TWO

Happy 2nd birthday Trent! We love you SOOO much!

Has it really been two weeks?

I can't believe Christmas was two weeks ago! We started a new tradition this year and spent the night at our house. It made it much easier for Santa.

We decided to start the three gifts tradition next year. Santa started shopping early this year and got lots of good deals on small stuff. He also totally forgot about our stockings, but maybe that was because we forgot to leave him milk and cookies.

The tricycle was by far his favorite gift, and he immediately started riding it down the hall. He quickly realized that he did not need to pedal and began riding "Fred Flinstone" style.

We headed to Christmas lunch with the Gunter family, but by the time we got there after a 45-minute drive, Trent had a fever of 102.5. After Tylenol, Motrin, and the stripping of a turtleneck, he was up for some lunch and presents.

Since Trent was sick and my camera was still smoking from our trip to Opp, I didn't take many pictures during our second Christmas celebration. I did, however, get a cute one of the Paschal family.

I really wish we could spend more time with the whole "Gunter" gang. We always have so much fun together, and this man, "Paw Paw" is our fearless leader:) He is an incredible man, and he pulled some funny stuff out of his big bag of fun this year.


After afternoon naps, we had our final Christmas celebration at my parents' house. It was so much fun that we got brave and attempted some family pictures.



Can you tell Trent's medicine is wearing off in this one?


We were all reminded of childhood innocence when after opening countless gifts, Trent and Trevor picked these $2 stocking stuffers to entertain us the rest of the night.

Later, we were shocked to find our first White Christmas outside!

He was unamused, but I think it was due to the fever.

It sounds like he might get another chance at snow in the next couple of days!

Reed Family Christmas

My mother-in-law loves Christmas, and it's evident the minute you enter her house.

They have a very pretty Christmas tree, and she joked that they may keep it decorated all year... in the basement:)

This village is amazing, and we had to make sure Trent didn't mistake it for his Little People.

We Mike, John and Brandon spent the first night putting together Trent's big gift from Mimi and Papa. {I was just the sticker girl. Men aren't very good at placing stickers.}



We ran a few errands the next morning, and I convinced Mike to pose in front of his old stomping grounds. As you can see, Trent was more interested in jumping off the brick.

The rest of the Reeds arrived around lunch time, and thanks to my crafty and patient sister-in-law, we started our Reindeer and Santa place mats.

I was shocked that Trent enjoyed this activity and actually liked his hand being painted. I was prepared to use lots of force to get a single handprint, but he willingly did lots of them.

And this, my friends, is one of the many reasons why I LOVE this child. She poses for my pictures even when I don't beg and act crazy.

The almost-finished products...


The next day, we had a big breakfast and opened presents.


He loved his tractor!


We played in the $2 snow I found at Big Lots.


The snow faded quickly, but luckily Papa and Uncle B were there to provide more fun entertainment.


Since the first craft went well, we decided to make some cookies and let our little ones decorate them.


You can tell that somebody was doing more than just decorating. Cookies, icing and lots of m&m's ended up being lunch.


They turned out pretty cute and very yummy.


And that concludes our first Christmas of 2010. I don't have nearly as many pictures from our second and third celebrations, since Trent got a fever virus around noon on Saturday. Thank goodness for Ibuprofin and Tylenol!

We wish you a Merry Christmas

We hope your Christmas is filled with joy and laughter!



And most importantly, let us all remember the reason we celebrate Christmas- the birth of Jesus.

Merry Christmas 2010.

Love,

Mike, April and Trent

Lots to Discuss

I have become one of those people who lives by a list. I used to get by with a planner, but now I just use my planner for appointments/deadlines/showers/etc. My list gets me through the day. So, in random order, here are some things I wanted to mention on the blog:

1. We bought our first REAL Christmas tree this year, and I love it. I might change my mind after the take down process, but for now, I think it's super fun. I can't believe I'd never had a real tree. I've also never been to Disney World, but that's a story for another day.

2. Since I'm very impatient and don't appreciate cliff-hangers, I will give you the short story about Disney World. We took a family vote: Disney World or build a pool in the back yard. It was 3-1. My mom voted Disney World, because she knew she'd be the pool woman. She was correct, and I expect my first real Disney experience will be with Mike and Trent in a few years.

