Christmas at the Walker House

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

This year, Jeff and I hosted Christmas at our house. Normally, we all pack up and head to Louisiana for Christmas celebrations. My Aunt Marion would host the Christmas Eve bash and my mom would host the Christmas Day gathering for all the cousins, grandkids, aunts, uncles, etc... We decided to do something a little different this year. Since my brother currently lives in Oklahoma and has a new job that does not allow him much vacation time, we decided to save costs and cut time off of his travels. Coming here would only take him 2.5 hours by car - going to my parents would have been more like 10 hours. We knew it was a matter of time before the traditional celebrations would come to an end. With Andrew getting older and soon to learn about Santa Claus, we figured we would want to celebrate at home in the years to come. But, we decided to start the new tradition early!

My parents arrived on December 23rd to an exhausted household. Andrew had been throwing up all night and we were about to take him to the doctor when they got in from their 7 hour drive. By the time Andrew and Jeff got back from the doctor, he was feeling better. But, it took some loving from Pappy and some time on his new Couch that he got from Granny and Pappy to make him back to his old self.

Christmas Eve was a day full of cooking. We invited a few people over but knew that we would not have a big showing. In fact, outside of the family, we had one couple join us. We actually knew that was going to be the case, but wanted to cook a lot anyway. Our spread of food and drink was obnoxious considering the amount of people we had. But, as my mom said, it's the start of a new tradition so it will grow. I enjoyed the cooking and getting out the party dishes - even if it was just for a few of us. The sad part was that we had all the food ready and the table set up but I would not let anyone eat until the one couple got there to "start" the party. Thanks to David and Sandi for coming and for being on time - holding off Dad, Matt and Jeff for much longer would have been a challenge.

Sandi and David - Our Christmas Eve Party

Our Spread for Christmas Eve

Christmas morning was fantastic. Sybil slept over on Christmas Eve so she was here and Mike got here around 9am. We gathered around the tree and passed out presents and began taking turns letting each person open their gifts. Andrew was a complete doll. He helped to unwrap gifts, he played with tissue paper and boxes and was extra lovable during the morning. Not to mention, got another haul of great gifts for himself.

Uncle Matt And Andrew

We set the table and had Christmas lunch/dinner around 4pm. A full spread of Turkey, Dressing, Homemade Rolls, Rice/Gravy, Broccoli Cheese Casserole and Cranberry Sauce. We used a new Turkey Brine recipe this year that made our turkey fantastic! Of course, it's a food network recipe. I can't get enough of Food Network recipes - only 5 stars though...anything else seems to be hit or miss.

Jeff and I working on the turkey.

 After we ate, we pulled out Mexican Train Dominoes and played for a few hours. Each round, one person would sit out and be the designated Andrew entertainment. He loved it - getting full attention for 20 minutes from each member of the family. We loved it because it did not make one person have to miss out on the fun of the game. Andrew went to bed at about 7pm and we started to play Oh Hell, the card game. 

All in all, the day was fantastic! We had a great time, ate way too much food and really enjoyed our first Christmas at the Walker's.

More Christmas Pics

I've hinted around with a few pictures here and there from our Christmas Photo session that we took in September...yes, September. At noon, outside, still in the 90's. We were hot and sticky but the process was fast and we were back in the car heading home within an hour. I used this photographer one time before and was not extremely satisfied with our results but wanted to give her one last try before I switched to someone new and closer (she is an hour drive - but cheap so I was willing to make that long haul). This will be our last session with this photographer and the hunt is on for a new photographer.

However, we had a great time and she (Chunky Monkey Photography) was so nice. They are just not the style of picture that I'm good with long-term. I am really glad we were able to get these taken and have some great memories and some great pictures from 2010!

Here are a few shots that she captured that I thought were cute/ok:

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas!

The Most Amazing Year

On Thanksgiving Day, our little turkey turned one. It was so nice to have the entire family there to celebrate with us as he went head-first in to his cake. We spent the day showering Andrew with gifts so that he would not lose interest in gift-opening. We figured we could give him a gift every few hours and by the end of the day, he would have opened everything and been temporarily excited about each thing. It worked like a charm.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the traditional goodies - Turkey, stuffing, rolls, etc... and then we finished it off with a bit of singing, candle lighting and yummy cake time.

As Thanksgivings go - it was pretty darn good. We had "mommy, daddy, mamaw, granny, pappy, uncle Mike and uncle Matt" all here to celebrate with Andrew on his big day. He was relatively oblivious to the whole thing, but still really enjoyed having everyone showering him with attention.

The last year has been so amazing for our little family. Jeff and I have been blessed with the most energetic, sweet and loving kiddo. He is so independent and curious and wants to soak up what life has to offer. I think, if given the chance, he would be a world explorer at this point - but he would insist upon pushing each thing he explored across a room.

It's funny how you can look back on life and think about how things are now and how they used to be. I think about the lack of my ability to sleep in, the lack of freedom to do what I want when I want to do it and the fact that most of my evenings out now end by 7pm. I also think about how each morning I get to greet a child who is so excited to be alive that he laughs as soon as you walk in the room. I think about how having a child makes you really embrace the importance of family, how exciting it is to get to re-invent Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and much more all over again. This is the reason for life - this is exactly what makes life fun and exciting. It's not as much experiencing life but watching your baby experience life. The things we take for granted today are the most intriguing, exciting and amazing things to them.

So, Happy Birthday to my sweet turkey. Life with you has been amazing, challenging, rewarding and tons of fun. I look forward to so much more and cherish the time we have had together thus far.

I could not imagine a better life.

Much love to my Andrew and his awesome Daddy.

So much to post...

It's hard to believe I have not posted about everything that has been going on around here, but it's because there has been so much going on around here that I'm finding it hard to create the extra time to blog. Many posts are to come, but here is a sneak peak...

• My baby boy turned 1!! 
• The beginning of full time daycare
• Transitions - one nap a day, no more bottle, "paci" only when sleeping, big boy car seat...
• Cruise Preparations
• Thanksgiving with the family and Christmas excitement
• Final month of Canton for a while. 
• Christmas Pictures

More to come!