A Christmas to Remember

Hello Santa.......you are scary! After traumatizing Connor with a visit to see the man in red we thought it was only fitting to reward him with a visit to see the Mouse with red shorts. My family has made our annual Christmas voyage to Disney World for over 15 years. It is a tradition that is very important for us to keep. No matter how down you are, nothing brings you up better than a stroll down Main Street USA, especially bedazzled with Christmas ornamentation. This trip was especially fun because Connor really took it all in. He wanted to touch the big bouquets of balloons, and catch the "snow" falling from the air. He's still not sure about other dressed up characters, but he loved the rides. He very desperately wanted to ride the Race Cars on the Speedway but came up about 1/2 inch too short. We couldn't believe how close he was to the 32" mark. He is one tall boy for 14 months old. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day either, and it was just the icing on the cake.




Of course we took in the great lights at Hollywood Studios, and we ended our Disney adventure at Ohana which has now become another tradition. Every time we go I tell myself to take my time with the food, but then I just rush forward and eat until my heart is content. Each item they bring out seems to be more tasty than the last. Then one tends to go back for seconds, thirds, and sometimes fourths. Add to the list the dessert and you leave popping a button. Little Connor slept through the whole thing, even with our raucous laughter, the baby was content.

Christmas Eve was spent at our house again this year with a yummy roast and other fixings. I didn't decorate much this year because Connor has the innate ability to make anything into a toy. I figured if the tree was up and decorated, what else did we need? It was nice putting the table together to entertain for the evening. We watched Elf and then made our way to the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at church. Connor wore his first tie, and I cannot get over what a big boy he is turning into. Again he found dreamland during the service, and we didn't have to worry about him burning down the building with lit candles.



Mommy and Daddy were very excited for this Christmas with Connor. Last year was special and he responded to the presents, but this year took on an entire new phase of gift opening. His squeals of delight, laughter, and facial expressions will forever remain in my heart. The little boy was on cloud nine!! His big gift waiting by the tree this year was a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe, complete with trailer. He could not contain his excitement! He knew just what to do to, and opened the door, got himself in, closed the door behind him and started turning the steering wheel back and forth. It was the most satisfying experience as a mother to watch him thoroughly enjoy himself. This is how a child gets spoiled. I love giving him things he truly appreciates. Luckily, he is far from being Veruca Salt. He was certainly on the Nice list this year. Santa brought him plenty of things that roll, especially cars and trucks which are his favorite right now.



This year we finally had our first taste of Monkey Bread, and boy was it good. I know, I know, who hasn't had monkey bread? Well, the people in this family could certainly raise their hand up until Christmas morning. I think it will be a Christmas staple, and a birthday staple, and an anniversary staple, and a fourth Saturday of the month staple (wait is that tomorrow)....etc


Christmas morning at Grandma Glenda's house was just as special. With getting his very own motorized Lightning McQueen, to his own Alarm Key Chain, each gift was an adventure. I will have to post the video Connor cracking up pushing buttons on his keys. It had the whole house laughing. He truly is a constant source of joy, and we are in such awe of him. I don't understand the people who aren't as thrilled with him as we are, but then again we are a little biased. Three days before Christmas marked the 3 month anniversary of Dad's accident. Some days are much harder than other days, but I can say that Connor is a constant reminder to "Keep moving forward". On the tough days I can almost hear dad saying come on Kristin, pull it together. He was very tender towards me though, and I know he would have wanted to be here with us to enjoy this Christmas like we did. I know though that he had a much better Christmas than we could ever imagine, but it doesn't make me miss him any less. I'm looking forward to a 2012 that holds more Joy and Laughter than Heartache and Tears. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Holiday Rush

It has been nearly a month since my last update. So much has been going on and we are constantly in the middle of something. Almost every day of December has a marking on our calendar. I really have to take the time to remember to slow down and enjoy the time we have with each other even if we are busy.

Thanksgiving was beautiful. We spent it at Grandma Glenda's and everything that we ate was absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious. You know how some years the casseroles are a little off, well we didn't have that problem this year. Everything was great. We spent it with loved ones, and it was very bitter sweet. I didn't have my "dad talk" that day, and it was just another reminder of how much I miss him. Connor spent the morning playing quarterback at Tim's annual Turkey Bowl, and then the Fisher's joined us for our supper at mom's. It was very memorable. We spent Black Friday taking our Christmas pictures, and I have to say my friend Anthony did an incredible job. We had fun, that's for sure!

