Baby's First Christmas Pt. 2

Christmas Eve night, we were to my Aunt's house for my dad's side of the family party. The theme was Mexican food and it was delicious! I made churros poppers and everyone said they turned out great! My cousin, Sarah, was home. She has been in Mozambique for the last two years with the Peace Corps. She brought me a beautiful necklace and Adam a stuffed giraffe. Adam also got lots of toys, clothes, and books! We had a fantastic time just sitting around and talking (Rusty and the boys also played pool).

Christmas day was amazing. I woke up early to put the chili in the crock pot and was able to shower before Rusty or Adam got up. We then had Christmas morning to ourselves where Adam opened his gifts from us (books, a keyboard and paci's) and Kirby got his presents (a bone and some treats). Rusty and I decided not to exchange presents this year since he just bought and built his own computer, I got a new living room set, and we both got a house.

About noon Rusty's family began arriving. I made three different kinds of chili in my three-burner crock pot (white chicken chili, beef chili, and spicy beef chili). Surprisingly, the white chicken chili was a smash hit! Everyone wants the recipe, so I'll be giving that out to them soon. I was nervous that I wasn't making enough overall, but it turned out great! Everyone else brought toppings and desserts, so they were happy that they didn't really have to cook much. It was a great time and I think Rusty enjoyed showing off the house.

The baby was in better spirits too, which I think is because he was able to stay on his regular schedule and nap in his own crib. He got an incredible amount of toys. Although Memaw stuck to the two toy limit, his great-Grandmother didn't. However, being a great-grandmother, she isn't really bound by rules. She got him a really good quality Radio Flyer wagon and filled it with some toys. He also got some adorable clothes from his great-Aunt Sandra. Rusty and I also received some shirts, video game stuff (for him) and baking stuff (for me) from Memaw. We also got some electronics and cash from great-Grandmother. We were beyond blessed during this time and everyone was full and happy by time they left.

The day after Christmas we were off to Nana and Papa's house! We arrived around lunch to some delicious roast and rice, opened presents, and had finger foods in the evening. Again with all the toys... Adam was absolutely spoiled rotten this year. We had a fantastic time - I don't know what I would do without my family.

Here's Adam's loot from all six parties:

Baby's First Christmas Pt. 1

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! It has been a fantastic holiday season so far!

Saturday, we went to the Carter Family Christmas Party (Grammy's side) to begin our Christmas party schedule. It was potluck style and Rusty and I were stuffed by the end. Adam got to see a lot of people he met over the summer when we went to Jasper. They loved and doted on him... and bought him presents. I had the foresight to ask the grandparents to only give two presents each in the hopes of not ending Christmas with a mountain of toys that Adam will grow out of in a couple of months. Little did I know that every aunt, uncle, great-aunt, great-uncle, great-grandparent, cousin, second cousin, and on and on would want to buy him something. So at this party alone, we ended up with more items than I thought we would have.

Cute side note - Adam and Jade became friends. Jade is Grammy's granddaughter, making her Adam's cousin. She is about five months older. They were so funny - they would share their toys when all of the sudden, they would begin snatching their toys back and making each other cry. I'm very excited to see their relationship grow.

 Sunday, my siblings and I snuck into our parents' house when they were at church. We had been planning this for months, had been collecting frames that matched my mom's style, and gathering photos from the past and present. We spent two hours creating a gallery wall on their stairs. When they came home, my mom was so excited that all of her children were their for lunch - she didn't even notice the wall!! Once we pointed it out though, she thought it was fantastic.

Monday - Adam and I stayed at home and cleaned (since I left my debit card and license in Rusty's car -_-).

Tuesday, I went grocery shopping in the morning, my mom came over and we had lunch, then Rusty, Adam, and I went to Grammy and Grandpa's house for their Christmas. The theme was pasta. We had lasagna, spaghetti, and desserts. Adam got more toys, I got a beautiful engraved cutting board, and Rusty got a book. We were able to give the cousins their presents that they loved and Grandpa and Grammy got picture frames with pictures from our pumpkin shoot. We ended the night with Grandpa and Brad (Aunt Julie's boyfriend) playing the guitar and our music-loving baby couldn't have had it better.

