Christmas

Christmas Day 2011

by Jessica on December 28, 2011

On Christmas morning, Knox woke up around 7:30, and I took a picture of his cute bed-head in his Christmas pajamas and sent it to Trevor- I knew he’d be missing his boy at work!

We ate a quick breakfast, then headed over to my mom and stepdad’s house. My mom called for our ETA because she wanted to capture Knox’s reaction to his “big” present right as he walked in. Sure enough, we were greeted by a crowd of paparazzi right at the door! Luckily, it was worth it- he was absolutely thrilled to his see his life-sized black lab dog!

Can’t you just feel the joy radiating off of him? When we were crib shopping for Brody, Knox saw this dog in the baby store and freaked out- he tried his darnedest to drag it around the store with him. I told my mom about it, and she had to go get it for him for Christmas. I wish so hard I had filmed his reaction! He squealed, danced and talked like crazy for about 15 minutes about it.

After he calmed down, we sat down and started to open presents. By that point, Knox knew the drill! He had quite a pile to get through, too, so it’s a good thing he was pretty efficient.

He was very excited to see Rock ‘n Roll Elmo! For the record, it is MUCH less irritating than Chicken Dance Elmo!

I helped him open the rest of his gifts- he also got some adorable clothes, a Little People Fire Station and a dashboard (with steering wheel for realistic driving). After Knox was finished, I moved on to Brody’s gifts, then mine- I didn’t see much of anyone else opening their gifts because I was so busy with the boys’ presents! Brody got lots of sweet clothes, a couple stuffed animals and also the baby monitor we needed, which was amazing- thanks, Mom! My mom gave Trevor and I some gift cards (you really miss shopping when you’re on a stiff budget, so we love to get them!!), some clothes and she gave me a pretty cross ring that I love. We bagged up Trevor’s gifts so he could open them when he got home the next day. We definitely got spoiled!

Knox had a fabulous time playing with the piano.

He was so funny to watch because he really thought he was playing a song and took his playing so seriously- my brother filmed this video, which cracks me up at the end when he finishes his song with a few higher notes, ha ha! I literally laugh every single time I watch it- I think he will grow up to play some sort of instrument, for sure.

The highlight of the morning for Knox, though, was his strawberry Ring Pop. He really never has candy, so he was pumped to eat this thing and sucked it down to nothing in no time!

He also found a brand new box of Nilla Wafers in my mom’s cabinet and helped himself to opening them!

We stayed for a very good lunch, and my mom sent us home with more food and tons of dessert. Knox took a short nap, then it was off to the fire station to visit Trevor. Trevor got temporarily relocated to a new station (only for a month or so longer), so it was our first time seeing it. Trevor showed Knox around the bay where they keep all of the fire trucks, and shockingly (or not), Knox was quite pleased to get to touch every single truck he saw! This station has a lot more trucks than Trevor’s normal station because they’re in charge of Haz-Mat (hazardous materials clean-up) in this area, too.

Trevor let Knox “drive” the big fire engine and even turned on the lights for him. He liked it, just a little bit.

After visiting Trevor, we headed home to eat dinner and relax after such a busy day. I don’t let Knox watch much TV at all any more (maybe 20 minutes a day while I get ready), but since it was a holiday, we splurged and watched his new DVD of “The Princess and the Frog,” which is inexplicably one of his absolute favorite movies.

It was a great, and super busy, day, and it was great to get to spend time with my family since I couldn’t be with Trevor all day long.

Monday we managed to pack up all of the Christmas decorations and get the house almost totally back in order. With the influx of new toys, I also went through all of Knox’s old toys and pulled a lot of things out to donate. I have decided to do this yearly after Christmas! I filled up an entire trash bag with toys and also took a few large stand-up toys, as well. I feel like we have a little bit more space, now!

Well, if you made it to the end of this post, good job! That was pretty long-winded, but I want to make sure to remember all of the little details from the day. I hope you guys had a great Christmas, too!

