First Snow and Christmas Tree Hunting

We had our first snow in Early December. We got a good amount. The next day, we decided to trek out to Bluemont, VA to pick out and cut down our Christmas Tree. Let me tell you, it was memorable. AJ was tired, we picked the wrong time to go, so he was cranky. We sat in line waiting to get into the parking lot for 40 minutes. The fields were SO muddy since the snow was melting. John and I didn't feel like the tree was secure enough, so for the entire 30 minute ride home, we had the sunroof open (it was cold!) with our hands holding on to the tree for DEAR LIFE. About 5 minutes from the house we realized the tree was secure and let go. We weren't the smartest! Then we got home and the DVR'd Skins game John caught up with the Skins BEATING the undefeated Saints and with two minutes left in the 4th quarter, the DVR cut off the game. Not only did he miss the end, but the Skins lost in that two minutes plus overtime to boot. Poor John had to find out by looking at the internet. BUT..we got a great tree! It smells so nice, is very tall, and perfect for the area we have it in! Was it worth it? Well, I can say that we probably will go back to Lowe's next year for our tree, but I'm really happy that we had the experience!

The first snow on Saturday the 5th of December. The weekend before we got a snowsuit on major sale--so cheap that we thought "if he never gets use of this, it is ok since it was so cheap!"

We picked out our tree--that was the best we could do considering AJ was not happy!

And John cutting down our tree. What a big, strong, man I have!

Thanksgiving

This year we decided (well, Grandma Nelson decided for us) to stay local and my mom hosted the BEST thanksgiving at her home. The morning started out great--we woke up, ate breakfast and left to go over to my mom's. We left AJ with my parents while John and I went on a FIVE MILE run. You read that right, FIVE MILES. We were surprised how far we went, especially since I have been running in years! I must say, I give myself some kudos and I think John was proud of me too!

After our run and promptly getting ready, the boys watched football while my mom and I finished cooking. My mom is amazing, she bascially had everything organized and ready to go!

Then came dinner. The table was perfect. I made the centerpiece and my mom set the table. The table was HUGE, but we needed it--9 of us for dinner. Smaller than the usual 50-60 at Grandma Nelson's, but big for our family of 5--we are growing!

Jose carving the Turkey and mom feeding the boys marshmellows!

The boys sitting down to eat with their hats!

After dinner, we had a few casualties!

Lauren's Shower

As you all know, my best friend Lauren is expecting her baby girl in January. Her sister Maridith, friend Erica, and I hosted her shower in late November. The shower was amazing, I must say. Between the three of us, we really did a great job! We did a 'sweets' theme, in honor of Lauren's sweet tooth. How she stays so thin, even pregnant, is beyond me!

The fireplace clothesline and gifts:

The candy bar favor. We had sweets quotes on the candy labels and 'to go' boxes with personalized labels.

Erica made the very cute and amazing cake. Dummy me didn't take a picture from the front, that is an elephant that you can eat--the detail was amazing! You can check out the Fitts blog for more details. She actually posts on time, so you have to go back to November.

Erica's mom is a florist, so she made all of the beautiful flower arrangements (and there was a lot of them!)


One of the details I loved about this shower:

The hostess's and the Mother to Be (me, Erica, Lauren, and Maridith):

And finally, how do you make a mother to be cry? Give her a priceless gift: a stuffed animal made out of the blanket she could never live without as a child. Maridith is quite the seamstress (check out her blog on all of her projects for her kids!):

Dylan's 2nd birthday

Back in November, our good friends Sunny and Seth hosted a 2nd birthday party for their son Dylan. Boy, was it a party. No detail was forgotten and there was a TON of stuff for the kids and the adults! AJ got to take his first ponny ride! He didn't like it at first, but soon warmed up to it.

They also had a petting zoo. AJ LOVED the animals, but as soon as the baby pig came anywhere near him, he freaked out. This is a picture of him after he warmed up to the pig. He loved quacking with the ducks though!

They had a boucing slide too! I loved the slide--I think I had more fun then AJ!

And finally, what kid party is complete without a TRAMPOLINE! AJ has always loved trampolines--so he was having a blast!

Halloween

Yes, I am posting this two months late. I have a lot to catch you all up on!

AJ was none other then ELMO for Halloween! AJ LOVES Elmo. He has all of his books and got so excited when we picked out his costume "Elmo, Elmo, ELLLMMOOO!".

We had a wonderful time. AJ is still a little young for trick or treating, so we met up with his little cousin Roman and hit up a few houses in Grandma and Grandpa Padilla's house. Here is my little Elmo:

No pictures of the boys together, we forgot!

Missing AJ (and John of course)

I had to fly out to Minneapolis yesterday (12/8) and drive a few hours (normally it's 1.5 hours, but it was snowing) down to Albert Lea, MN for a work meeting. The meeting was cancelled and postponed until tomorrow morning due to a HUGE blizzard that hit here. We were going to just go back home, but the road conditions are NOT GOOD, so we are stuck nonetheless. So, I'm stuck in my hotel room all day long. Luckily, I have a good internet connection and can work.

I called John this morning and he said AJ was crying for me. I started crying because I have never been away from him for more than one night--and it's not even like I'm with John and we are having a romantic weekend. No, I'm stuck here all alone in the middle of nowhere MN and on top of it I can't even leave the hotel because the weather is so bad!

This stinks :(.

First day of School

Our amazing nanny, Hannah, is moving to Indiana to persue her nursing degree. I personally, loved Hannah. She was piece of mind for me when I needed it the most. She was so great with AJ and I could tell she loved him and he loved her too. He knew her by name (sounded like banana!) and picked up all kinds of good language from her on a daily basis. Hannah and her husband are very great Christians, which is important to me. Hannah will be missed so much.

Hannah announced last summer she would be moving (that is the perfect amount of notice!) in December. We took a few months to decide what to do. I love the nanny set up we had, but we couldn't afford full time and since AJ is down to 1 nap a day and is literally into everything, it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to work the amount of hours I require. After much discussion and research and many visits, John and I decided it was time to send AJ to school. We decided on The Goddard School for many reasons and quickly got him on the waiting list.

The Goddard School is a full time educational dayschool. Every day he learns spanish, sign language, nature (they teach about the seasons, how to dress, about plants, etc.), etc. They do Yoga and go outside every day, even in the winter (weather permitting). We fell in love with the school and the teachers and administrators.

So fast forward to last Tuesday, and AJ started his first day! I had a lot of anxiety (mostly about naptime--AJ DOES NOT nap anywhere but my car and his crib). It started out rough. We pulled up and I started crying and was holding back the tears when we were talking to his teacher. When we walked in, AJ was excited to see tons of new toys but quickly realized mommy and daddy were leaving him. We had paperwork to fill out and left a crying AJ. After 10 minutes we peaked in the window to check on him and he was BAWLING. My heart was pounding and I was thinking "ok, that is enough, I quit work". Teresa, the operations executive, consoled me and promised to call me in a few hours to give me an update. I left feeling sick to my stomach.

Teresa called me a few hours later and was happy to report he participated happily in all of the activities, ate all of his food, and took a nap with no problem!

Day 2 and 3 were so much easier and it feels like AJ has adjusted well! He is already saying YES (after saying NO to everything including things he wants), "see you tomorrow", "China" (it is Chinese New Year learning week), and singing new songs!

So while I miss Hannah, I am happy with our new arrangement!