Highlights of the Season

This picture was taken a few days before Christmas, but it encompasses what we felt this holiday season. In one word: joy. We have had so much joy this past year, and really in the past few days especially with our families. It would be impossible to post every single picture (though I tried to on facebook) from our Christmas season. Here are some highlights:

1. Christmas Eve Eve: We spent the night at Dad's and were able to hang out with Cody, Heather, Austin, and Gavin. It was so fun to see Sam and Gavin hang out. Gavin is 2 months older than Sam, but they're both finally at the age of playing with each other. They were so cute. You could tell they wanted to play and they would just run up to each other and grin. So fun! It was also fun getting to hang out with just them. No big crowds of people around or busy schedules to have to fulfill. We should do that more often.

2. Christmas Eve morning: Stacey, Chris, and the kids got in after we had all gone to bed so when the kids woke up we were all there. When Jake woke up, Sam crawled right up on top of him and sat on his lap and watched cartoons with him. Jake didn't know what to think of that! Especially since he had just woken up and was still a little groggy.

3. Christmas Eve day: Santa coming to see the kids. Sam hated it. He's not a fan of Santa. At. All. But now I can add a picture of the crying baby with Santa to my repetoire. I'm officially in the parent club now. All in all, we had a blast at Dad's just hanging out and visiting. Very much needed. And again, we need to do that more often.

4. Christmas Eve day Part 2: Going to Jared's mom's house. Sam getting to experience a trampoline for the first time. LOVED IT! He also knew what to do with presents by this point so when Jared's brother brought in a box of gifts, he went straight to them and started unloading them!

5. Christmas Eve night: The Bailey Family Christmas. For those of you who don't know, we last counted 71 members of this elite club. And there's 2 more coming! It's crazy, but fun! Sam loved it for the most part, but had to go to bed....it had been a long day for him! That night as we drove home we stopped by Pine Forest Baptist Church for their dancing light show. So neat to see the twinkle in Sam's eyes as he pointed out "light" and "star". Last year he slept right through the show.

6. Christmas morning: Sam waking up and seeing his basketball goal. He spoke his first sentence: "More balls". This kid loves playing with anything that looks like a ball. I can tell sports is in his future. What was so cool was that he got books too, and wanted to sit and read all of them with me. So he'll be a smart athlete!

7. Christmas day: Mom and Mel came over and we opened up presents from them. They do love to spoil that Sam! We were so grateful for the things that they got him, but so was he! He had a blast coloring on his art easel....after he realized that it was for coloring and not just crawling through! Mel and Sam also had a great time wrestling in the ball pit that Debbie got for Sam! All fun gifts that he will love!

8. Christmas evening: We finished out the day with decorating our gingerbread house...what a mess! It was so funny! As soon as Jared put the first sliver of icing, Sam's immediate reaction was to grab and eat it! He loved that icing! I'm surprised that he actually went to sleep at all last night! It was tough knowing that he was eating things that weren't the best for him, but it's Christmas and I don't want to be one of those over controlling moms who doesn't let their kid have any fun, so I just took a deep breath and told myself "It's Christmas. We'll get back to normal next week." I was super proud of Sam for eating ham. He's such a picky eater these days. But two days in a row now, he's had ham and mashed pototoes and gravy. WooHoo...a normal meal!

It was such a great time for us to spend with our families. I'm reminded of how blessed we are and how much people love our little man! We truly are blessed to be a blessing...and it was fun to be able to bless other people! So those are some of the highlights...there were many more, but those are some that stuck out. And today, Sam said another sentence! "Mama, more!" And to think, I was worried for nothing. :)