Christmas

"All my mom wants for Christmas is a Silent Night" is what Landon's shirt read Christmas Eve, and he fullflilled my wish; however, at 3:15 am I heard Lofton saying, "I hear something." I went in Lofton's room and he shot up and told me that he heard Santa. He desperately wanted to get up, but I told him that Santa hadn't come yet, so about an hour and a half later, Lofton finally fell back to sleep. Landon slept until 5:45, but fortunately, Phillip and my parents took him. I got to go back to bed until 7am when Lofton woke up again. Lofton ran in the living room and started ripping open packages. It took awhile, but he finally noticed that Santa had eaten all but one half of a cookie, so Lofton ate it while opening presents. Lofton loved all of his things, and Landon loved eating the wrapping paper. It was such a fun morning. Phillip of course made cinnamon rolls and shortly after he made a huge brunch. Unfortunately, Mimi and Pop Pop had to leave Christmas morning, but not before Pop Pop put together some toys and hung up my new picture frames. After they left, we spent the morning just playing games and playing with all of the boys' toys. Ann and her mom came over around 2:00 for a visit, and Ann gave Lofton a card with money. When he opened it, he said, "Look! We can go get MORE presents;" he catches on quickly. When Ann left, we loaded up and headed for Grandfather's house. Lofton and Landon both slept on the way there, and Lofton even slept for about another hour once we got there. Grandfather and Lofton played, and AGAIN, Lofton opened presents. Christmas was so magical this year; I hate for it to be over, but of course, I have already taken down all signs of the holiday; I can't stand it a minute after Christmas. Lofton was sad to see it be put up, but he said, "Now, is it time for Halloween?"

Twas the Night Before Christmas

On Christmas Eve, we hosted the McConnell Christmas party. Everyone came over around 1pm for lunch and of course, Lofton's favorite- presents. Before everyone arrived, Lofton was exhausted and in need of a nap, but as soon as Grandfather came in, and Lofton realized the fun in store,and he got his second wind. In fact, he got a third and fourth too, because I couldn't hardly get him to bed. (If I did not play the Santa card, I don't know when he would've wound down.) But, back to the party... it was crazy but fun. We can't even imagine what next year holds for us; all five cousins will be walking around! This year, Maggie Leigh and Lofton were the only two walking around, and they had fun; Lofton especially loved knocking sleeping Grandfather's hat off of his head and hiding and leaving Maggie to stand there looking guilty. However, Maggie never got caught, Grandfather did not even know what was going on, and he did not know until I told him the next day. It was a whirlwind for him and everyone else.

After most everyone left, Lofton made cookies for Santa. He had so much fun licking the rolling pin and eating dough. After the baking was done, we put out reindeer dust for Rudolph, and then we slowly started winding down for bed. I had to read about six books and tell him a couple of stories, but he finally fell asleep in anticipation that Santa would come soon.

Class Christmas Party

Lofton's much anticipated class Christmas party was on December 14th. Mrs. Teri pulled out all the stops with her Polar Express themed party. Lofton and his class enjoyed making gingerbread trains, visiting with Santa, eating lots of sweets, and of course, opening gifts. Landon also enjoyed the fun; he devoured a cookie.

You Gotta Love the South

There is nothing greater than playing outside all day in 70 degree weather in December. On December 11, we enjoyed a day of fun in the sun. Lofton, Landon, and I went outside around 9:30 am, and we did not call it a day until dark. Lofton and his friends went non stop with the exception of a break for a picnic. It was great!

Happy Birthday, Momma

For my 31st birthday, Phillip and the boys took me to Kabuto Japanese Steak House for dinner. Surprisingly, it was a relaxing dinner because the boys were entertained the entire time. Lofton really enjoyed the experience; he used his chopsticks to eat french fries. What a memory!

Playing Dress Up

Recently, Ella spent a Saturday afternoon with us, and she and Lofton played really well together. In fact, they played well with Landon, too. Ella and Lofton decided to play dress up, and midway through the action, Ella suggested dressing Landon up. So, I put Landon in his Santa costume. There is one picture of Ella in reindeer antlers with Landon as Santa and Lofton as Spiderman. Ella told Lofton that since he wasn't dressed for Christmas that he couldn't be in the picture, but I suggested that Lofton was a toy to be delivered to a good boy, and she said, "That's a great idea, Carmen." It was such a fun afternoon of dressing as Batman, Buzz Lightyear, Spiderman, a train conductor, and Santa that Ella suggested that the next time they play dress up at her house, and she told Lofton that he could "dress up in her princess dresses."