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Our Christmas Eve

by Jessica on December 27, 2011

Christmas Eve was more like our Christmas Day this year, since Trevor had to work on the “real” day. Santa came to our house early, though, and delivered the goods for Knox. Trevor had me cracking up when he was explaining to Knox why Santa was coming early (not like Knox understood a word Trevor was saying!). He got a “phone call” from the big guy, then told Knox that Santa owed him a favor, so he would be able to come a day early to our house. Apparently, the elves were doing some welding in the workshop and caught the place on fire (because elves are terrible welders, you know). So, Trevor, like a good firefighter, went and put it out for him- hence, the favor owed. LOL, it was a riot to hear him tell the whole story to Knox!

So, Christmas Eve morning, Knox woke up and we ate breakfast together before heading into the living room.

We definitely did not go crazy, and I am so glad, because just that stack of gifts was overwhelming for him! He is so serious in all of the pictures, and I know it’s because he couldn’t figure out what to look at/ play with next. We’ve talked about starting to do just three gifts on Christmas (that’s how many baby Jesus received), and we may do that next year, especially since Knox’s birthday is less than a month away!

He really likes the new basketball goal and was actually shooting baskets last night- like shooting, not just dropping the ball in, and I was so surprised! He also got a box of Melissa and Doug wooden cars, a road rug to drive them on, a MagnaDoodle, small firetruck, M&D Wooden Tool Box and M&D farm animal sound blocks (I stock up on M&D toys throughout the year when they go on sale!). His stocking had a few matchbox cars, cookies, little things like that.

Over the course of two days, he became an unwrapping pro! He even opened all of Trevor’s presents for him yesterday morning.

He LOVED the MagnaDoodle! Do y’all remember drawing on those when you were little? I used to love mine, too.

We played with the new toys for a while before getting dressed and ready to head over to Trevor’s parents’ house. Knox brought his new fire truck and scared Trevor and I every. single. time he pushed the siren button- it sounded so real! We planned on spending the day with his parents before going to his grandparents’ for dinner. Once we walked in, it didn’t take Knox long to spot his gift… which he played with ALL day long! I’m sure his Grandpa and Daddy had sore backs from climbing through those long tunnels with him!

He got kind of excited when he saw the Elmo guitar…

Getting some help from Mimi

We had such a fun day hanging out over there. I LOVE my in-laws (I know everyone is not so lucky)! We ate a delicious lunch, then Knox played until he passed out and took a nap (thankfully!) on his Grandpa and Mimi’s bed. For our Christmas gifts, Trevor’s mom picked up all the necessities for after Brody’s born, and what a HUGE help that was!! She got me several nursing tanks and new pajama pants for the hospital, and they gave us a huge bag of the essentials we had yet to buy for Brody, like a crib mattress cover, sheets, sound machine, baby wash, breast milk storage bags, etc. I was so excited! Of course, Trevor got some man things, too, like a new watch and other gadgety things because men don’t care much about breast milk bags, LOL.

When it was time to head over to Trevor’s Nan and Pop’s house, Trevor’s mom, Knox and I went ahead while the men fixed up the hayride for later that night. Knox had a wonderful time being the center of attention in front of Trevor’s whole family! He was such a little show-off!

For dinner, we do finger foods (I made hot bacon dip and s’mores dip… both are awesome and SO easy!) which is my favorite thing ever! After we ate, it was time for Knox’s hay ride. Trevor’s dad hooks up a trailer to their lawn mower and fills it with hay, then he rides around the pond. They used to do this with a bunch of the kids when Trevor was little, but so far, Knox is the only one, so he rides with his Daddy!

Christmas Eve was a fantastic day, and I could not have asked for anything better. We attempted a family picture, but as usual, Knox had other ideas!

We went to bed right when we got home because Christmas was going to be a busy day, too! I’ll post on that tomorrow. I hope you all had an amazing and very blessed Christmas holiday!!

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Ho, ho, ho!

by Jessica on December 22, 2011

We took Knox to go see Santa Clause last night, and I am so happy to say that it went much better than last year when Knox stared at him for a while then did this:

Knox was actually pretty amused by the jolly old guy this year, at least from a distance. He was NOT going to sit on his lap, even with much cajoling from Trevor. Finally, we just plopped him down, and Santa had to really try to hang on to the wiggliest child ever. These pictures crack me up because you can see Santa’s mouth in motion trying to convince Knox to look at the camera and be still… nice try!

The winner, crazy hair and all:

Santa insisted that I come over for a picture with him, and I insisted that Knox come along with me! Here is our first picture of Knox and Brody with Santa Clause. I love Knox’s face of “why are you touching my mom, old dude?”

