Grits . . .

are delicious. No one voted - not one person! for either grits or oatmeal. I am disappointed! I am taking down the poll.

Decorations

Here are a couple pics of our house decorated . . . these aren't good pics but if I wait until I get a good picture - it may be after Christmas - so . . . here you go.

Whew!

Happy 16 months to our baby boy. He is growing so quickly! We spent last weekend in Baltimore. It was a whirlwind trip but we packed a TON of stuff in and managed to see a bunch of family and friends (although we didn't see everyone). So, anyway, we flew up on Friday night - our flight arrived on time (LUV Southwest!) and we headed down to Virginia for the night. We were checked into the hotel and fast asleep by midnight. Saturday morning we got up and had a nice breakfast at the hotel before heading out to DC for Daniel's baptism.

So, I looked over the breakfast menu and found the PERFECT choice - Hot Cereal (or Cold), Banana, Bagel with Cream Cheese, Coffee and Juice. What could be better? (well, honestly, a lot of things but this was going to be the perfect breakfast for Connor and me to share). Of course my choices of Hot Cereal . . . only 1. OATMEAL. It is absurd that grits haven't caught on up in Yankeeville. Grits are delicious and well . . . OATMEAL isn't. I confirmed just how bad oatmeal tastes on Saturday morning. I mean ya'll - it tastes like paste! I fed some to Connor - who ate about 3 ounces and then offered the bowl to Colin. He almost licked the bowl! EWWWH! He must have been starving to eat that goop! Conclusion: Grits without butter or salt are WAAAAYYY better that Oatmeal. Grits with butter/ salt etc . . . super yummy! I put a poll on the side of the blog to see if everyone agrees. But honestly - how can you not??

Anyway, the bagel was delicious and since Connor loves cream cheese - it was a hit. The baptism ceremony was very sweet and intimate and afterwards we headed back to Leslie and Kevin's for some grub. Later that day we drove back to Baltimore to have Christmas with Heather, Ken, Brandon etc. Hopefully Heather will send me the group photo soon so I can post that - but in the meantime, here are a few pics from Sat . . .

Connor practicing taking up the collection for the church

Our attempt at a group kids shot - I chose this one since Connor, Colin and Leslie look good in it . . .
Colin with his godson - baby Daniel


Kevin - Daniel's daddy


Connor, Kenn, and Brandon . . .
Sunday we went to the Ravens game (it rained ALL day) - well it rained until the game ended - then it let up. Never again will I tailgate in the rain. I suggested that we NOT stand the rain all morning but I was outvoted - in favor of "being in the action" at the tailgate outdoors. Action alright - never again. It was miserable! There were a few moments of fun - but never again.

Christmas Cards . . .

This time of year is a little stressful - why? - of course, trying to get the best picture for a Christmas card. It was certainly easier when we just had to have the cats pose . . . but since Connor arrived we have eliminated the cats from the photo (my mom is thrilled). I have this really nice, new camera and I still can't manage to come up with the perfect photo . . . well time is ticking and Shutterfly is baiting me to order soon (with discounts) so I tried again today to capture a few more photos. It will be hard to top last year's card (as many, many people have mentioned) so the pressure was on. Well, I just placed the order so I suppose the pressure is now off . . . or at least the pressure is over. I must say I like the new card but I don't think it beats last year's card. The main reason is that I don't think the card selections were as good this year. . . I thought about having one specially made . . . but then I thought, this has to be over - I have to order the cards. We are travelling this month and I can't deal with having this as an outstanding project any longer. I'm not going to show off the photo(s) that made it into the card, but I will share one that didn't make it (although it was MY favorite).

MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!!!!

Oh, and our house is now officially decorated! Thanks to Colin and my parents who helped us decorate/ take care of Connor who can't go outside due to his ear infection - which is still keeping him up at night - despite the ear drops! Just hope he gets better soon. Pictures of the house to follow this week.

Good Morning

GO GATORS!

Santa's Two Front Teeth . . .

So, I changed the blog background in an attempt to be festive. I just noticed that Connor has more teeth than this Santa! I may have to look for a new background. Connor is sleeping 50/50. Last night - not so good - the night before - he slept all night. So, we will see how tonight goes. . . Colin is running in the Jingle Bell 5K tomorrow morning - the forecast is for snow! I know - we live in Alabama - but we do occasionally get snow. In 1993 we got 13 inches! We were out of school for over a week. There were even t-shirts printed saying "I survived the blizzard of '93". When we got 20 plus inches of snow in Baltimore my boss was shocked that I couldn't/ wouldn't drive into work. I used to joke that Birmingham only had one snow plow for the entire state. That MAY not be true - I don't know - but I do know I have NEVER seen a snow plow in Alabama (not even on the news)!

First Ear Infection

I feel pretty lucky that we have gone nearly 16 months before our first "sick visit" to the doctor. Well, today that streak ended. Connor has his first ear infection and thus his first dose of antibiotics. Poor little guy. Lets hope he sleeps better than he did last night (which after 11pm was not at all).