Christmas 2010 and New Years 2011

This Christmas was a "Garrison" year (we swap between our families every year) so we headed down to Tampa on Dec. 23. It was a LONG trip, but James did so well! I was proud of what a good car rider he was... no hour-long scream sessions like our last Tampa trip! His "big boy seat" made a big difference this time!

Christmas Eve morning we ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel (one of my favorite Garrison family Christmas traditions) and then spent the day just hanging out back at the house. That night Jim and his family went to the Christmas Eve Service while I stayed with a sick, sleeping little boy. (James was sick on Christmas, and we ended up taking him to urgent care on Sunday, but all was well... just a really bad, long cold). Thankfully I got to watch the Christmas Eve service online while I was making cheddar chowder (one of my favorite Hall family Christmas traditions), and I even got to see my Dad's message too, which was almost as nice as hearing it in person! (Dad, I admit it did make me a little homesick for y'all, but it was a special treat too!) After church and dinner, we went outside enjoy the firepit that the neighbors had set up. It's really neat how the neighbors really hang out together in the Garrison's new neighborhood! They all know each other, spend time together and help each other out in a pinch. :)

Santa came to see James for the first time on Christmas Eve! Christmas morning we got up when James woke up, and everyone had to be in the room and ready before we brought James in because no one wanted to miss seeing how he'd react. He has a great time getting into the Santa presents, and then it was time to open the family gifts. I knew he probably would enjoy the paper more than the presents, but bless his heart he was a little overwhelmed by it all. As soon as he got one present opened, someone gave him a new one to open. He was so excited that we wanted him to rip the paper, but he couldn't understand why we didn't want him to eat it afterwards! For Christmas dinner we had prime rib (my other favorite Garrison family Christmas tradition)! Then I made all my important Christmas calls home and to Nicaragua, and we just hung out together for the rest of the day.

The rest of the week consisted of shopping, playing golf, taking family photos, bowling, meeting Emily's room mate, cooking tasty treats, and just spending time together! It was sad to leave, but we were al consoled by the fact that the Garrisons were headed on a cruise and we were headed to my parents house for more Christmas fun.


On the way to my parents, we stopped by my Granddad's house so that he could meet James. We ate sloppy joes for lunch and had a great time sitting outside in the beautiful Florida weather talking. Then we headed to Tallahassee for New Years. We opened more presents and ate a yummy New Years dinner... and a few homemade caramels! It was a short visit, but I got my "family fix". Somehow I managed to forget to get my camera out when we opened presents or for New Years dinner, so the photo with my dad is the only one.

I think I'm almost caught up on posts.... phew! More to come soon!

Lots of Love,
Jim, Ally & James

Our family photo... posed by me and taken with my tripod and the 10 sec timer on my camera! ;)

Aunt Lauren took James over to see the horses at the park where we took our family photos. He'd never seen a horse before!

Sleepy James chills on Nana's shoulder at the fire pit.

Santa brought James: books, Disney's Robin Hood (mommy's favorite Disney movie), puzzles, a shape toy, a dump truck, more cloth diapers, clothes and a two stockings full of goodies!

Aunt Lollie, James and Nana sport matching Christmas attire.

Aunt Ginny helps James play with his school bus!

James had to check out the Christmas tree.... but Nana was smart and put a gate up... darn...

Ginny reading the family cook book I made for all the sisters.

This is a funny story. Jim's dad used my brownie spatula to lay tile in our kitchen and broke it. so he bought me another one and had Ginny wrap it up like it was his present... then he passed it to me. It was hilarious!

One of Jim's favorite presents- a new Georgia Tech polo!

James had fun playing with his new school bus toy from Nana and holding the rope for Jackson.

But he didn't like it when his little friend was banished outside for a while.

When he came back in, James and Pa G. played with him in his cage.

Daddy bowled while James...

chased cheerios and...

played with Pa G's hair!

James had a blast with the celery sticks and straws at dinner one night!

Beth, doesn't he look so much like Blayne in this picture? ... I mean his"best friend Blayne that he hasn't met yet" :)

James with my mom's dad... my Granddad... his Great Granddad!