I am so happy with our decision to avoid the “big” mall in town and visit an older, smaller one because our wait was (get this) ZERO minutes! We were in and out in ten minutes, which was amazing. We also got to use our own camera and take as many pictures as we wanted. We will be making that decision again next year, I do believe!

I am so looking forward to this Christmas, now that Knox is a little older and is actually reacting to things and getting excited. We’re planning on doing our “Christmas morning” on Christmas Eve since Trevor has to work on the actual day (boo). After we do the Santa experience at our house, we will head over to Trevor’s parents’ house for lunch, gifts and general merriment. Then, that evening, we’ll head across the pond (not the ocean… literally it’s a big pond) to Trevor’s grandparents’ house for their traditional Christmas Eve get-together with the family.

Christmas morning, Knox and I will head over to my mom and step-dad’s house for gifts and lunch. I think my mom may be a *little* excited to have me back for Christmas morning… but she’s way more excited for Knox to be there! It’s okay, I know my place- standing behind my child. Ha ha! After lunch, we’ll head home for Knox’s nap, then we’re off to the fire station to hang out with Trevor for the rest of the day. His station is doing a big low-country boil (huge pot of shrimp, sausage, corn, potatoes… YUM) for dinner and invited the families of the firemen on duty to join them. I’m so glad that we can at least see and hang out with Trevor on Christmas, even if he can’t be at home with us. We found out Trevor works EVERY SINGLE holiday next year, too (thanks, leap year, for screwing up the rotating schedule), so we’ll probably be repeating this schedule again next Christmas, just adding another boy to the mix.

If I don’t have a chance to post again before Sunday, I wish you all a very blessed Christmas!!

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Knox’s First Christmas

by Jessica on December 28, 2010

I hope that everyone had a very merry Christmas, we definitely did. I love the holiday season. Trevor and I are MAJOR Christmas people, and we look forward to it all year long. After all the anticipation, this first Christmas as a family of three definitely lived up to the hype. We had a wonderful Christmas morning with Knox, very low-key and quiet. It was much-needed, considering the rest of our holiday was spent rushing all over the place.

Christmas Eve lunch was spent with my dad and his family. We had a good time catching up, and of course, everyone wanted to play with Knox! He had a really good time, but it’s a typical Southern household (ie: LOUD) and not exactly a place conducive to nap taking, so Knox was wired and grouchy by the time we left. Although, he made an adorable new friend in my uncle’s little dog, Buffy. I swear, that was the freaking cutest dog on Earth, and she loved Knox. So much so that she took to sitting in his lap every time she saw him on the floor. Knox tried his best to touch her eyes and teeth, but settled for petting her ears. Here she is sitting in his lap, which he is THRILLED about:

Literally… she could not get close enough to him.

Once we left there, we rushed home, got Knox down for a nap, and I rushed to cook spinach artichoke dip and pigs in a blanket for our next stop: Trevor’s grandparents’ house. Once there, we hung out with Trevor’s family and had a great time. Knox is very comfortable over there, so he was hamming it up for everyone. His favorite thing to do was to rip off his Grandpa’s hat. Very entertaining stuff.

Grandpa and Mimi had also arranged Knox’s very first hayride. This is something that Trevor and his cousins all loved when they were little, so I think Trevor’s dad was itching to get started with Knox. It was super chilly outside, but Knox was very warm nuzzled in the hay (which he loved to throw) and up against us while we rode around. I seriously thought he may go to sleep because he was so still while we rode, but he was just watching everything very intently.

Then, it was back home and off to bed for us. Since Knox now hates sleep, Trevor and I were worried he wouldn’t stay asleep long enough for us to get everything ready for the morning, but luckily, he did. We were so excited for morning to arrive!

Once Knox woke up, we headed downstairs to see what old Santa had brought for our good little guy.

The first thing Knox saw was a little Cookie Monster, and he had to have it right away. Then, he dumped out a huge container of MegaBlocks.

We definitely did not go overboard, and he had six gifts under the tree and his stocking, which was perfect for his first Christmas. He didn’t understand what was going on, but he had fun looking at everything and playing. The cutest thing was when he pulled two sippy cups out of his stocking and tried to drink out of them… guess he didn’t realize that they don’t come with water already inside. His “big” gift was a cute little rocking horse that makes horsey noises.

