Christmas 2012

Christmas, my favorite time of the year.  This year I didn't have to work Christmas Eve or Christmas. Thank goodness since I worked every other holiday just so I could be off for these two.  Christmas for my family is a two day event.  We have three places to go on Christmas Eve and two places to go on Christmas.  So needless to say I am one tired puppy after Christmas Day!  I can't believe that I didn't take my camera on Christmas Eve :(  I have so much other stuff to carry I totally forgot about taking it!  I made sure that I had it Christmas morning!  I was so excited for Liam.  He is at that age where he doesn't understand but he has fun opening gifts and playing with all the toys!

Christmas Eve starts out at the Gilley's around one or two.  We eat, exchange gifts, open them and then we play dirty santa!  This year got a little racy! HAHA  After that we do the Brasfield Christmas around five or six.  This year was at my parents house. We pretty much do the same things as the Gilley's.  We eat, which is always breakfast, open gifts and play a cleaner version of dirty santa.  Lastly, we go to the McWhorter's and start it all over again.  They eat before we get there because by the time we get there, we are stuffed!  Once we get there, we exchange gifts and do dirty santa there as well.  We are so blessed to be able to have a Christmas like we do!  We love and are loved by so many it's overwhelming!  We wouldn't be who we are or where we are today if it wasn't for each and every one of them!  

Christmas morning we wake up early and do Christmas at our house.  After we go to my parents and open gifts and eat breakfast there.  After that we go to Ryan's parents and eat breakfast again.  We open presents there and then we head home and nap.  I get tired just typing all this and remembering how wore out I was!  I love everything about it though and can't wait to do it again in another year!

Here was the tree and all the gifts that Santa left Liam!  And my new pillows that Ryan didn't wrap!

 Here he comes to see what Santa has brought him!...

His new bookcase with all the books that he opened since December 1st.  I also found a cool website where I could get Disney movies really cheap.  I ordered him all the "guy" Disney movies to watch :)

Opening up his Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Thomas the Train shirts...

Our next stop was my parents house.  We eat breakfast and open up all of our gifts!

My happy baby in his Santa Claus PJs

G got Liam a new hat.  He thinks it is funny that she is trying to wear it ....

After my parents we go to Ryan's parents.  Ryan helped cook brunch for everyone while I played with Liam.  Here he is with the Furby Nana Jo and Papa John got him.

We have no place to put all this stuff.  It took me all day to put this stuff up.  I still find stuff laying around that I have no place for.  This is why we need a bigger house!

Liam's 1st Birthday

I have been having issues with space availability to upload pictures.  For some reason I no longer have that problem and I'm able to finally catch up on my blogging.  This post will probably be mostly pictures because Angela pretty much captures it all in every picture.  Having her there was probably the best choice I made.  I was able to enjoy his birthday and not worry about getting that perfect shot.  So thank you, Angela.  You are my life saver!

We chose to do The Very Hungry Caterpillar for his birthday.  I had seen other people do it for their kids and thought it was cute, so around the time he was 6 months old I started researching birthday stuff.  If it wasn't for Pinterest and Etsy his birthday wouldn't of been as successful!  Here are some pictures in the events that they happened (there were 225 pictures to choose from and all were sooooo good!)

Cookies by Phoebe's Cookies in Eagleville.  And they tasted just as good as they looked! ...

Cake by The Cake Lady in Manchester. Jennifer never does a bad job!

Liam and his girlfriend Kenzie...

Four Generations!

Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us.  We appreciate each and every one of you.  You all have and will shape him into the man he will be one day and we couldn't ask for any better friends and family!

I'm 12 Month's Old!!!!

Or should I say 1 year old? I officially have a toddler and refuse to think this way! He is my baby and will always be my baby! I have been getting pictures together for his party and I am amazed at how much he has changed in a year.  He is such a big boy now.  Here are a few of him over the year.

Still not walking yet :(  For the past month he has been taking steps then falling and crawling the rest of the way.  I am just waiting for him to just stand up and start running.  He will not let us hold his hands and help him.  He will walk around with a walker all day long.  He just doesn't want to walk alone yet.

We have six teeth, working on eight at the moment.  He chews on everything he can find.  It's getting hard to brush those little teeth because all he wants to do is bite my finger.

As for talking.  It's all still jibberish, really.  He still says "mama" and "dada."  He has started saying what sounds like "apple" and sometimes says "apple juice" but who knows what he is really saying. You can ask him where the light is and he will look up at the light.

We no longer use a bottle or formula.  He strictly uses whole milk in a sippy cup.  He is a little spoiled because he will not hold his sippy sup by himself.  He wants me to hold it.  We are working on that!  As for food, we mostly do finger foods now.  Chicken nuggets, french fries, PB&J sandwiches, any kind of chopped up fruit or steamed veggies.  He has become a bottomless pit.  He has always been a good eater though.

 As always for any kid, he loves bath time.  His favorite thing is to splash the water everywhere.  He has also found the stopper and likes to pull that out.

Happy 1st Birthday big boy!!! Mommy and Daddy love you!

This year has gone by so fast.  Words can't describe the love I have for this child.  Everyone tells you this in the beginning but you never understand it until you live it.  He has brought so much joy into our lives and I can't remember what we did before he was here.  I am so glad that we did professional pictures as often as we did and I hope that I continue that with the next one.  Angela Zuill met up with us at The Oaklands in Murfreesboro to take some 12 month pictures.  Here as some (because they are all so good) of my favorites!

You are growing up to be such a handsome and loving little boy!  As bad as I want you to stay as a baby I know that you will grow up to be a handsome and loving man too.  Stay sweet little boy! You are my sunshine, my only sunshine!

Thanksgiving 2012

Unfortunately I had to work Thanksgiving this year :(  But Liam didn't miss a thing!  The day started out at Nana Jo and Papa Johns house.  My parents picked him up around 12 and took him to that side of the family to hang out.

At Nana Jo's playing with my toys...

Here he is with Grandaddy ....

 My favorite little face :) ....

Always eating something!

Center of attention as always...

My Grandaddy!

Around 2 or so my parents took him back and he got to enjoy the Thanksgiving festivities at Nanny and Great-Grandaddy's.

Papa playing on the computer ... like always!

Blowing bubbles with Nanny ...

Liam and Nana Jo!

We are so thankful for all of our family.  Ryan and I don't know what we would do without him.  We are so thankful that we have not had to put him in a daycare and that he is able to spend time with the ones that love him most.  Happy Turkey Day!