Christmas Travels and Travelers

We stopped through Bronte on the way home. Cousin Jael gave Caden his first set of hunter's gear. The bib says "I love my first cousin-once removed!" So cute!

When we arrived in Spring at the end of the journey, we celebrated Christmas with Grandmama and Graddaddy, Aunt Sandra Ruth, Uncle James and Cousin Lauren (and of course Uncle Lane and Sam in spirit). Cousin Stew and Natalie drove out to spend some time with us. Also, Cousin George and Ann visited. It was a wonderful time to spend with family.

Christmas in The Dirty South

On Christmas Eve we loaded up drove to hang with some of our family from Uvalde! It was so great to see everyone. Thanks to Mike, Karen, Aaron and Jill for all their preperations and hospitality!

Caden met Great-Grandma Phillips for the first time!

He and Cousin Elizabeth played so well together!

Baby's first Christmas!

Long Time, No Blog!

Every year, Ryan and I wear matching jammies at Christmas. It is a special tradition in which we participate. This year I made them so that Caden could participate. So cute!

Speaking of traditions! My Great-Grandmother Stroud made stockings for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When she passed, we continued that tradition. When Ryan and I were married, I made one for him. Recently, we finished Cade's stocking. What should have taken a weekend took three weeks... did I mention that everything takes longer with a baby! It was a colaborative effort between Grandmama Dianne, Aunt Sandra Ruth, Cousin Jael, myself and even Ryan. We completed it just in time for Christmas Eve. Whew!

21 is a Statement

And boy did she make that statement! Of course, we only heard about the fun, as Ryan and I like to keep to our curfew! Hah! However, we had a blast with you at Pappasito's, nice sombrero by the way! Happy 21st to Auntie Jen!

6 mos.

What fun, all 18 lbs of him! Caden is right at the stage of non-stop activity - get ready, right? He loves long hair, pulling and eating it! His new form of communication is growling. It is quite funny. He has pleasant growls and unhappy growls. Not sure where he came up with it but he is very entertaining! He has been drinking from cups regularly but from a sippy cup is a new accomplishment. Cade is rolling all over the place, now (his version of crawling maybe?) All we can say is that he is one tough dude!

Merry Weather

Every fall/winter I become restless for cooler weather - cold weather - the down right freezing stuff. This year, I was thrilled when Ryan called me from his office to let me know that it was snowing. Cade and I ran outside for a few pictures. I think he liked the cold weather. I hope someday that Caden will be able to experience true snowy weather. Sledding and ski trips. Making snowmen and snow forts. Bundling up with boots, mittens, a scarf and hat to go anywhere. Thawing out only by drinking hot cocoa. Did you know that there are places in this country where vehicles are sold with plugs wired to the engine? In these places (i.e. North Dakota) it gets so cold that you have to plug your car into an electrical outlet overnight in order to be able to start the engine the next morning. And even then, you have to let the car "warm-up" before it can be driven anywhere. It sounds miserable, but it is a wonderful memory for me. I would love to share that experience with our kiddo.

Tree Time

It took about 5 days to purchase our Christmas tree, get the lights on, get it decorated and place the wrapped presents beneath the tree. Lesson learned: EVERYTHING takes more time with a baby. We love our little man!

Our friend, Ashley hostessed her annual "Pajama Breakfast" on Saturday. I like to think of Ashley as the more peppy version of Martha Stewart. She had the just the right amount of Christmas in her home and everything was perfectly placed. As always, she delivered a delicious brunch. Looo-oooooovved the cheese blintzes!!!