Christmas!

We started out Christmas Eve at Gigi's house, but we made a big mistake. She had bought him one of those sticks that makes noise from the dollar store, and he wouldn't let go of it. It didn't matter that he was surrounded by presents. He only wanted the stick. This first picture is of him screaming at us because I tried to take the wrapping paper off for him. He'll clench his fists and stiffen up and get angry! I told Tracy that next year she just needs to spend a dollar on him again!

"My precious."

Again, with the stick. I think we mostly got pictures with the stick.

Once we were finally able to hide the stick, he realized he had some pretty cool new toys!

We did much better at our next stop on Christmas Eve to Maw-Maw's house. He loved his new toy there, and the ribbon too!

Sitting in Great Grandpa Hays' chair.

Checking out the present from Santa - a rocking horse!

At church on Christmas morning - matching with Daddy in his shirt and tie!

After church, we opened some of the other presents. He loved this puppy book from Grammy and Papa.

More stuff at Christmas dinner at Uncle Steve and Aunt Toni's house.

While we ate Christmas dinner, E took a little siesta.

This picture is for Grammy and Papa - notice how he's sitting?

Playing "Knock over the Cups" with Uncle Steve.

So happy to play, play, play.

Chilling with Ryan.

All Grown Up!

E has wanted to be standing up all the time now. His balance is getting much better, and he's not as wobbly. It won't be long before he's running after the dogs!

YAY!

After weeks of all sorts of scooting and sliding, E finally did the traditional crawl tonight. I don't know what prompted it, but it's like a switch went off and he knew what to do! YAY!

So now, my project for Christmas break will now be to babyproof EVERYTHING. I was already in the process, but now it's a bit more urgent!

Christmas Break

I can't even say how much I'm looking forward to Christmas break with E. It's been a hard adjustment to work and be a mom. I know that the only reason I'm still sane is thanks to E's Gigi (Tracy). I wanted to share a few pictures of E at her house. I'm so lucky that he is so happy and loved.


We lowered the pack and play finally, and now he acts like he's a little prisoner!

Exploring new places - like under the tv stand.

If you don't have a blanket for peek-a-boo, a curtain works just fine!

Or even a shirt will do in a pinch. He loves playing peek-a-boo!


Look at that smile! He loves being at Gigi's house!

You better watch out, you better not cry...

Obviously E did NOT care about Santa one little bit. He wanted his bottle and his bed. We needed Santa at the beginning of the church party, not the end! By the time we got around to Santa, E was done for the night. Poor kid!

Scootin' Around the Christmas Tree

E and I had a PJ day today. He's a bit croupy, so we stayed home and chilled for the day. He has loved the Christmas tree, and I gave him the chance to get up close today since we had lots of play time. He loved it! I hope he feels better this weekend, I sure do hate to see him feel bad. He's still smiling and playing though, and trying to find all sorts of trouble!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We got some lights out front today, and some decorations up inside as well. Tonight we went to a great concert put on by the Fort Bragg Army Band. The music was great, and it was just what I needed to cure me of my slight grinch-y attitude. It helped me realize that I need to step back, stop stressing, and remember the wonderful things about this time of year - family, friends, helping others, beautiful music, and remembering the birth of our Savior.

Here's a picture of E "helping" us put up lights. He got very frustrated because he couldn't pick anything up with the mittens on!

Thanksgiving Break (part 4)

We had a wonderful, VERY LOUD Thanksgiving day. There were about 35 people I think. The food was great, but the company was better. E was a trooper, and had a great time playing with all his cousins that were there. We even found a quiet spot to lay down and have a bottle in the middle of all the chaos!

Thanksgiving Break (part 3) - The Big Haircut!!

I really went back and forth about getting E's hair cut. I finally decided to do it because the long wispy hairs were tickling his ears and he was pulling at them to get them out of the way! Cam's sister cuts hair, so I couldn't think of a better person for the 1st haircut. There were a few tears, but I LOVE the result. He looks like a little man now - so grown up!

