steve, Aunt Diana, Justin, Uncle Evan, Aunt Deb, Brittany, Rebecca, and of course Meme and Pop Pop. We had a blast!! Rebecca entertained Ava Grace during dinner which was a huge help. She also entertained her throughout the afternoon and helped once with opening a gift for her. Rebecca was too cute playing Santa passing out gifts to everyone. Ava Grace received some awesome clothes and toys that she will definitely enjoy for the next year. Everyone cooked a little bit for dinner so Meme didn't have to do all of the work. Everything was delicious!! Tim made a Chocolate Delight for dessert and it was yummy as well. We spent the night at Meme and Pop Pop's house and then headed to Cece's house the next morning.

We enjoyed playing with Cece, shopping a little, and just relaxing while watching football. Brendan and Jonna's wedding party was on Saturday night. We had a great time!! Congratulations again to them!! It was a quick trip, but fun as always. The weather was perfect - 70 degrees. I wish I could have bottled it up and brought it back to the mountains because reality hit when we got home. It has been cold here with 60 mph wind gusts. That is normal for this time of year, but it was spoiling to be at the beach.

Your head may be spinning now, so I will close. We hope everyone enjoyed their friends and family at Christmas. What a special day for our little girl!!

Merry Christmas Y'all!!

Merry Christmas to Everyone!! We hope you have a wonderful day with your family and friends. We are really excited about seeing our families later. Please remember that as fun as it is that Santa has come to your house (we did come to ours at least), we wouldn't have a Christmas without the birth of Christ. Tim, Ava Grace, and I acted as Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus last night at church. Ava Grace cried appropriately and then continued crying because she wasn't sure that her mommy and daddy were really her mommy and daddy (We think the costumes may have upset her a little). She actually settled down during communion (thank goodness) and was focused on the people as they passed by. It was a sweet Children's program and we thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the skit. I think it made me a little more aware of the meaning of Christmas, especially with a brandy new baby ourselves this year.

So, from our family to yours, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas!! We love you all!!

Christmas with Cece

We celebrated Christmas with Cece yesterday. We rode up to the Grove Park Inn to see the Gingerbread Houses that are on display every year. It is amazing how creative and talented people are!! Ava Grace seemed fascinated with all of the Christmas trees that were each decorated with their own theme. The lights, ornaments, and glitter were so neat. After walking the gingerbread tour, we grabbed a bite of lunch. We ran some errands in the afternoon and then settled in for supper and opening some gifts. Ava Grace attempted to open her first gift, but of course lost interest very quickly. Dixie (Cece's dog) helped Ava Grace open another present. Dixie LOVES Christmas...it is so cute!! Ava Grace has grown sooo big that she doesn't fit in her regular tub anymore. So, Cece found a bigger tub for Ava Grace - it is a duck!! It is so darn cute. Cece inflated it this morning and we put Ava Grace in it. She seemed to like it and we haven't even put it in the water yet. Thank you, Cece, for everything!! We love you so much!!

Christmas Parties

Well, Ava Grace has attended her first two Christmas parties. On Friday late afternoon, Nanny had a party at her house for "her kids". Let me just start off by saying WE LOVE NANNY!! It was so sweet and so fun to watch the kiddos play. I think we all appreciate the chaos that she endures every day while we are working. She said a few words about the children (which almost brought us to tears) and then each child received a gift. Ava Grace and Olivia (9 months old) both received a spinning top. Do you remember the toys we had as children where you mashed the top down and little balls or whatever spun around inside. Ok...that was the toy she got. Ava Grace kept beating hers on the side....she'll figure it out soon enough. Nanny had refreshments for the children and for the parents. It was great!! She is such a blessing to our family!! I don't know what we would do without her!!
On Saturday, my "Etowah girls" and their children came over to make cookies and hang out. All of the children didn't make it because of various reasons, but the ones that were here had a great time. Emery (Keri's daughter) wanted to help the "big people" make cookies, so you can imagine how creative a 4-year-old made cookies look. Jennifer chased Elijah most of the time trying to keep him off of the stairs. I promise to have the baby gate next time, Jennifer! Jill brought her 1 month old little girl, Sophie. Even though it was only 4 months ago, it is hard to believe that Ava Grace was ever that little. Kim came sans children because they were tired from moving their uncle's stuff from Haywood County all day long. Amanda wasn't feeling well, but came to socialize anyway - we're so glad she made it. Emily also came bringing good food...she always begins the unique stuff!! Everyone brought appetizers and I made homemade (yes I said homemade) peppermint hot chocolate. It was sooo good!! It was so good that I had another cup after everyone left and I cleaned up the kitchen! I worked at Etowah Elem. the first two years I was in Henderson County. There are 7 girls (including me) that became friends and we try to get together about once a month to visit. The kiddos are always with us and sometimes the husbands/boyfriends are invited. It is a lot of fun and I am so glad to have these girls as friends!!
I think that is all of the partying we are doing this season. We are looking forward to visiting with our families and enjoying Ava Grace's first Christmas in a few days.

Oh Granddaddy would laugh

Oh My Gosh....My dad (Luke and Ava Grace's Granddaddy) would laugh at this!! Over the weekend, Luke found a pair of my Dad' glasses and decided to try them on. It was hysterical!! My Dad had very bad vision, so Luke was running into things as he attempted to walk through the house. We laughed so hard!! I just thought it was worth sharing. Those of you who knew my Dad are probably laughing right now too!!

North-South Weekend

Ava Grace and I headed to the beach last weekend for the North-South festivities. Doug and his family were able to come, but unfortunately, Tim had to stay at home and work baseball camp. We had a great trip!! Luke played with Ava Grace the entire weekend - it was so cute watching him talk to her and try to play with her toys. She was fixated on him the entire time and would smile big when he talked to her. We attended the State Championship football rally at the stadium on Friday morning. It was great to see lots of people and to celebrate the Seahawks' state championship. Dad would be so proud!! We had the North-South banquet on Friday night. Doug made the speech for the scholarship that is in Dad's name. He did a great job and everyone there thought Ava Grace was so cute (of course they did). The game on was Saturday and we enjoyed watching Josh (Doug's player from Mauldin) play! Ava Grace and I went to church with Cece on Sunday morning. It is always wonderful to go home and see everyone! We just relaxed all weekend with Cece and enjoyed being together.

5 months old

Ava Grace turned 5 months old on Saturday! It is so hard for me to believe how fast the time has grown. She has learned so much already and seems to be growing everyday. We are glad that she is actually growing some hair now. She did have a lot of black hair when she was born, but it is sort of filling in now. I'm sure you never thought I would say this, but I think it will actually be fun to "do" her hair when it gets longer. Let me think about some of the things she has done in the last month: she can roll over from her back to her tummy (when she wants to), talks with new sounds, has learned to squeal, blows bubbles often, smiles at most everyone, turns her head whens he hears any kind of sound, and laughs which in turn cracks us up!

She is in the process of learning to raise her arms when she wants someone to hold her, she can almost sit up unassisted, and is starting to move her legs like a frog getting ready to crawl (hopefully this milestone won't be met for a few more months). Our little girl is really growing up and changing right in front of our eyes.