Some Serious Skating

On December 2nd, Lofton went to his first skating party. Our neighbor, Presley Green, had her 15th birthday party at the skating rink, and Lofton loved it. He did have fun skating or being pulled around the rink rather, but even more, he loved chasing Presley and her friends around the rink with his tennis shoes on. It was a fun night.

Keep Checking

Hey everyone! Unfortunately, I have not been able to post anything lately because our Internet at home is down. Hopefully, things will slow down for Phillip, and he will get it working soon. A lot has been going on lately. Landon turned eight months old yesterday; I can't believe how quickly he is growing up; I'll be planning his birthday party soon. For those of you who are wandering, he is going for his second eye appointment at Vanderbilt in January. At this appointment we should know when his surgery will be. I feel much better about the situation though; we went for a second opinion, and this doctor explained things better, and I left feeling much better. I have also talked to a few parents of students who have gone through the same ordeal.

I have so many things to post; Lofton went skating for the first time recently; we had a picnic in December because it was 70 degrees, and I just have some cute pics to post, so keep checking my blog. Merry Christmas!

Here Comes Santa Clause

Saturday night after the parade, Phillip and I took the boys to Opryland Hotel to see Santa. Lofton was so excited. He got to tell Santa what he wants, which is apparently a big red Transformer. As you can see the picture that I took did not turn out too well, but I bought two great ones, and if things work out like I plan, one of them will be our Christmas card.

Christmas Parade

Saturday, December 1st was the Christmas parade in White House. Lofton had so much fun gathering candy off of the street; Well, he did not get to eat his candy, but thanks to Randy Griffin, he thoroughly enjoyed his blue cotton candy, and from the looks of this picture, Jude enjoyed it a bit more.

Trimming the Tree

This past week, Phillip pulled out the tree and Lofton and I decorated it. Lofton had so much fun playing with his ornaments, and Landon loved the lights. Lofton kept thinking me for his ornaments and when I told him that some were from Nana, Mimi, and Pop Pop, he said, "Thank you, guys." So, you got credit again this year for your ornaments, since he forgot them from last year.

Thanksgiving

What a Thanksgiving! We planned on leaving for Columbus on Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but Landon woke up from a nap the day of his surgery with a terrible cough and high fever, so we stuck around to see if he'd feel better on Wednesday, and when he was still miserable I took him to see Dr. Keith. Dr. Keith said that Landon had croup, and he gave him a steriod to break up the cough. He said that we could travel, but that it might be a miserable experience; however, Landon actually slept most of the car ride. Our time in Ohio was great- Thanksgiving dinner, shopping, spending time with family including Uncle Dustin, and sleeping in while Mimi and Pop Pop watched the boys. While our weekend was great, it ended on a bad note.

My back hurt the entire weekend, which is nothing new, but I woke up on Sunday morning and could not walk. This is not an exaggeration; I literally had to pick my leg up to get in the van (Roanna's) to go home. I have never been in this much pain, and I have had two kids. I don't know how my mom and dad have survived all of their back troubles. BUT... I am doing well now. Dr. Woosely is a miracle worker. When I crawled in to his office on Monday, he asked me to rate my pain on a scale of 1-10; I said, "Put it this way, I knew that you were at the Westin in Cincinnatti with the Titans and I about tracked you down. " He popped (adjusted as he puts it) and I am now standing in an upright position. I am still sore, and I am still creeping around, but I am much better. So, as I count my blessings this Thanksgiving, I thank God that I can walk again, and that Landon is sleeping in his bed. (Because sitting up with Landon for four nights is what got me out of alignment)

Landon is 7 months old

It is hard to believe, but on Sunday, Landon turned seven months. He is growing up so quickly. He has eight teeth and two more are popping through. He is like a little puppy; he chews on everything. Lofton loves Landon so much, and Landon thinks Lofton is the greatest. Lofton spent kast weekend with Mimi and Pop Pop, and when Lofton got home, Landon would cry when Lofton would leave the room. He obviously missed his big brother. I can't wait until they can play together; in fact, the other day I made a comment that Landon was getting so big, and Lofton said, "Hey, baby brother, do you wanna play cars?" I am always telling Lofton that when Landon gets big they will play all the time, so Lofton thought Landon was good to go. But, they'll be playing before I know it.