December has been Christmas non-stop. With Kaitlyn being in the pageant at First Baptist of Ft. Lauderdale, and I running rehearsals for our Holiday Program at school, I feel a little Holi-dazed. We are never sure when we are going to get a free moment, and in a way that has been good. I can see why people get lonely around this time of year, but with our flurry of activity I keep my mind occupied.

Connor is growing daily. He loves to say vroom vroom when he is playing with his cars, and he has actually mastered dribbling a soccer ball with his feet as he walks (much to Tim's chagrin). He is enamored with animals even if they don't want him near them. He's been scratched a few times by Kaitlyn's kitten, and yet he keeps going back for more. I guess he'll learn one day. For our child that has still not mastered sleeping through the night, this week we've had a few gains. We had two nights where we only had to get up with him once, and we were able to put him back in his crib. He then woke up at 5am, but Hallelujah, it was amazing. I think we have forgotten what sleep is, and some days we still walk around like Zombies. He has a favorite book now too that he likes to open up and point at the pictures. He says his vroom vrooms when he sees the cars on the page, he holds his hand up to his ear when he sees the picture of the phone, and he kisses the big kitten page. Oh how I love those kisses. When he blows them, he starts with a great big build up of "mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (wait for it)mmmmm-uah". Solid foods have been interesting for us and he tends to stick with Mac and Cheese, and chicken nuggets. I know that is what he will eat. Everything else is a crap shoot and most of the time ends up all over him, the floor, and Roxy's mouth. Oh yes, he feeds Roxy straight from his high chair. He thinks it's hysterical. We now have to put Roxy away during dinner time. We had a bout the past few weeks of Connor having separation anxiety as we dropped him off in the nursery during church. It was terrible, I've never seen him so upset. He starts screaming before you even get to the door. I have to say it's one of the most heart wrenching things to have to do. I think we may be getting over the hump, but we will see once we get back after our Holiday traveling.

Traveling? Oh yes, we are heading to our Happy Place. Maybe this time Connor will like the characters. I won't bet on it though. After his meltdown with Santa, it might be a while before he is ready for big characters that don't look like normal people. We were so excited to get his picture taken with Santa, and our little man had other plans. He was not very happy being placed in a stranger's lap, and certainly one that doesn't look like someone he might know. The Santa was very nice though, and told me Connor was doing the right thing. He said it's what I would want my baby to do if a stranger was taking him, and how was this any different. Oh sweet Santa. My little boy has been very good this year!

Life's a Zoo

“There's no limit to how much you'll know, depending how far beyond zebra you go.” ~Dr. Suess

Boy do I love a three day weekend! Any time we have to spend together as a family is priceless to us. We woke up Friday morning and embarked on a journey that kept us outside until after sundown. Our first stop was for sticky buns and milkshakes at Knaus. Those friendly Amish farmers to our south truly know what they are doing. We stood in line for 30 minutes just to get our fingers sticky with yummy goodness. Connor enjoyed each bite, and wanted more milkshake than we were willing to share! Their milkshake brings our boy to their farm. (Oh I said it!)
From there we headed to meet our friends at Miami Metro Zoo. I'm not sure what more visitors were watching, the animals, or our crew. We were a sight, and the kids were a hoot. Connor isn't quite in the baby world, and not quite in the big kids world, and toddles around in between the two. We enjoyed the time we all spent together. I am constantly in awe of how long we have known each other, and how much we have all grown up together. I still remember the sleepovers and the adventures, and now it will be fun to watch our little ones grow together. Now the real question is who is going to start dating who first and how much toilet paper are we going to have to clean up from our front yard as adults!
Our little boy really had so much fun!!! We gave him the freedom to run around and be silly, and he even got to feed the giraffe. Our huge giraffe friend seemed disinterested after a few moments of his noshing with us, and I had to have a little talk with him. Let's just say he answered to "Geoffrey".


Day number two of our wonderfully long weekend consisted of finally building Connor's big birthday present! Our friends/neighbors lent us a hand and Robert and Tim worked all day to build our great swing set. Connor and I spent all day in the yard watching and playing. Our little C-dog loved being outside and came up with all sorts of new ways to express himself. He loves to be "silly" and even has the most adorable "silly" face. Eyes up to the side, mouth open in a giggle, and head bobbing, and we know we are "Being Silly". It is my new favorite. He's also trying to express himself with new syllables, and we have been hearing "kopey kopey gopey gopey" a lot recently. Who knows what he's saying, but I'm sure he's creating his dissertation.


