Christmas #1

This Christmas was one I will not soon forget. For many reasons:

-The kids....the look on Nate’s face when he opened his Buzz Lightyear wingpack, and watching Abby roll around in all the wrapping paper like a pig in mud. She had a ball.
-We had snow! Not enough to really go play, but still, it was pretty! And there's nothing better than a white Christmas.
-Having all of Greg’s family under our roof, allowing the kids to be at home where Santa could find them easily :)
-My mother-in-law and brother-in-law getting sick (oh yes, we think they caught the stomach bug from someone at church Christmas Eve). It was AWFUL having them feel so sick on Christmas Day, but at least we got to have a few good days to visit before that. (And thankfully, it did just last one day so they were both feeling better on the 26th & were able to drive back to Johnson City as planned.)

Uncle Kevin flew in from Boulder, CO on the 21st, and did a great job of thoroughly entertaining Nate for a few days. He was super patient with N while they “visited the North Pole” many many many times and crawled around on the floor in hardhats looking up chimneys for Santa & reindeer J N even got to have a “boys day” with Uncle Kevin & Daddy, as they ran errands (aka last-minute Christmas shopping) and went to lunch at McDonald’s.


Mum-Mum & Granddaddy arrived on the 22nd and Abby quickly attached herself to Mum-Mum’s hip! She soaked up the extra attention for sure.

We feasted on Greg’s vegetable beef soup that night and had good family time catching up.

On the 23rd, Nate & I started a new tradition! I am from Ohio, and both of my parents went to OSU. So they are “Buckeyes,” and as a result my mom made this delicious treat every Christmas. I thought I’d give it a try this year – with Nate’s help. It was a huge success and Nate was a big help. He loves being in the kitchen and helping with any project he can. With his apron on of course...wouldn’t want to get dirty! :) Aunt Bebe – I think you may have some competition in the baking dept!!

Aunt Gena arrived around midnight on the 23rd/24th, and played musical beds with Kevin, Joyce, and Stan that night. Needless to say, no one got much sleep! (And yes we need a bigger house to hold everyone!) Kevin left early in the morning on Christmas Eve to pick up his girlfriend Rocio from the Nashville airport, so we spent the day making Santa cookies, playing Candyland, showing off N’s new tool belt, and watching Christmas movies.

Kevin & Rocio got home just in time to leave for church at 4 pm. Even though we were early (a big feat for the Givens’ clan!), it was not early enough and it was standing room only by the time we got there. Luckily, Joyce spotted 2 seats in the “cry room” for me, Greg, & N (Abby stayed home with Aunt Gena), and Stan was able to find a seat in the front row. But Joyce, Kevin, and Rocio had to stand through-out the whole service. Apparently they weren’t the only uncomfortable ones…a lady actually fainted in front of them! Needless to say, it was an eventful Christmas Eve service, but a good one.



We feasted on pizza, wine, and salad when we got home (another Gibbs family tradition) and then the fun began...N was in the bathroom for over an hour with constipation problems, but was able to finish in time to read the Christmas Eve story with Greg, write a letter to Santa, and put cookies out. But it went even more downhill from there...Kevin & Mum-Mum started barfing at 2 am and were barely able to open presents or get out of bed all day. Worst Christmas ever for them! (And Granddaddy & Rocio who were the designated “nurses.”)

The rest of us did manage to enjoy the day though...both kids loved their Santa presents – for Abby, a monogrammed “reading” chair, and for Nate – his first bike!










Thank you to all the Givens for spoiling our kids rotten with puzzles, the BIG piano, the Elmo reading system, clothes, and dolls. I cooked the morning feast for everyone, and Stan & Greg were in charge of the dinner. Of course, we had a few less “eaters” than usual, but still, it was delish. And like I said, one Christmas I won’t soon forget.

Now we are in Clemmons, NC for a few days to celebrate Christmas #2 with my family. Stay tuned!