Jade and Adam had the same cute interactions that they had on Saturday and there were more between he and JoLynn (who's three). She thought he was so cute, kept petting his hair, and pushed him around in the walker.

Tonight, we have the Cooper Family Christmas Party, then are hosting Christmas for Memaw's side on Thursday and ending the week with Nana and Papa's Christmas. I'll post Pt. 2 later in the week to encompass these parties.

Gearing Up

This week was all about gearing up for Christmas. Because of the family situation with Rusty's side of the family, we offered our home to host Christmas for his mom's side of the family this year. I love hosting parties, so on the one hand I'm super excited. On the other hand, our new house isn't ready for that many guests!!! This has sent me into overdrive in cleaning and prepping for twelve people.

Saturday, I was hired to make a cake for forty people and a smash cake for a one year old (I make cakes on the side for fun - www.topnotchbutterscotch.com). The cakes were for a coworker of my sister and she loved the cake, plus she said her daughter dove right into the cake. As I delivered the cake, Adam had a "Daddy Day" where he spent the afternoon with Rusty. That enabled me to relax a bit and not have to rush to deliver and get back home before snack time. I was also able to go to the local kid's consignment shop for their sidewalk sale (all winter clothes 50% off!!) and got the cutest outfits for Adam and a perfect one for Christmas morning.

Sunday, we went to church and that night we had an adults-only dinner party with some friends. One couple Rusty's known since high school, another we've known for about three years and the third we just met that night. We had a great time. We are super lucky that Rusty's mom lives literally right down the road from the dinner party hosts' house, so she eagerly volunteered to watch Adam for a few hours. He had lots of fun with her and she of course bought him a new outfit.

On the baby front - Adam turned 8 months on Thursday! It is crazy how much he has matured in just one week. He is now mobile and says "dada" and melts hearts by smiling at everyone he meets.

However, we have had some issues. Just this week, he's had quite a bit of issues falling asleep and staying asleep for nap time. For example, today, he only got about 1 1/2 hours of nap time between two naps, when normally he gets 3-4 hours worth of naps. He also has had trouble finishing his bottle. Not sure why since I haven't upped his food or formula intake. BUT he has been as giggly, excited and happy as always, so I guess I shouldn't be too concerned.

Oh, and he also tried a bell pepper for the first time and loved it!

Red & White Burlap Tree Skirt

I looked and looked for a tree skirt for our Christmas tree that I liked, but couldn't find one. What's a girl to do? Oh, that's right! Make one!

I originally had good intentions to make a one with my sewing machine, but the image of one I liked on Pinterest could be done without one... I'm not complaining.

What is needed:

One yard of fabric
5 Burlap Rolls
Hot glue gun and sticks
Scissors

Notes:
 - The fabric doesn't have to be soft or cute, since it's just a base. However, you might want to get a more durable one to last longer and hold the glue/burlap.
 - Michaels and Hobby Lobby sell rolls of burlap in different colors that are about five or six inches wide. I needed four red rolls and one white roll.


Steps:

1 - Fold your base fabric twice to make it a quarter of the size. Cut in a circular fashion from two opposite corners, so the corner with no folds is removed.

2 - With the fabric still folded, cut in a circular fashion the remaining 90 degree about 3-4 inches.

3 - Unfold your fabric and you should have a circle with a small circle cut out in the middle.

4 - Cut in a straight line from the outside in. This will enable you to slide the skirt over the tree.

5 - Begin to cut the burlap rolls. Cut them approximately by the foot - just try to make sure they all are the same size.

6 - Fold over the rolls, but don't press them. You want them to stay rounded.

7 - Begin gluing along the edge of the fabric. I did red with white every so often so it was just speckled throughout the skirt. You should finish an entire row before beginning the next, working from the outside in.

In this pic, I've almost finished the first row.

8 - Continue folding and gluing until you've reached the inner circle.

9 - When you've reached the end, fold the fabric over the inner edge to prevent fraying of the fabric.

10 - It may take a while since the there are a lot of strips of burlap, but it is easy and looks great.

Here is the final look under the tree.

I had some left over burlap, so I will post next week to show what I decided to do with it! Merry Christmas!