James and his BigDad play dinosaurs... roarrrrrr!

Washing clothes and eating spaghetti!

Tuesday morning, I was changing clothes out from the washer and dryer. After I put James' diapers in to wash I turned, and he had decided to climb into the laundry basket to try to get to the dryer. (He LOVES to pull clothes out of the dryer while I'm trying to put them in, and the basket was in the way.) He won't let anything get in his way when he wants something... that's both good... and not so good. Haha!

Tonight, we had spaghetti, and for the first time, mommy let James feed himself. It was a hoot! But don't take my word for it... see for yourself!

Love,
Jim, Ally & James

I'll just use my hands...

Ewww... it's ichy! Now, look at my hands!

Maybe I should try it like a doggy?

Did you see me mom? I did it myself!!

I'm so big!!!!!

Sunday night with James...

We had a sweet time playing together as a family on Sunday night. It all started with one of James' favorite activities while mommy worked on dinner. After we ate, he wrestled with Daddy and mommy. What special memories! Enjoy the photos!

First, I open mommy's cabinet (or sometimes she does so I won't open another one) and pull myself up to eye the goods.

Then I show mommy what I found. I'm so proud of myself!

Then it's time to sit down and enjoy the spoils.

After I'm done playing with lids, I might find a good use for the bowl they were in.

Like a space helmet!

Then my Daddy plays with me! I love my him!

And my mommy too!!

Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

8 month photos, 1st hike, and Daddy time

This is how I found James a couple mornings ago when I went into his room to get him up. Just chillin'... He usually just lays in his crib talking to himself for 5-10 minutes after he wakes up. His sweet noises are like music to mommys ears. :) So precious!

Well... what's new? Seems like there's really not too much to tell. James and I have spent the last two weeks pretty much like we spend every other week... doing laundry, grocery shopping, vacuuming, playing in James' room, cooking together, etc. It can seem so monotonous at times, but then I sit down in my rocker with James in my lap and think about how much I dreamed about being a mommy and having a sweet little boy like him. And I just soak in the moment... trying to keep it from slipping by so fast... and trying to store up my feelings and James' sweet noises and movements in my memory to replay and enjoy forever. What a joy this journey called motherhood can be!

James is still growing like a weed. He's got two teeth on the top about to pop through, which means he and mommy haven't gotten a full night of sleep in about 3 weeks! But we can finally see those little jokers so hopefully soon the itching, pain and insomia will be over for a few more weeks.

Below is a pictures of "teddy bear"James. Nana bought him this cute fleece outfit to keep him warm during the cold days ahead, and it doubled nicely as a halloween costume!

And mommy finally got some "8 month" shots of James. I really wanted to take him outside, but the weather didn't permit. :(

Last Saturday, we all got dressed for the Auburn game (Tech had played on Thursday) found the coupons for the wing place we were going to go watch it at, and then realized that it started 3 hours before we thought, and we'd missed all but the last 7 minutes of play. Well... drat! So we went out for wings anyway, and when we got back, James and Daddy enjoyed some playtime on the living room floor while mommy played photographer! :)

Since James is a little young for trick-o-treating, we decided to spend Halloween afternoon driving through the Georgia mountains looking at the changing leaves. It was supposed to be the peak weekend for leaves changing... unfortunately a couple days before we went a big storm blew through and blew down a lot of the leaves. :( We had a great time together anyway, and James got to go on his first hike! It was short, but Daddy was so excited, and I know this will be the first of MANY more family hikes together!

(Here's one of our only "family" shots... taken by a random guy near the trailhead. )
Well... that pretty much wraps up our news. We're still waiting for God to send us the right buyer for our house, but thankfully Jim is still working out of Atlanta. We definitely covet your continued prayers for us as we seek God's will in this transfer.

For HIS glory,

Jim, Ally, and James

8 months already!!

James turned 8 months on Tuesday! Wow! I am unceasingly amazed at how fast the time flies even when you try to slow it down by enjoying every moment and appreciating every stage that they grow through!