Something Just Clicked

Abby Reece reached a big milestone this weekend! Something just clicked in her brain, and now, she can stand independently and does so every 10 seconds, as long as someone is clapping for her. It's soooo cute! Greg thinks she is close to walking, but I think we still have a month or so to go. I am ready either way though. Our baby girl is growing up!

Friday Funnies

I hear Nate, calling me while he's in the bathroom:
Nate: Mommy, I need help!
Me: (I go in there) With pee pee or poo poo?
Nate: Pee pee. Can you just stay with me?
Me: Honey, you know you can do that yourself.
Nate: But I love you Mommy!! (And he gives me that angelic little smile & bats his long eyelashes. This kid knows how to work it already. And so yes, I stayed.)

The Sing-Off

***Update: the video file was too big to upload to blogger, so check it out on my facebook page instead. Sorry!***

Abby and I went to Nate's school this morning for his first "Christmas concert." And I use the term concert loosely, b/c it was 10 minutes of singing in the church foyer. Nate did sooooooo good though! He had been practicing his "motions" for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at home for a few days, and did so well remembering them all! He was front & center, cute as can be, with his hands in his pockets half the time. They sang 3 songs: Twinkle Twinkle, Rudolph, and Jingle Bells.

He was so excited to see me! He yelled to his whole class "That's Mommy!!" :) Melt me. And the class surprised the parents by all wearing homemade Christmas shirts. Too cute! Nate's class sang with the other 3-yr-old class, but half of them were a disaster; it was hilarious.

Now, I apologize for the poor quality of these pictures - they don't do the "concert" justice - but I was taking them with my left hand, while I videotaped with my right hand. Yes, I was THAT Mom! Check back tomorrow and hopefully I will have figured out how to upload the 7 minute video. It is P.R.E.C.I.O.U.S! I definitely had my first "I'm a proud Mommy" moment...I even teared up watching Nate. He is just getting so grown-up & I love him so much! Rocking out on "Jingle Bells" These are the ornaments he came home with this year. So many & so cute! The elf one cracks me up...it's actually a magnet!

Meeting Santa!

We took the kids to see Santa at the mall Saturday. Nate was so excited and wanted me to write a letter to Santa with his "wishlist" this morning. I forgot to take a picture of the letter, but this is what it said:

Dear Santa,
I have been a good boy.
Please bring me:
1. Buzz Wingpack
2. Talking Woody
3. Tall Jessie
And Abby wants a pink nalgene.
Love,
Nate
(And then he drew Buzz' rocketship on the bottom. Too cute! And I love that he included Abby on the letter. Like I said, he recited it and I just wrote it down.)

I wasn't expecting any drama once we got to the mall, but that was a mistake on my part. Abby SCREAMED as soon as I handed her to Santa, even though big brother was already sitting on his lap. In fact, it was so bad that I had to sit next to Santa with Abby on my right knee, and lean as far to the left as possible so they could crop me out of the picture. Hilarious! If you look really hard, you can see a little bit of my white/gray striped sleeve. Greg did a good job making the kids smile though. And I LOVE how Nate is clutching his Santa list, so sweet.

I love this next picture - Nate was reading his list to Santa and then made sure he put it in his pocket so that "the elves at the North Pole" would get it. Yes, this boy is into Christmas!!

And then what Santa visit is complete without a pair of gingerbread men glasses!? These are hilarious. Especially b/c Nate calls them "wobble goggles" for some reason!

We had a family lunch date at the mall food court with relatively little drama, and then Greg headed back to work. Santa day - success!

(And I just had to post this last picture of Abby...she had on the most adorable tights but they got cropped out of the picture. CUTENESS!!)

Lucky Thirteen

Abby Reece is 13 months old today! She has endured multiple transitions this past month and done so well with each one:
1. Table food
2. Whole milk
3. Forward-facing & bigger carseat
4. Sippy cups

Having Abby eat all table foods is sooo much easier than baby food! So far, there’s not much she’s turned down except French toast (weird, I know). She is definitely a meat lover, and other favorite foods include: salmon, blackeyed peas, cheese, crackers, eggs, banana, broccoli, and black bean burgers. We know this phase will end soon, where she’s trying/enjoying everything, so we are going to enjoy it while it lasts! Here she is, enjoying one of Greg’s famous meals “Nelly Telly” (pasta w/ sausage etc):

Did I mention that she LOVES cheese? (Erin - a girl after your own heart!) Here she is munching on havarti...yes, I said havarti...