Landon had surgery today. He got tubes in his ears, and everything went well. He woke up at 5:00am and was a little ticked that I wouldn't give him a bottle, but my mom bounced him back to sleep. He fussed a lot of the way to Centennial before crashing in the car. Then when we got there, I figured it would be a long hour before the actual surgery, but there was so much going on that he stayed pretty entertained. After surgery, he sucked down a 7 oz. bottle and fell asleep. We stayed in recovery about thirty minutes, and then we came home, and things have been pretty much back to normal. He is a trooper.

CMAs

As you can see, Amy and I had a great time at the CMAs. One of our tickets fell through at the last minute and Phillip got us All Access passes. We were however, given orders not to go in the green room, or we would have. However, regardless of restriction to the green room, we still took full advantange of our passes and scored this pic with Kenny Chesney. Amy was incognito all night snapping pictures with her cell phone, but when we were about to leave, something came over her and I heard her say, "Would it be totally rude to ask you for a picture?" And the next thing I knew Kenny Chesney was standing between us. When he left, I started laughing and Amy said, "I mean I'll be a little rude, but I did not want to ruin his night." It was worth any embarrassment. (There are two more pics on Amy's blog (awkgriffin.blogspot.com) of us and Brad Paisley, well, of Brad Paisely in the distant background. )

Trick or Treat

This year Halloween was so fun because Lofton was so in to all of it. In fact, he was so in to it, that he insisted Phillip and me dress up. So, we did our best. Phillip dressed as the Penguin from Batman, and I tried my best to be Batgirl. Luckily, Batman and Robin helped us pull off our look. After snapping a few pics, we went trick or treating before Aunt He He ("the devil") put Landon down for his "evening nap", which lasted from 7pm until 4am. Somehow Landon slept through the excitement, but Lofton did not miss a beat. Lofton had fun trick or treating, but he really loved talking to all of the trick or treaters, and he had a blast at Presley's (Wonder Woman) party. Jude (Captain Hook), Lofton, and Ella (Tinkerbell) had a lot of fun dancing and eating at the party. Nana and Oreo came to join the fun as well. Phillip of course, had as much fun as the kids. When we came home from school, Phillip was hanging a gigantic skeleton at our front door, and besides dressing as the Penguin, he put on Nana's mask and enjoyed scaring the trick or treaters. It was a fun time, and Lofton is already talking about next year!

Trunk or Treat

Tonight was trunk or treat at church. Our little Batman and Robin had a great time. Lofton loved looking in his bag to see what he got, and Landon was screaming like crazy from all of the excitement. (Landon loves to hear himself scream!) Phillip decorated our trunk with dry ice, a jack-o-lantern, and a scary mask. He had as much fun as the kids.

"My Little Girl"

Today, I started going through my winter clothes, and Lofton decided to help me. He also decided to put on one of my sweaters, which looks like a dress on him.

Ghouls at Grassmere

We had a great time at Ghouls at Grassmere last night with our friends the Griffins, Nesbitts, and the Spencers. This year Lofton aka Batman has really gotten in to Halloween and all that it entails, especially the ghosts. He couldn't wait to go on the hayride to see all of the "scary monsters". Landon aka Robin and I spent some of the time in the zoo's cafeteria to get out of the cold, which for those of you who know me it was great for me, but I missed seeing Lofton scream at the monsters. Phillip said that on the carosel he would yell, "Batman" at a particular monster.

New Adventures

Well, I am leaping into the age of technology, and I am attempting to create a blog page. We'll see how it goes. I am either going to get extremely addicted to this, or I am going to just feel like it is something else on my "to do list." However, I am excited about this new adventure as well as my new pumpkin decorating adventure. In all my 31 years, I have only watched my dad and Phillip carve pumpkins, and last year I did let Lofton use markers and stickers to decorate a pumpkin. But, I have come a long way. Lofton's teacher, Terri Davidson, sent home a note explaining that they were having a Great Pumpkin Contest and that each student was to decorate a pumpkin with his/her family. Of course, I immediately stressed out and sought help from my creative friend Amy. We searched the web and came up with some simple yet cute ideas, but when I ran them by Lofton he said, "No, I don't want that; I want Batman." So, reluctantly I tapped the creative side of my brain and attempted to decorate a pumpkin to look like Batman. You decide for yourself. Is there any resemblance?