James is almost able to "officially" crawl on his hands an knees. He gets up on his knees and when he pushes up on his hands too and tries to move forward, he promptly topples to the side, but we know it won't be long now. Crawling or not, he is definitely not immobile! He can "army crawl" his way all over the place, and of course he manages to find the one or two things in every room (cords, paper, etc.) that he shouldn't play with and heads straight that way. haha! He keeps me on my toes and I can't imagine how crazy it will be when he can walk! Oh, boy, my days are about to get really... well... let's just say they won't be boring. But I wouldn't trade it for anything!

He still thinks he's big stuff picking up his cereal puffs off his high chair tray, but we've discovered that peas make him gag. Whether mashed and fed on a spoon or picked up by hand, he can't stand them! Haha! And mommy thought she might have a chance since she cooked them herself in some chicken broth to add flavor, but he wouldn't have any of it. Jim and I find it (probably a little too) funny to watch the faces he make when he eats them. Kind of reminds me of how I feel when a piece of squash or asparagus hits my tongue. Nasty!! On that note, James must be more Jim's son than mine (even if he does have my eyes) because he LOVED squash from the first bite! GROSS! James, what is wrong with you? I have to train you to like peaches but you like squash from the beginning? Guess maybe you'll be a wierd of the wierds afterall...(wink, wink Aunt Sara)

Well... I guess that's about all the James news I have to share. I know there aren't many photos this time, but it's been raining for the last 3-4 days, and I haven't been able to get outside to get his 8 month photos. I have super cute outfit for him to wear, and I'll put those up as soon as I get them done.

And of course I have to give a shout out to my Auburn Tigers! #1, baby!!!! Although honestly, I think I'd rather be #2 or #3 at this point in the season for fear of getting too big for our britches and losing to someone we should be able to beat like Old Miss or ...cough... Georgia. ;) Believe it or not I actually dreamed about the Old Miss game last night and we won! Maybe it's a good omen? Maybe not? Maybe you're already tired of reading about Auburn on here but... my blood runs orange and blue! So it probably won't stop as long as I have the chance to brag on them a little! (And as long as I'm the one writing the updates.) I was raised from early on to know that if someone understood the greeting "War Eagle" (and knew how to reply) they were a true member of the "Auburn family" and that "Roll T#@!" was a curse word never to be uttered... or typed. ;) My loyalty runs deep!

So WAR EAGLE! Go get 'em Tigers!

Jim, Ally & James

P.s. As a side note, if you get tired of reading all the detail I put into these posts, please feel free to just scan through the photos! I know that some of y'all really like getting the "juicy details" so I'll try to keep including those as often as I've got time.

ENJOY!

Last Friday, James and I headed back to the Stone Mountain pumpkin patch with James' friend Seth and his mommy, Patricia, to get some more pumpkin pictures.

This was so cute! Seth is 2 months younger than James and he was chillin', just watching James play with the pumpkins. (I'm not going to include any full-face pictures of Seth because I haven't asked his mom for permission yet.)

Most of the time, James was much more interested in eating the straw than playing with the pumpkins. And this was mommy's solution. He wasn't too sure he liked his "cage" at first.

But then he started noticing all the cool orange "balls" all around him, and thought it wasn't too bad afterall.

He and Seth liked being able to play with the pumpkins together.

On Saturday, "Aunt" Jenn came over to watch Auburn defeat LSU with us!! Go (AUBURN) Tigers!! (James enjoyed using Daddy's hair as support while he practiced standing.)

After the game, Daddy watched James do one of his favorite activities... play with the remote.

After he dropped it, Jenn tried to give it back to him.

But something else caught his attention, and he crawled over to get it. (Oh drat, mommy saved her lens cap just in time!)

Here's a cute one of James and Daddy when we went to Stone Mountain last Sunday afternoon so that mommy could get family photos for Jim's Aunt and Uncle. (If you'd like to see some of those shots, click here.)

We had a blast... and yes, I do dress James in more than just his Auburn Jersey. LOL!