Thanksgiving Break (part 2)

This is the view from Cam's parents' house. I forgot how much I missed having the mountains right there, especially for sunrises!







E's first trip to Cafe Rio. He was so excited that it completely wore him out. He has never fallen asleep sitting up like this, especially in a loud restaurant!






Great Grandparents in the morning - A four generation photo. They're all the oldest sons. This is also the name tradition - the oldest son gets the dad's name as his middle name. We had a great day with great grandma and grandpa Johnson!





Great grandparents in the afternoon. We drove in the complete opposite direction to visit my grandparents. They loved seeing E, and I suppose me and Cam too!






E can't really play on our kitchen floor much because the dogs will knock him over. But at Grandma and Grandpa's house, he LOVED playing with magnets on the dishwasher, and he also learned really quickly how to scoot around on his butt to get around the kitchen!

Thanksgiving Break (part 1)

We had so many big events on our trip, that this will probably be MANY posts. But here goes...



E was SO perfect on the plane rides. He was happy and the take-offs and landings didn't even bother him. We were SO grateful. The only problem we had was that we got to Atlanta late, and our layover was only 45 minutes to start with. So we had to catch the train to another concourse and as we were running through the airport we heard final boarding calls for Salt Lake. But we made it!


E loved looking out the window at take-off and landing. So much so that he kept hitting his head on the window. But he was happy!







When we got to Utah, there was a few inches of snow on the ground. Emmett didn't know what to think, but he cracked us up with his coat. He looks like the kid from "A Christmas Story" who can't put his arms down!





This is a goofy picture, but it's the only picture I've gotten so far of his teeth. They're so cute (and sharp! his new favorite thing is to bite everything, including whoever is holding him!).

Great Great Aunt Linda

My great aunt Linda is visiting Maw Maw, and E and I went over to visit yesterday since I had the day off. Aunt Linda raided the kitchen to find some fun things for E to play with. He loved banging on the pot and making noise!

Something New

I love when E starts doing something new. It's so fun to see what will happen next. This week, it's been sticking his tongue out. Can't wait to see his next discovery!

Happy Halloween!

Here's E in his costume... we figured that he loved dogs more than anything, so he's a little puppy. I tried to get a picture of him with the dogs. You can imagine how that went!

Jumping for Joy

E had a REALLY hard weekend, so his Gigi came to visit him and bring him some Halloween treats. We decided to try out his jumper, and he LOVED it. He started bouncing right away. His favorite part is that he's able to watch the dogs and reach out for them when they walk through the doorway! I think this toy will really help me entertain him while I'm getting things done after work!

Happy 6 months!

These last 6 months have FLOWN by. We love this little guy so much, and he is just the sweetest happiest boy ever! We went to the pumpkin patch tonight, he looks so grown up sitting up by himself!!

Fun at Maw Maw's House

E loves to roll around and play at MawMaw's house. We went to visit her on Saturday while Cam was camping with the Cub Scouts. He had so much fun that he wore himself out! He loves having new places to explore!

Laundry Helper

I normally HATE folding and putting away laundry, but I have to admit that it's pretty fun with E around. He loves to pull clothes off my piles and stack them around his head. He builds a little nest for himself and then kicks and sings himself to sleep. It's really sweet, and I don't even mind refolding the clothes! :)

Changes

Changes are all around - the leaves are changing, Cam changed jobs, I am in charge of fewer thing at church and that will make life a little easier, and E is learning new things everyday. Here's what he's currently working on:

Weekends

We love weekends. We can relax and just enjoy our family time. Friday night, Cam and E fell asleep playing on the bed. So cute! (although I'm sure there will be payback for this picture!) Sunday, it was a beautiful day and we played fetch with the dogs in the yard and let E explore the yard a bit. He wants to be able to GO! It won't be long!