All done and Connor is ready to slide. He knew just how to climb up the ladder all by himself and sit right down to slide. He does it over and over again and is just smitten with his big boy swingset. Now we have to teach him how to climb the rock wall....no biggie.

Virginia is for Lovers

Dogwoods blooming in the springtime
Blazing colors in the fall
The softness of a summer twilight
Sweet honeysuckle fills the air
My heart will always lead me there

Mother to our Founding Fathers
Birthplace of Democracy
Your fields bear scars of raging battles
Witnessed the fight to set men free
The triumph of equality

~Virginia by Lynn Klotz Rinker

I couldn't wait to get up into the mountains. I couldn't wait to see the beautiful fall colors. I couldn't wait to breathe the crisp fresh air. I couldn't wait to see Casey, Hilary, and the Bakewell's. Now I can't wait to go back. The flight up couldn't have been any better, and Connor even got to have his own seat. His face on landing was priceless, and he seemed to love every minute of this flying experience.

It was a bittersweet trip, and we thought of daddy many times. Our last fall LU trip was to celebrate his 60th birthday, and when planning this trip, he was planning on being there. It became very important to try and recapture one of my favorite pictures from the previous trip and we went on a wild goose chase to find the right street. All we could remember is that when we had passed it the first time we had all gasped and dad quickly parked the truck on the side of the wet road so we could jump out and snap a shot. Above is what we got this year. I think it was even more beautiful on the previous trip, and it makes me happy to think we all got to experience the beauty in all of it's glory together.
Uncle Casey is now in the process of getting his Master's, and to many freshmen he is known as Mr. Guise. He holds a GA position and I couldn't wait to see his little cubicle, and then even more thrilled to see that Hilary's cubicle is caddy-corner to his. I am so proud of both of their hard work, and I would have loved to be lucky enough to take a class with them as my "teacher". Those kids don't know how great they have it. The school has grown so much and there were times I was amazed at some of the changes. It's huge, offices have moved, and maybe we were a little lost. Way to go Liberty!


Of course we spent time out in the beautiful fall weather, and I tried to get as much of it on film as possible. Connor wasn't thrilled with sleeves on this trip and we found it difficult to even put a jacket on him. What a funny little guy. We would put him in a long sleeved shirt and he would hold out his wrists and look at us and moan. One thing he did love was his Uncle Casey. He couldn't get enough of him and lavished hugs and kisses on him. It is so precious to see the bond they have, and I am grateful for it. A young boy cannot have enough strong, loving, Christian men in his life.
While we were there we got to see a theatre production. This was my first ever show in the new Tower Theater and I was in awe. Little Shop of Horrors was wonderful and the whole complex is enviable. No raked stage for them. Real rehearsal rooms. A costume shop with sewing machines. I was amazed. Again, those freshmen have no idea how great they have it. Way to go Liberty!


Fall and Football always go hand in hand, and really was a main reason we went up at this time. We met up with the Aunt Merilee and Cousins Megan and Lindsey for a wonderful afternoon of football fun. I was so excited to spend time with them, and Tim couldn't be any happier to get in a game of Liberty Football. To make it even better we won! I love spending time with my Bakewell family, and they got a baby fix. Aunt Merilee even got to hold a sleeping Connor for a little while. Now it's Megan or Lindsey's turn!

Just to add one more gold star to this weekend my dear Hilary put together a little play date with some of our LU Theatre friends. It is amazing that our little ones are all within about 6 weeks of each other. It was too much fun seeing them together, and even more fun for us girls to talk. I found it so interesting to see how quiet Connor got when he was around the other two. I've never seen him like that. It took him a little while to warm up, but after they all got together pounding out a beautiful melody on the piano, Connor felt better about everything and started to act like himself. I took lots of pictures of the playing and we have great video of the giggles. I felt like I already knew these two beautiful babies, but it was so heartwarming to get to know them in person. Rhett is such a character, and his joy is contagious. Bea is so feminine and dainty, and seems just so self-assured you just stare in awe. When they started running after each other squealing down the hall my heart just felt so content.

This trip seemed like it was over too quickly. I wasn't ready to leave. I needed more time to enjoy the happiness I felt while I was there. Every moment we spent there was so full. We didn't know when we booked it, but I needed this trip. It was just what the Lord knew I would need. It is a reminder of what Fall represents, but there is hope in knowing that Spring will come. There is so much I could write about this wonderful weekend. We laughed and cried. We saw beauty all around us, and that includes in the eyes of our loved ones. Many new memories were made, and maybe the most memorable would have to be Connor's first kiss.
Now how precious is that?