Month: December 2011

We had a kid-friendly New Year’s Eve Party tonight (Attending were the Strouds, Kubickis, and our favorite babysitter Amy). Alex was really excited to fix his own plate and made sure everyone had chips on their plate all night long. With lots of food and laughs we toasted the New Year at 9 pm.

Wade and I got Alex in bed, everything cleaned up, and were on the couch watching “Cowboys and Aliens” by 10. We only realized it was midnight thanks to some neighbors making loud popping noises outside.

We’re still waiting, but the numbers are getting smaller. We were recently told there are 35 families waiting to be matched with a baby. 6 of those families have a home study completed in 2009. The remaining 29 have a home study completed in 2010 (the program was put on hold for 2011). We are not given an exact place, but our guess is we are about halfway down. There are still no guarantees on how long we will wait. Our hope is to be matched with a baby by spring, but it could always be longer. Still waiting….

Wade spent the day flying just to fly. He was four segments short of making Gold status and had an extra ticket. Obviously he was gone most of the day so Alex and I ran errands and then had Abby and Asher over for dinner.

I spent the day trying to find homes for everyone’s new Christmas gifts. Alex spent the day playing with toys.

He didn’t even notice when I packed up three bins of old toys for the attic. Maybe tomorrow I’ll make it to the grocery.

Wade and I called this the best, horrible drive ever. We left Granny and Pop’s house at 8:30 am and pulled into our driveway a little before 9 pm. Thankfully we had great weather and no traffic. Alex was awesome throughout the drive but did have to stop for the bathroom an unusual number of times. Then I counted up his drinks and realized he drank over 75 oz. throughout the day – oops. Here we are getting ready to leave.

The best part of the day may have been finding a chick-fil-a for lunch!!

We had initially considered stopping for the night but we all just wanted to be home in our house and our beds.

Today was a nice and relaxing day in Collierville. The weather was nice so Alex decided to change the tires on Granny and Pop’s minivan.

Later that afternoon it was back to the construction site.

We ended the day by getting together with the rest of the Burch family. Alex wasted no time in attaching himself to Marie and Tina.

Alex woke up on time (his clock turns green at 7) and couldn’t wait to see run into the living room and see what Santa had brought.

After church Alex convinced Pop, Aunt Emmy, and Uncle John to read his new Curious George book to him.

Then we had Alex pass out all the stockings. He loved pulling things out of his stocking, but was much too quick to unwrap any of the small gifts.

After Alex’s nap it was time to exchange presents. The Stomp Rocket was a great gift!!

Alex and Harper had plenty to keep them entertained at Dad’s house. We weren’t up too long before the rest of the family appeared for a family breakfast and then lots of playing!

We returned to Mom’s house for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner with her side of the family. Alex loves having older cousins and they are wonderful about entertaining him. They even found a TV show for him (Beethoven’s Christmas special). The problem arose when it was commercial time. Alex freaked out that someone had turned off the show (and wouldn’t be convinced it was coming back until Wade and I verified it). The only shows he watches at our house are on Netflix or PBS (no commercials). Poor boy. The most entertaining gift of the night was the Socker Boppers. The kids loved them and we loved watching them. I have already been informed Alex is getting his own for his birthday (and a second set for a friend to play with).

Then Wade and I loaded up the car and headed for Memphis.

Our Christmases are always a little crazy with three families to celebrate with. This year we decided to simplify and give everyone a day. Today we did Christmas at Mom’s house. It was hilarious to watch Alex and Harper open their gifts. (This is definitely the first year Alex “gets” presents.)

Then we moved the party to Dad’s house in preparation for tomorrow’s Christmasing.

Alex always has a blast at Gram’s house, but Christmas is even better! There are toys and presents everywhere. Melissa, Chris, and Harper arrived after Alex’s nap and we were ready to start this thing called the Holidays.

After dinner we decided to begin Christmas early with our stockings.

Right before bedtime Alex got a surprise visit from Dabney. She brought a new book about an astronaut and a jetpack. Alex loved “flying” around the room. (Aunt Lissy got a quick snuggle too.)

Then I ran out to see my high school friends – Johnna, Jenny, and Amy. I couldn’t believe Amy’s little girl Ali was still awake. She loved all the paper!

Amy had arranged a play morning at Chuck E. Cheese. My hope was that it would wear Alex out for our drive to KY later that afternoon. We arrived as they opened at 9 and proceeded to run and play for a couple of hours (we were the only ones there). I was also informed of upcoming nuptials. Darby (the blonde girl below) told her mother she was going to marry Alex (they were in the same room last year at MDO).

As you can see, my master plan worked. Alex took an awesome two hour nap and we arrived in Paducah just in time to put Alex to bed.

Abram, Alex, and Riley had a mini-Christmas party this morning. We had a yummy breakfast and then let them run wild. Their favorite was definitely the gift opening.

A close second was Alex’s gift from Abram – a Play Doh Dr. Drill and Fill.

Then Amber brought out the HUGE gingerbread men to decorate. A definite hit!

Alex couldn’t wait to take a bath tonight so he could practice his shaving.

for Christmas pajamas. This year we might have gone a bit overboard….

