Monday, December 27, 2010

The Christmas Wrap Up

A few pictures before we get to Christmas. Chase loves coloring and finally started using his desk to do so...here he is hard at it!!

A couple of weeks ago we got the chance to go to St Louis to see the Rams vs Chiefs game. A lot of fun, except the Rams lost..boo.
At the tailgate

Inside the stadium...nosebleed section!

Our friends Missi and Chris got to go down on the field while the Chiefs practiced prior to the game. They are die hard Chiefs fans... but we are friends with them anyway :)
Onto the Christmas festivities. We were excited to see that it had snowed overnight before Christmas Eve and kept snowing all day. Such a pretty snow too. We tried building a snowman, but it didn't work well. We need lessons!! But we definitely could do snowball fights and Chase had fun trying to get us. I got a couple good ones on Famous too.


Coming for me...hey...I got a camera here!!

Going after Daddy

This is what happens when he doesn't want to come inside yet!
We spent Christmas Eve at Mom and Dad's house and had dinner with Big Grandma Stokes. We had french dip sandwiches, baked potatoes, salad, carrot cake. Yum. Chase had pancakes and wait for it...salad. Which he kept telling me that he really liked and it was very, very good. Crazy kid...add a little ranch and he might eat anything!

Helping Papaw open gifts...he wanted to help everyone.
Got a tool belt and googles....love it. Spent the evening hammering everything.
With his goggles....one of my favorite pics. He said he looked like Bob the Builder.
Thomas, Thomas and more Thomas
Helping Gamma

Coming down the hall Christmas morning.

Opening his art kit

Daddy got another Cardinals shirt

Daddy, err...I mean Chase got Tron for Christmas :)

He decided to use his hammer to unwrap everything
We went to Nana and KK's for lunch on Christmas day. He could hardly contain himself and was very ready to open gifts again!

Thomas wrapping paper

Thomas read along book

Thomas whistle

Playing with Spencer (from Thomas)....do you see a theme here??

Nana and KK opening gifts
After that, we went home to try to get a nap in before heading to Big Grandma's house for dinner. We had to wake him up, but first thing he said was...."time to go play with Gavin?".
Playing with Gavin's Thomas set

More Thomas playing....
(note to self...see if Thomas the Train is a public company...I might want to buy stock, since we own have the inventory now!!)

Unwrapping gifts...what a mess!

Stephanie trying to contain all the boys! Maybe she wants to babysit too??
All and all, it was a wonderful holiday weekend. As I sit here and type this out, I can't help but to feel lucky for all our family and friends. We are beyond blessed! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Christmas is just around the corner

and boy, I do not feel ready at all. Each year I always say I am going to start earlier so that I might actually be able to enjoy the season and I never do. I have the never ending list of things that I want to do, recipes to try, fun decorating and it never happens. Oh well, there is always next year, right??
I made an advent calendar for Chase this year and his is fascinated with opening his gifts each morning. This first couple mornings, he wanted more than just his one envelope, but he is getting the hang of it for sure. Here he is on December 1....he got a matchbox car. By far the candy and the Thomas engine has been his favorites!

I started back to working at Marshall and Co. a month or so ago....just in time for the Christmas party. It was a fun night out, although we always pay for it the next day....and I mean all day. Can't quite recover like we used too. Oh well, it was fun!


Before the party pic
I had decorations up for a couple of weeks before getting the tree upstairs and decorated. Trying to find a free night to get the ornaments on with all three of us was hard to find. Chase really enjoyed putting the ornaments on this year...except he kept putting them all on the same branches. I did mini trees for his room this year with jingle bells and Daddy got a sports tree for his man cave downstairs.



Helping with ornaments

The finished tree
We have been singing Christmas carols in bed instead of reading books for the last couple of weeks and he loves them. I have him recorded but will post that separate. Here he is playing "drums" with his stepstool, ruler and tools. He is very inventive if nothing else!!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

It can't be December already

I can't believe that it is December already! Feels like it was just Halloween. Well, the last time I posted it was...oops!!

Chase is just growing like a weed. He went from 37 1/2" to 39" from September to November. We started keeping track by measuring him on the wall in the bedroom and now he has to measure mommy and daddy too. I say it all the time, but he is so dang smart. He just amazes me with the stuff he picks up, memorizes and repeats. He is doing really well with his counting and naming his colors too. He loves to correct me when he thinks I say a word wrong. He says "no mama, not gatorade....it's gatorade" even though both times he says the word it sounds the same to me. But hey, he is the expert, right?? :)

He loves Thomas the Train right now...the trains, the books, the movies. It is just about all he talks about. He knows the songs and the shows by heart. He is too cute singing what he says is "my" Thomas songs.

He really is having fun with "ars and craps"....arts and crafts. We did some hand turkeys for Thanksgiving and he asks daily to do more. We have been trying to go to the library on a weekly basis lately and I have been picking up some books on easy crafts for kids, so he is having a great time.

Time to take down the fall decorations and bring on the Christmas stuff!!


My favorite stuff...my apothecary jars. I just love filling them with different stuff for each season (and placing them on my faux mantle :)

On to my Christmas decor....setting the stage with all the goodies I am working with!

Chase found his "first Christmas" stockings....guess he thought they were socks!! How cute is he?

Don't mind that mess in the background...when decorating with your son around, all bets are off!!
Chase wasn't feeling the best this year at Thanksgiving. I think he had a bug that had his appetite taking a nose dive, but after several days, I think he is finally coming around.

Chase and Aunt KK

Me and my boy
Four generations....Chase, Famous, Nana Joan & Aunt Kay, Great Grandma Ida

The boys at the Stokes Thanksgiving dinner. They are getting so big and grown up!!

This year, I decided to make Chase an Advent calendar. I saw this cute idea to use envelopes for each day. I didn't tell him about it and can't wait to surprise him with it tomorrow.