Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a little bit different this year. We usually head over to Uncle Steve and Aunt Melinda's house to have dinner around 5pm and then we open gifts and enjoy time as a family together. This year however, we went to Gordo First Baptist (our new home church) for their Christmas Eve Candle Light Service. I've never been to a Christmas Eve service before, but I can honestly say that it was probably one of my favorite things we did this Christmas. Big Daddy and Nana took Colton with them to Steve and Melinda's house (since the church didn't have a nursery that night) while we headed to Gordo. The service was amazing and it was so nice to sing songs about the Lord Jesus Christ and to be reminded what the Christmas season really is about. After the service we headed over to meet the family. Once we got there it was time to open gifts and then Chris and I finally got to eat some yummy steaks!!

My sweet little boy on Christmas Eve

Opening presents...

Uncle Dennis, Aunt Donna and the boys got him a Mr. Potato Head pack. He loved it!

And Sid the Science Kid DVD's (His favorite cartoon)

The Robert's gave him an ABC truck. It is so cute and sings the ABC's for you.

The boys relaxing while opening gifts.. Garrett, Connor and Dennis

Colton wanted to help Cousin Jessica open her gifts as well.

After opening gifts, he fell sound asleep!

While Colton was asleep, we all headed upstairs to play the yearly gift game.

Details: Everyone gets in a circle. You start by trying to roll doubles with a pair of dice. If you roll doubles, you get a turn. Your turn consists of putting on a pair of boots (large), a pair of gloves, a hat and a scarf. Once you have everything on, you can begin unwrapping the big present in the middle of the circle. You have to be fast though, because who ever rolls doubles next can snatch everything off of you and it then becomes there turn at unwrapping the box.

Collin started us off this year.

He barley got started when Dennis rolled doubles and it was his turn.

He got pretty far along until Aunt Melinda rolled doubles!

Then Cody rolled doubles. He ended up winning this year. However, he did rip the $20 dollar bill in half while opening the gift up.

One of the only family pictures of the three of us.

20 Months

20 Months Already!! I can't believe in a few more months I will have a two year old. It just doesn't seem right. Colton has grown up sooo much this past month. He is becoming a little boy and not a baby anymore. We are loving watching him experience day to day activities and it's been a joy watching him grow. We love him sooooooooo much!!

Highlights from the past month:

• His favorite toys this past month: Trucks and Cars, Woody doll that talks (from Toy Story), Blocks, Mr. Potato Head, Anything that plays music, 4-wheeler


• His favorite cartoons this month: Sid the Science Kid, Veggie Tales


• His favorite foods this month: Pineapple, French Fries, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, M&M's. We are having a hard time getting Colton to eat just about anything. He only has a few things that he will even touch or will try. Hopefully this is just a stage and he will get better.


• He still loves to play on the computer. His favorite game is the ABC game on the Fisher Price website.


• He loves to talk on the phone.


• He loves to color and draw. (This has been great when we go to restaurants)


• He loves playing with Millie and Bella. (Poor Millie though, doesn't care too much about her little brother)


• His hair is getting curlier and curlier! (so cute!!) I'm still waiting to cut it though because I don't want to lose all though curls.


• He knows when it is time to go to Granny and Papa's house in the morning and he gets so excited. Once we get there he knows exactly where to go.


• He went to his first movie this past month and LOVED it. (Alvin and the Chipmunks on 12/24)


• If he wants you to get something for him or if he wants to go somewhere with him, he will now get your finger and will take you to either what he wants or the room he wants to go in.


• If he is thirsty and has his on cup he will try to go to the refrigerator and get ice and water.


• He is starting to make new sounds. "Pa", "Ma"


• Still only saying "Bye Bye".


• He loves the following songs: Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABC's, If You're Happy and You Know It


• He has figured out how to climb on just about anything. He can now climb onto any piece of furniture in the house. (We caught him the other day trying to get in his highchair at Big Daddy and Nana's house) (He hasn't tried to climb out of his crib though)


• He loves to play in the kitchen with mommy's pots and pans.


• He continues to like preschool and is getting better at being dropped off at school in the mornings. (We had a few hard days this month)


• He has started shaking his head "no" when he doesn't want something.


• We have started a new bedtime routine around the house and it has been working GREAT!! Around 7pm we let Colton take a bath and play in the bath tub for a few minutes (he loves to do this), after a bath he gets a glass of milk and he drinks it while I read him a few books. After I read him his books, I tell him it's bed time and we walk to his room. We give him a kiss and tell him we love him and then he is put in his crib. He is doing great and most nights he doesn't even cry and he is asleep within a few minutes. Chris and I have also noticed that this tends to help him sleep better at night time.


• Weighs Approximately 30 - 35 pounds


• We moved up to a size 5 diaper this month!


• He still wears 2T clothing and wears a size 6W shoe.


• His Daily Schedule: Wake up around 6:45am, Breakfast @ 8am, Plays and watching cartoons , lunch around noon, Nap Time until maybe 3pm, Dinner around 6pm, Bath Time @ 7:30pm, Bedtime @ 8pm.

Christmas with Granny's

We headed over to Granny's house the Sunday before Christmas to enjoy some afternoon snacks and to visit with the family. It's always so nice to see everyone over there since we don't see each other nearly enough during the year.

Check out those curls...
Colton and Big Daddy.. With his Big Bird from Jennifer's family

Yes, my child put on a show!! He loved having all the attention.

Since he opened gifts at Big Daddy's and Nana's the night before, Colton knew exactly what to do with the gifts I handed him.

He loved his PJ's from Sherry, Allen and LeAnn

Christmas with Big Daddy and Nana

We had Christmas with Big Daddy and Nana the Saturday before Christmas. We headed over to there house around 2pm and we opened presents and had a wonderful steak dinner for supper that night. Colton loved opening up all of his presents!

Nana and Big Daddy spoiled him with so many fun toys.... They also got him a swing set for our backyard, however we are going to wait to put it up till the Spring since it's so cold outside.

Uncle Rob and Valerie bought him a Tag Junior and a few books to read with it.

They also bought him his first golf set.

Colton's Stocking from Big Daddy and Nana

More toys...

MONSTER TRUCK!! This is one of his favorite toys he got!

Christmas with the Halls

We had Christmas with the Halls the Saturday before Christmas at their new beautiful home in Hillcrest. It was great getting to see everyone since we haven't seen them in a few months.

The girls... Brandi, Leah and Tara (And Colton)

The guys.. Chris, Rusty, Brad and Cody

We all enjoyed a wonderful breakfast before opening gifts. Everything was sooo yummy!



The Halls added a new member of the family this year in August and she is just beautiful. Colton loved Mary Russell and even tried to feed her the bottle of milk. He is going to make a great big brother some day!!

Colton loved the Santa that they had outside on their back porch.

Rob and Valerie even made the trip down to Tuscaloosa for the get together.

Colton loved all the gifts he got that morning!!

He got a talking Woody (Toy Story) doll and outfit from Jimmy and Trisha, a John Deere truck and Mickey Mouse toy from the Farley's, and a Mickey Mouse DVD and book from Brandi, Rusty and Mary Russell. He loved everything!

Sick Little Boy

Colton had a bad cold the week before Christmas and just wasn't feeling very good. I decided to stay home from work one day and we both spent the entire day resting and watching cartoons. Here is a picture of him watching cartoons and enjoying a mid morning snack.

Family Christmas Pictures