She also has pretty much transitioned from formula to whole milk pretty seamlessly. I did this process slowly, over about 3 weeks, and MAN is it nice not to have to buy a $40 can of formula each week!

We moved her into Nate’s carseat this week, and turned it around so it’s forward-facing. When I first put her in it, she cried. I think out of confusion. But as soon as we started driving, she could NOT stop smiling and pointing at everything, wanting to know it’s name. The radio, the car controls, the mirrors, the windows, etc. It was so neat to see her experiencing this whole new view of the world! But of course, it made me a little sad too, which I wasn’t expecting. She just looks so grown-up in her carseat now! I love looking back at her and seeing her huge grin though :)

And as for the sippy cup transition, we’ve only been doing this for a few days but so far, so good. She loves holding her own cup and being a “big girl!” And I’m excited to not have to clean any more itty-bitty bottle parts soon!

The last thing I will say is that I think our Baby Girl is quite the personality. In fact, I think she has TWO distinct personalities. One minute, she’s happy and laughing…especially if she’s playing with Nate, rolling around on the bed, or playing quietly by herself. But then all of a sudden, a switch goes off and she is Miss Attitude. Case in point: when I told her “no” the other day, she took her passy out of her mouth, paused, and then reared back & threw it at my face. I was stunned! (And wished she was old enough to understand time-out!) She also has been known to bite (hoping this is just a phase), and poke babies in the eyes (sorry Ash) – again, we hope this is just a phase!



Other highlights from our past month:
- She loves playing in forts & with flashlights with Nate
- She has 8 teeth, and is working on cutting more at this moment
- Climbing, climbing, climbing
- Maybe another month or two till she walks? She is definitely cruising more & more each day and headed in that direction.
- My favorite word she’s saying these days: Brother (sounds like bru-ba)
- She loves to sort objects & then clean them up (yes, I know I’m lucky)...dominoes, blocks, chewys etc.
- She can sign “all done” (which really looks like a double wave) and it’s too cute!
- She LOVES books...in fact, if I’m giving her a bottle in her room, she climbs over me and tries to reach down to the book basket before she even has her bottle!

Well, at least our Baby Girl helps to keep things interesting! We love her energy, her spirit, and her sweet laughs. Happy 13 months, Abby Reece!

Friday Funnies (a day early)

It's your lucky day! I've decided to post "Friday Funnies" a day early, b/c tomorrow, Baby Girl is 13 months old and that needs a post of it's own. So, enjoy!


Nate: Daddy, why is the TV skipping?
Greg: Because it’s junky.
Nate: Just like your junky car!?
Me (yelling from the kitchen): YES!!


On the way to school, I usually let Nate pick out the music. He loves the Chipmunks movies and especially Beyonce’s song in one of the movies, “Single Ladies.” So, he asked me to play the “Chipmunks” song and this is what transpired:
Nate: Mommy, watch Jessie dance! (He had his Jessie “doll” in the car with us and made her “dance”)
Me: Wow, she’s really good.
Nate: Yep, she can get down!


I was asking Nate multiple questions about his day at school….and he was answering me very politely. After about 5 questions, he said “Mommy, stop talking please!” Just for good measure (so he knows how I feel sometimes), I asked one more :) And got no response of course.

Sidenote: We moved Nate into his first "booster" seat this week (b/c Abby is getting so big/long and needed his old carseat). Check out the big boy! I swear he looks like he's in kindergarten. He loved it of course, especially the TWO cupholders that fold in & out. Oh, the little things...

Friday Funnies

Nate: (pointing to Obama on a magazine cover) Mommy, that's Obama.
Me: Yes, sweetie I know.
Nate: Do you like Obama?
Me: Not really. Do you?
Nate: He's a knucklehead!
(A big thanks to Granddaddy for teaching him this word, haha!)


Nate pulled a pretend “chocolate bar” out of his grocery cart...
Me: Ooh, that looks good. Can I have a bite?
Nate: No Mommy, I can’t share. I’m sick.
(He’s not sick...this is a total lie...that little booger just didn’t want to share! Even his "pretend" chocolate!)
A few minutes later, I hear him mumbling something...
Me: Nate, what are doing?
Nate: I have a tummy ache, so I’m having Coca-Cola!

Nate: Look at our Christmas tree, Mal Mal!
Mal: Oh, it’s pretty!
Nate: It’s from Lowes.


Nate has been very interested in all things related to heaven/angels/wings lately. This conversation happened on the way to school (as do most of our “deep” conversations):
Nate: Mommy, do angels buy or grow wings?
Me: Well, I guess they grow them.
Nate: Do they wear boots?
Me: I’m not sure.
Nate: I bet they wear cowboy boots.


And then there's Miss Priss...this is what I found the other day as Nate was at a neighbor's house playing and I was cooking dinner:

She had gotten into our "2nd pantry" and decided to dump out ALL of Nate's chewys/fruit snacks. T-R-O-U-B-L-E!

My Little Helpers

One of my favorite days of the year is getting the Christmas tree. Growing up, my family would drive to the mountains, to a tree farm and my dad would cut down a tree. It was so fun...getting bundled up in the car under blankets, singing Christmas carols, running amongst the aisles of all the trees, and finding the perfect one. Then we'd go home & decorate the tree all together with Christmas music playing in the background. There might have been some hot chocolate involved as well. Oh how I love hot chocolate (with extra marshmellows)!

Well, Greg & I have changed the tradition a little bit, since the sight of Greg sawing down a tree is just NOT my idea of fun (nor do I think does that sounds very safe). And, there aren't many tree farms nearby that have Frasier Firs (yes, I'm a Christmas tree snob). So, now, we just go to Lowes!! :) We get a 7-8 foot tree and Greg always lugs it home in "Rosie," with part of it sticking out the window, looking completely ridiculous. Then we decorate the tree together - well, I string the lights on and Greg just sits by b/c usually it involves multiple tries and lots of cussing. And we have my favorite Christmas music playing in the background of course. I love pulling out all the ornaments and reminiscing about what each one is from or means to me. (I know this might slightly annoy Greg, but it's a Gibbs tradition!) Luckily, Joyce gave me a few childhood ones of Greg's last year, so finally, he has some "memories" on the tree too!

This was the first year that Nate really wanted to help decorate the tree. And, lo & behold, my 3-yr-old started a new tradition himself! He insisted we all wear reindeer antlers or Santa hats while we were decorating. I loved it, and surprisingly, Greg did too! In fact, he wore the Santa hat almost all day!! :)



We decided to start another new tradition, and let the kids put the angel on the tree. This year was Nate's turn, obviously. He felt so important!!

And in order to keep him occupied while I was doing the lights, I gave him a project - organizing/sorting all of the ornaments. As you can see, he just transferred them from one pile to another. Great job, N.

He really did help though, and was super proud of his cluster of 600 ornaments right in front of the tree, which Mommy had to tweak just a little bit! At one point, he had to stop and take a break, b/c as he declared "This is hard work, Mommy!" Then 2 minutes later, I hear "Good job, Mommy!" Such a little cheerleader :)

Surprisingly, Abby wasn't too interested in the tree-decorating process. She has designated a few chosen ornaments on the bottom of the tree that she likes to munch on, but so far that is it.

Nate is VERY into all things Christmas this year, and it's so fun to see his excitement. I give the kids a Hallmark ornament each year (yet another tradition I stole from my Mom), and when Nate saw his Elmo one from 2008 and Mickey one from 2009, he was THRILLED. We also had fun looking back on the photo ornaments from each year. Hard to believe they were ever so little!! It definitely took 3x as long this year to decorate, but was 3x as fun!