3. My husband has started an e-mail debate team. I went to a baby shower one night, and I had 22 emails when I got home. I almost woke him up from his sound sleep when I saw that he'd picked 15-20 random friends and family members and sent an email with our first topic. We've discussed a few things over the past month, and I got in trouble for picking a topic a couple of weeks ago. Apparently Mike, "Big Daddy Slim AKA President" is the only one who can suggest topics.

4. Dry Shampoo is awesome! It's 10000 times better than baby powder. My favorite brand is Batiste, and I buy it at Ulta.

5. Trent is supposed to be Boy Jesus in our church's Christmas play tomorrow. The good news is that he does not have a speaking part. The bad news is that he's had a fever all day today.

6. If you have an iphone and a toddler, download the Toddler Teasers apps. They are educational, and I know lots of toddlers {including my own} who love them.

7. My friend, Margaret, gave me these Time Out signs. They make me laugh, and I will probably have to use them soon.

8. This package came today. It's one of my Christmas presents from Mike. He thought the "Wife of the Year" title would be funny, and it was even funnier since they gave the title to John Reed. Mike claims he didn't have to review the name:)


9. Do you think the mittens/hat approach could work when it's time to quit sucking his thumb and twirling his hair?


10. I found this picture on my phone. I took it at JoAnn's a few months ago. It's his "kiss" face, and don't worry- we didn't buy the ears.

If you are still reading, thanks for sticking with me. By including all of these things on one post, I was able to cross all things Blog off my list:)

Mother of the Year

I figured it could happen one day, and I'm relieved that it took almost 23 months.

I locked Trent in the car last week. Of course I did it on the coldest, rainiest day of the year. I picked him up from Miss Kim's house and ran to the car, holding my 30 pound boy:) Since it was pouring, I put him in the car seat and threw my keys on the seat. I intended to go around, get in the car, and turn around and buckle him in once I was out of the rain. {Side note: I have never done this before. I always buckle him as soon as I put him in the seat.} As you have probably guessed by now, the driver's door was locked when I ran around to open it, as were all of the other doors.

I think I felt more shock than panic as I ran back to Miss Kim's door and told her the situation. She went outside to watch Trent while I used her phone to call Mike, who told me to call the police. While I was talking to the 911 lady, Miss Kim remembered that her neighbor is a policeman. Thankfully, he was home. He came out with his bag of tools and called for back-up, since he didn't have the tool he needed to open the door.

As the sweet policeman was trying to break in my car, Trent climbed into the front seat. {He did not ever realize anything was wrong. He thought it was hilarious that Miss Kim and I were waving to him from outside the car.} As he was playing with the steering wheel, I got one of my better ideas. I told him to press the buttons on the door. Of course he smiled and started pressing away. The policeman could see that he was pressing the "lock" button and told me to tell him to press the button next to it. As soon as I said, "Buddy, can you press the button next to that one?" he pressed the button, unlocking the doors. I quickly opened the door, and my sweet boy smiled and said "Mama," as if it had all been a fun game. Don't you want to nominate me for Mother of the Year 2010? I didn't think so.

These pictures don't have anything to do with the car incident. They were taken last weekend in Tuscaloosa- Trent's first trip to T-town! He smiled and laughed every time we said "Tuscaloosa." Maybe by the time he is four years old, he will be able to say it! We had a great time, and I think Trent's favorite part was meeting his buddy Owen and driving his car:)

Have a great weekend!

Santa is not a character

I think I've mentioned it before on the blog, but Trent loves characters! We find this strange, since he does not like strangers; but, it works out great during Halloween or when Mickey Mouse is at the mexican restaurant.

I guess I've always considered Santa a character. Poor Trent must have also thought he was a character. He was very excited to see him tonight and actually ran up to him when it was his turn. However, when Santa reached for him and said, "Hey little guy, come tell me what you want for Christmas," Trent decided Santa was a stranger instead of a character. It didn't go very well.



Maybe next year we should tell Santa not to talk. Seriously, how can you not like Santa but love this guy?




This was last week, {yes, we went back} and I think Trent liked him even more this time.