Very little makes me anxious when it comes to Alex. I’m usually content to sit back and let him try anything and even fall down once or twice. Today while shoveling snow at the church parking lot, I looked up and realized Alex was playing on one of the few “high” places. There was snow and he was in new boots so I yelled across the lot for him to get down. I’ll give him credit that he tried to move, but of course then he slipped and I saw him fall (head first). All the adults saw it and none were right there. We all took off running. Then I rounded the corner to see a huge pile of leaves (THANK GOODNESS!) He was definitely scared, but completely unhurt!

We woke up to snow!! Alex and I were outside about 2 minutes after seeing a little bit of white on the ground.

Then we got the invite to a snow shoveling party at the church. The entire Burch family went, each with our own shovel. The kids had a blast and there were so many people the parking lot was clear in no time.

Then we settled in for our family Christmas. This is definitely the best year so far with Alex. He loved opening presents (everybody’s) and would properly exclaim “Wow” for each one.

Today is Abram’s “real” birthday so we celebrated some more! We spent the morning at StoneFire Pizza.

After nap, we continued the fun with a movie – Polar Express at the IMAX. We learned that Amber’s car will hold three carseats and three adults. We also learned that Riley and Alex might not be ready for the IMAX experience. They spent the middle of the movie in the lobby playing and watching videos on Nicki’s phone. They did both return for the end part and seemed to enjoy it.

(Alex calls the movie “Polar Bearican Express”)

Alex was scheduled for minor surgery this morning. I tried to prepare him, but he was still rather grumpy about getting a wristband and putting on pajamas. The TV, iPad, and Legos were all a definite help. An even bigger help was the sedative they give children before taking them back for anesthesia. I was told it would help with separation anxiety (which it did) and ensure they didn’t remember any of the mask or other things liked he IV. (On the funny side, I can now imagine what a drunk 2 year old would act like.)

I was only in the waiting room for 20 minutes before the doctor came out to talk to me. Then it was another 20 minutes before I was taken to Alex in recovery. He was snuggled up with Moose, eating a popsicle, and watching TV. I could tell when he really started coming around because he got very demanding and wanted out of bed, IVs off, and another popsicle. He got his wishes and we headed home.

Alex was happy, but subdued when we got home. He stayed on the couch and watched some TV with a few snacks. I put him down for his nap and he woke up 2 hours later ready to go. He was literally jumping off the walls and loving the balloons Gam sent. (He never even had a dose of tylenol.)

Today we joined in the celebration of Tristan’s adoption! He has been fostered by a family in our church and today he officially became a member of their family. Yay!

Alex was much more excited with the balloons at the party – all the kids were!

We met some friends from MDO at the Miller Park playground. We let the kids run and play until dark and then went to Friday’s for dinner. Alex loved the chairs in their waiting area and the games just waiting. (I was told Alex and Darby were quite the pair last year in school.)

I’m pretty sure Alex only ate his dinner because he knew he could ride the red motorcycle when all his chicken was gone.

We have become regulars at Yo Mama’s Storytime. It’s a fun activity to start the week and more and more of our friends are coming. This week Riley and Abby were there!

It’s not quite Abram’s birthday, but he had his party today! We rushed Alex’s nap a little so that he’d wouldn’t miss a minute of the party at the Children’s Play Gallery (I LOVE this place.) Abram invited all of our neighborhood friends – Sam, Phoenix, Riley, Evan – and a few others too. The kids had a blast running around and the parents had fun watching and talking.

We continued the party at Amber’s house with pizza and present opening (and a Packer game for the dads). It’s the one day of the year we don’t make them all share toys. Alex and Phoenix had a little trouble understanding why Abram got all these new toys and then didn’t have to hand them over. (Abram was amazingly good about the sharing actually!)

Alex had a little trouble falling asleep (imagine, after all that excitement) and we could hear him talking in his bed. Curiosity finally got the best of me and I turned on the monitor. I couldn’t understand most of it, but I did get, “Alex and Abram at the party.”

Alex’s MDO had a Birthday Party for Jesus this morning and we decided to give it a try. The idea was great and some of the activities were fun, but trying to get a bunch of toddlers to move from room to room in a set time frame (and in a line) didn’t work so well.

We ended the day with a family movie night! Alex’s request was “The Grinch”.

I have always loved the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, but today was fantastic! It’s the first time we have been without busloads of school children running around too. Alex and Abram had a blast with all the stations, games, and activities.

I’ve said it before, but Madison is an awesome dog. She’s so patient with Alex and willing to put up with almost anything. I’m secretly hoping when Alex gets a “big” bed that he’ll let Madison sleep with him. It’s a rare treat for her in our bed when Wade is out of town.

Alex had a full day today. He spent the morning at the kidCare for my Bible study. We came home and immediately went to play Legos with Abram.

After nap we went to Abby and Asher’s for playing and pizza. Abby was quite the character. She refused to “make” a pizza and instead wanted to eat the dough. When the pizzas were cooked and we sat down to eat she only wanted to sit in my lap. Then she proceeded to out-eat everyone else at the table. She’s such a sweetie!