We played with Knox for a little while, then fed him and I started on a big breakfast. Trevor’s parents and grandparents were coming over to eat and do their Christmas celebration with us.

After we ate our apple pancakes, bacon and sausage gravy biscuits, we exchanged gifts. I got all the parents (and grandparents) a huge hardcover photo book of Knox’s first year that I made online. They all loved them! Knox’s grandparents brought him lots of goodies, including his first flashlight (Trevor and his dad are obsessed with flashlights and pocket knives… seriously, it’s a sickness), which was a little T-Rex that roared and opened his flashlight mouth. Knox LOVED that thing!

Then, Knox opened up something that made him very excited… a train!

Trevor’s parents also gave us something we can always use: a night out! They gave us gift cards to use to rent a hotel room and go out for a nice dinner, which was so thoughtful! We had a great time hanging out with Trevor’s family, and as soon as they left, we had to rush again! I hurried to make macaroni and cheese and gather up gifts, then we headed over to my mom and stepdad’s house.

Everyone was so excited to see Knox, he is such a loved baby, and we are so blessed to have a great family (mine and Trevor’s both) that adores him as much as they do. He racked up on clothes over there, so he is set, wardrobe-wise, for the rest of the cold weather months! Yay! Luckily, Knox is a really social child, so he was having a great time once all of my extended family arrived, being passed around amongst people and played with. One person stood out in the crowd, though. My little cousin Ethan, who is four years-old. He is hilarious and just loved Knox, but not as much as Knox loved him! We all swore that Knox said “Ethan” once, it was clear as a bell, but it was probably a fluke since he would not repeat it! I tried my best to get a picture of the two of them together, but you try making two energetic little boys sit still for a minute: it won’t happen! So, this is what we got:

Overall, I could not have asked for a better Christmas. It was our first as a family of three, and having a baby at Christmas truly brings new joy to the day. I hope that you all enjoyed your holiday, as well!

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Stuff. Everywhere.

by Jessica on December 28, 2009

Knox really did pretty well for himself on Christmas. Our house is so full of stuff, it is kind of insane. Our parents went a tad bit crazy with his first Christmas presents, and it really makes me wonder how nuts it will be once he is actually here! We got the Chicco pack and play and Arms Reach mini co-sleeper bassinet from my mom and stepdad, and the red Chicco Cortina travel system and second car seat base from Trevor’s parents.

Of course, we also got piles of new baby clothes and other necessities. It took Trevor MANY trips to the car to get everything inside. We also got the closet organizer with little fabric drawers, Trevor still needs to put that (and everything else!) together. I am so excited for all that organized storage space!

I still have three more loads of baby laundry to do, I don’t think I’ll ever finish it because it keeps multiplying! His dresser is almost full, already, which is crazy because it has some seriously deep drawers. Once I finish this laundry, it will be bursting at the seams. Oh, and the closet is pretty full, too. I feel like I have SO much to do before Knox gets here. I still need to wash the bottles and pacifiers and make some room in the kitchen cabinets for his feeding items. I am planning on breast feeding, but I know there will be times where I will be more than ready for Trevor to take over a feeding, so we did need some bottles!

We are going to make a run to Target tomorrow (my one hour outing for the day) to get all the little things that are left that we need (like Mylicon drops, bottle nipples, etc) and our swing. I am excited to get that all done and out of the way so I can TRY to get everything else organized. I so badly want to clean our house from top to bottom, but I am relegated to straightening very small segments at time and delegating all the rest to my husband.

It is insane to me that in just over two weeks, I will be taken off bed rest and then Knox could literally come anytime. It’s kind of terrifying. I had a stressed out day today, and I think that’s why. I start to panic about Knox’s health, going to the hospital, how I will handle labor, everything. I am trying to stay positive and just focus on all these things I have to do to prepare and not think as much about the stressful parts!

Christmas Belly:

Trevor playing with the Trio toys (like Legos for littler kids) my mom bought for him and Knox. He cannot wait to build Lego castles and pirate ships with our son. I have a feeling that Knox won’t be playing with them as much as Trevor and I will!: