Grandparents Names

With "suggestions" from us, John has names for all four grandparents right now:

Grammy - This is still in the works. It started out as "Gem" (pronounced "Jim"), and is now transforming to "Gimmy". We are getting there...

Nana - This is a great name for beginner talkers. Very easy for him to say. She was named first.

Grandadddy - This has always been "Aw Daddy". I think it will eventually become Granddaddy.

Da - We started calling him Grandpa, but Da came about and is a keeper!

Christmas 2009

Hands down - this is the best Christmas that I can remember! (outside of having to leave Edmond early and in a rush to beat the snow storm)

John had SO much fun with everything about Christmas. He loved his Little People manager set, the Christmas trees and ornaments, the house lights, "rudos fiing Sant Taus say" (Rudolph flying Santa Clauses sleigh), "els make toys", making cookies for Santa with Nana, leaving cookies, milk and carrots on Christmas Eve, giving "pesents" to everyone, opening presents, the white snow, etc,etc. I could go on forever.

Probably my favorite thing was him telling people Merry Christmas. The way he would draw out 'Merry' and skip the 'r' in Christmas; and always with a grin from ear to ear. It was priceless.

We informed him that Santa only came to visit good boys and not bad boys. Well, he picked up on 'bad boy' and would repeat it several times. Probably because we would laugh every time. :) However, he did respond favorably when we would tell him that he had to be good if he wanted Santa to come.

We also continued the tradition that Carl had in his family of the elves coming to visit the few weeks before Christmas and leaving presents for good boys. Every now and again, we would hide a small toy in the stockings, or hang a candy cane in the tree, etc. and let John find it. Next year we are going to get the book and stuffed elf from "Elf on a Shelf". I feel bad about teaching my kid to only be good if there are presents involved. But whatever works at this age, right? right?

He got a ton of great gifts. I don't think he has decided yet which are his favorites. He keeps jumping from thing to thing. Santa brought him an art easel (chalk board and dry erase board), a Mickey Mouse choo-choo train, a basketball goal and a big remote control dinosaur. He loves them all, well, only the dinosaur if it is turned off. He also got a ton of Diego stuff that we have set up as a little village upstairs, a play kitchen, books, a remote control car (loves to get the dogs toes with this one), a tricycle with pedals, a Thomas the Train set, and a ton of other fun things that we have not taken out of the boxes yet. I was trying to spread out the fun while he still does not remember! :)

A few other memories - He loved being around Maggie at Christmas, he could not get enough! Grammy hand made dinosaur suckers for the boys (too cute, and very labor intensive). He made a snowman with Daddy and Nana, out of the thin layer left on Christmas Day. He was SO upset about leaving it outside that Nana brought it in on a cookie sheet and put it in the freezer!?!?! I can ONLY imagine what he would have been like in Edmond after the Blizzard of 2009! He loved to go next door to Frank's house and "pet" the wire reindeer EVERYDAY!

I was worried how we were going to turn Christmas off after the holidays. However, it was not a problem, we waited until he was napping, and packed up everything Christmas. When he got up he looked around with super sad face and said "Merry Christmas" in the saddest little voice EVER. It was pitiful! But then he just sort of forgot.

Next year we have both vowed to go all out on decorations and what not because he loves it so much.

Thanksgiving

I am thankful for so many things this year, but most of all for my husband and my healthy baby boy, they are my life! I thank the good Lord every night for blessing me with them.

I am thankful for our families and the love and support they give us. It takes a village and we have an incredible one! Thanksgiving is a great excuse to tell you all, but I hope you know how much we love and appreciate you! I am also thankful for the miracles of the new babies in our family.

I am thankful that this year Granddaddy and Great Granddaddy are cancer free!

I am thankful for making new friends this year and spending time (and reconciling) with the old. “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other one is gold. Circle round, has no end, that’s how long I want to be your friend”

I am thankful that we still have our jobs in this time of economic hardship.

Here are some pictures from November:

Welcome to the world Maggie!

(Okay, so I am a little behind, but things are slowing down around here...lots more to come)

My niece Marguerite Jewel Richards was born on August 5 at 12:00 PM weighing in at 9 pounds 15 ounces and 21.5 inches long. She is PRECIOUS! She goes by Maggie. Welcome to this world Maggie, it is a miracle and a pleasure to have yo in our lives! My wish for you this early in life is that you follow your big brothers lead and you become an incredible sleeper for your mommy and daddy!

I love you and miss you already!

Did Kaedyn sneak a message to John?

I have to wonder if Kaedyn sent a secret message to John sometime during his first birthday party...

She dropped her nap EARLY on during her 3.5 years of life - yes, you read that right, she does not nap and she does not need it.

I believe that John is going to follow in her footsteps. Everyone kept telling me that once we dropped to one nap (around 11 months, yes, 11) that it would slowly get longer and longer... UH...NO! Anything over an hour is a bonus for John. BUT, he does not need it, he very seldom shows his 'crank' late at night or even before nap. He thrives on little sleep during the day. However, he sleeps a solid 12-13 hours at night, sometimes giving us until 9:00am before he joins us. 99.9% of the time, I wake up on my own before being startled by the baby alarm. So, I can not complain!

I KNOW he did not get his information from Brendan, as Brendan naps 3 to 4 hours a day and I have seen the kid wake up at 5:00 at night and STILL go to sleep at 7:30 or so. AMAZING! I honestly hope this carries over for Baby Girl Richards for Brent and Abbey's sake.

I love my little bundle of energy!

Spending time with Grandparents

Wanted to post some pictures from our most recent trips to Grandparents houses.

The newest member of the Jones Family

Daddy got John his first pet! His name is "fish", and John could not love him more! We've got him in his nursery so he can see him from his crib. He sees it and immediatly smiles and tries to say "fish" (which, at this point sounds like "sh", "sh", "sh"). Pretty cute for his first pet. Thanks Daddy!

Christmas 2008

(long post, but a ton of great memories to share! Pictures at the bottom of entry)

John's first Christmas was incredible - although in hind site - I think our next baby will just get rolls of wrapping paper under the tree. John had so much fun playing the trash than he did anything else. :)

Christmas Eve was spent at Nana and Grandpa's house. Uncle Chris and Aunt Adrienne came down from Oklahoma (Cousin Tyler was with his Dad, but we sure missed him!) We spent the day cooking a great turkey dinner with all the fixins' - and an incredible "sweet potato crunch" side dish (compliments of Aunt Adrienne) that I MUST get the receipe for - as it needs to be shared with the Richards and Rouse families - it is right up their alley. John danced with Elmo and showed off his walking skills. We all talked and laughed and played with John, it was a great evening!

Nana and Grandpa could not wait until later in the evening to give John his first christmas present - so he got to open a rocking horse with a baby saddle (picture in slideshow) that nays when you touch it - it is pretty cool.

Later that evening, after dinner (at which John tried desperately to take a poo) we all dove into presents - incredible gifts and memories were shared! John got fabulous toys, some books, a CD that he can dance to, and much more....THANK YOU!

The Jones have a tradition at their house around Christmas - these little "elves" come by the house and leave presents when the kids are good. Each year, the elves bring PJ's for everyone on Christmas Eve. No one has actually seen these elves, but the gifts just magically appear. This year, I was sworn in as an elf helper - and I botched it real good - doubt they ask me to help again. After leaving a bag of goodies on the front porch, I was going to let myself back in the nursery door and no one would have been the wiser - oh ya - I LOCKED MYSELF OUT! Needless to say the elves will be making their own deliveries from now on. This is a great tradition that will continue forever! (This year the elves brought Carl an extra special pair of glow in the dark adult footsie pajamas!)

I think John knew Santa was coming - he WOULD NOT go to bed. The plan was to put him down over there and then scoop him up and take him home. John liked his plan better - he got to stay up and play with Uncle Chris until after 9:00. Then he finally took a poo and was able to get comfortable - so we headed home.

Around 6:30 Christmas morning I went in and woke up John. We headed down stairs (although I am so glad we captured this moment on film - I am sorry that I did not have enough time to get ready yet!) to find that Santa had left John a big stuffed dog under the tree. He loved it.

After breakfast - off we went to Edmond for Christmas Day party at Grammy and Granddaddy's house.

We opened presents from the gift exchange in the early afternoon - there were so many presents and people, it went by so fast! While we were cooking dinner, Grammy presented all the girls with a red apron with a little christmas charm sewed on the front. So cute - Thank you! Then it was time for a prime rib dinner with a ton of sides and deserts to compliment. (note: dinner time was stated at 2:00, we ate at 3:30 - NOT BAD GIRLS!)

After dinner we talked and cleaned and laughed and talked and cleaned some more. Janna & crowd and Suzi & Gary had another Christmas function to be at later that night - not sure how they did it!

John got a bath in the infamous blue tub and then it was off to bed. The rest of us settled into a movie - of which, I (yes me) was THE ONLY one who stayed awake through the whole thing. Carl did not make it more than 5 minutes! Finally we all went to bed - only to have John wake up and stay up until 2:00. Awesome.

Friday we slept in a bit and then had breakfast when Uncle Brent, Aunt Abbey (+1) and cousin Brendan came over. After breakfast - you guessed it - MORE presents! Another incredible spread of presents and memories were made. Once again, John played in the torn up wrapping paper the most. Amognst other things, John got a minature OU football helmet signed by all of the 2008 running backs, a "quad-cycle" (tricycle, but had 4 wheels), and a personalized elmo backpack.

The rest of the day was spent watching TV, taking naps (only the kids this time, although I think all of us could have used one), talking, cleaning some more, playing, preparing dinner, running to the store becuase Suzi threw out Grammy's rosemary :), playing outside with Brendan's new big wheel toy thing, and making stockings! Abbey and I were the only ones who actually made stockings, but everyone stopped in the kitchen at some point to give their opinion - or lack there of! Yes, I know there is 365 days untl next Christmas, but this way - they are all ready! And we jsut need to make the new baby one when we have a name.

Grammy made a great dinner (I can not remember the name) and we all sat down to eat - only to find John was trying to take another poo. I do not know what it is about him pooing at dinner! I told everyone one to look away and stop laughing becuase they were going to give him a complex! Grammy played with him on the floor and he was able to make stinky pants!

Stephanie came over to visit for a bit, but was cut short due to bed time for both the boys - once 7:00 hits - it is all down hill. John warmed up to her immediately. They tickled the tree and she helped get him changed and ready for bed.

What a great Christmas to remember!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

One Big Happy Family

Carl, John and I got the incredible chance to have both of our families together this weekend for a fun filled day of Sooner football. Bob and Carolyn drove their motor home to Edmond and hosted a fabulous tailgate party at Arcadia lake and invited my whole family. I am not sure they really knew what they were in for with all of us! We had a crab boil and homemade gumbo and a desert table that was to die for!

The motor home is beautiful and I think we broke it in with some great memories and few stains! The weather was perfect and the location was ideal. They thought of everything! We had 4 TVs, tables and chairs for us all, a quilt and tent for the kids, wagons, a playground a few steps away, a campfire, and a whole lot of fun!

I have to confess - I did not watch one play of the game - NOT ONE! This was not my intention at all, but there was just so much going on and so many little ones to keep us busy. The die hards settled in the lawn chairs and I heard yelling and high fiving pretty often, so I kept track of the game that way.

As I have discussed in past entries, John is hardly ever fussy unless he is tired or hungry. However, on Saturday he had 'the crank' turned on higher than normal...well...sure enough Sunday his other top big tooth popped through. So I apologize for his antisocial behavior, but rest assured he is feeling much better.

There are so many stories to tell, but I think the pictures do a good job capturing the day. I especially LOVE the ones of John attacking Brendan; the one of Carl and John cuddled up in a monkey hat and football blanket around the campfire after a long day of fun; Great Granddaddy pulling the wagon; the one of John and Chris in their respective orange and red; all the attempts of getting all the kids in one picture AND looking at the camera (IMPOSSIBLE!) and of course the ones of my mom throwing the football, her quarterback skills are as about as good as her volleyball skills!

Thank you to Bob and Carolyn and thank you to everyone who came! We love you all and are always looking forward to the next time!

PS - if you are looking for the specific pictures of John and the infamous "bottle" - they are not included as I do not want to have DHS called on us!

"The Family Carr"

My "begging for blogging" entry worked! My cousin Janna has started a blog. It looks great; and I love the name "The Family Carr" (their last name is Carr for those of you who do not know her). I was so excited, I wanted to dedicate a post to the new link to the left! Now I can keep up with their family a little easy despite the distance. Thanks Janna! LOVE YOU!

Tuesdays with Nana and Grandpa

Every Tuesday John goes over to Nana and Grandpa's house for a little fun while mom and dad go to work.

John pretty much gets to run the house. :)Ever since John started rolling as his primary form of transportation, the coffee table is removed and...poof... the living room instantly transforms into the play room.

He even has his own jungle nursery, filled with pictures of animal mamas and their babies.

Napping is not always a priority for John at Nana and Grandpa's; playing is much higher on the list! Although...the naps are getting longer and I think Nana starts to miss him if he sleeps for more than an hour. Their days are filled with peek-a-boo games, grape sacks, stuffed puppies and a lot of smiles! I am not sure which of the three of them love Tuesdays the most!