Happy New Year's Eve!
Day 61: Babinec Family Celebration (12/31)
Day 59: The Morris Family Visits (12/29)
Every year after Christmas, the Morris family heads to Oklahoma. Sometimes all four members are able to make it and sometimes not. Sometimes, Shae's fiance makes the drive down and other times friends are brought along. This year Libby came to Oklahoma with the entire family.
We have come to have traditions when the Morris family comes to Oklahoma. Here are my favorites:
> official dinner- every night there has to be some kind of good food and it has to be official there is no messing when it comes to dinner and food
> pedicures with the girls - sometimes separate sometimes together but it always happens!
> shopping
> movies
> golfing
> alcoholic beverages
> onion dip and wavy chips
> Champions of the World - men verse women in Aggravation and Yuker
> float the river {obviously only in the summer}
I always enjoy when they come to visit and I feel as if I missed all the good times this year because of my stupid intersession class.
Thank you for coming every year Morris family. I love it so much!!
Day 58: Christmas Gifts (12/28)
Just wanted to make note of what Rennie and I got each other for Christmas 2011. Rennie got me a new black Coach purse. I got Rennie a wine area/shelves; he even put it together himself. It looks great in the kitchen.
Day 57: Breakfast with Daddy (12/27)
Gavin is just at the age, when we doesn't quite want the booster set and more but won't sit still when eating. This morning we went to Denny's for breakfast and Gavin chose to sit next to Daddy.
When our food came, Rennie made some comment about scooting over so that he could use his fork to Gavin. So Gavin decided that meant scoot even closer to his Daddy and moved his drink and plate so that it almost touched Rennie.
It was so cute, I had to take a picture to remember the moment. Rennie is literally on the edge of the table and booth!
Gavin is eating his most favorite meal, breakfast of eggs, sauce {sausage}, pancake. He ate all those eggs, most of the sausage and couple of bits of pancake. He also drank his first fruit smoothy and loved it!
Day 56: A Jumpy Jump (12/26)
I honestly don't know who is crazy, my mom and dad or better yet Nana and PopPop or Rennie and I! We are so lucky to have such wonderful family members in our life. Gavin is so blessed by both sides of the family but sometimes I ask myself {in a very good way and with a smile of my face!} "What were they thinking?!" First, Susan and Brian started Christmas with a wonderful drum set and then my mom and dad topped it off with a mini-trampoline {which in our house is called a jumpy jump.}
Then to top it off Rennie and I decided to set it up in the extra bedroom for the winter!! We set it up without Gavin knowing what we were doing and then had him close his eyes and be surprised when he saw it. Check out the video at the bottom of the my post.
However, now whenever Gavin wants to jump he also wants to re-enact the surprise part of the gift. He will now call us over and put his hands over his eyes and stand in front of the door and then say, "Surprise!" He has done it everyday without fail!
Day 55: Merry Christmas! (12/25)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Santa Claus came to our house last night!!
He brought a city train set. It was so fun to see Gavin's expression when he saw what Santa brought him. After, that we headed to Stroud to spend some Christmas time with my family. Nana and PopPop bought Gavin a mini-trampoline!! There will be a blog post coming with video about this gift. We decided to set up the trampoline in the extra bedroom! BEST PARENTS EVER?! I think so...
Day 54: Christmas Eve (12/24)
Today we spent the day with Susan, Brian, Ryan and Taylor {Rennie's family} and had dinner and opened presents. Our own little Nickell family Christmas. Mese and B.R. got Gavin a drum set! I hate to say it but I love it! He does so well and enjoys it so much. It's great that he is exposed to such great stuff at a young age. I kinda hope that he picks it up as a life long hobby. It would be so fun to watch him play in a band.
What a great gift idea, Mese and B.R.!
Right before he starts playing, he'll tap his sticks together and say, "One, two, eight, GO!"
Day 53: Ryan and Taylor get ENGAGED! (12/23)
Ryan {my brother-in-law} proposed to his girlfriend, Taylor tonight!
We were invited to participate in the proposal at the Chickasaw Christmas Lights. It was beautifully planned and I teared up! What girl wouldn't?!
Ryan walked Taylor across a lake on a bridge filled with Christmas lights and up to a Christmas light covered gazebo. At the gazebo, family and friends held candles and watched as Ryan proposed to Taylor. She said yes!
The picture of Taylor was stolen off the facebook from one of her friends. I was way to busy watching to worry about taking pictures. I did however manage to take two of Gavin holding a real, lighted candle before Taylor and Ryan arrived!!
Congratulations to Ryan and Taylor!!
Day 52: Puppy Chow (12/22)
Love making Christmas time snacks. This is one of Rennie's favorites and probably became one of Gavin's today as well!
Day 51: Addicted to Pinterest (12/21)
I was sick all day today. Like literally didn't get out of bed until 1o'clock only to make it to the living room to fall asleep again. I played on my phone most of the day and spent a majority of it on Pinterest. It's a great website that people pin ideas on all sorts of things. I took screen shots all day so that I could remember some of my favorites. These are only four of many...
PS I made the cinnamon rolls in the waffles maker and they were a hit in my house. I didn't eat them, still sick but definitely be doing it again!!
Day 50: Finished Christmas Shopping (12/20)
When Rennie and I got married our traditions had to become one. We needed to take the things that we did with our own families and mold it into what works for Rennie, me and now Gavin. It's difficult because we are both compromising and changing the ways we did things in the past. However, I think that we did well when it comes to Christmas traditions at the Nickell house.
On Christmas Eve, we eat dinner with Rennie's mom and family. The three of us come back to our house and open gifts from each other. Rennie gets things for me and I for him and then as Mommy and Daddy we get gift for Gavin which he opens Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, Santa comes and brings one or two really neat gift(s). When we are ready to move around, we get dressed and head to my Mom and Dad's house for Christmas dinner.
It's not exactly how I did Christmas when I was younger and not exactly Rennie's traditions either but it's comprise and it works perfectly for us.
So my picture is my Christmas tree with gifts under the tree for Mommy, Daddy and Gavin {plus family gifts that haven't gone out yet.} We are finally done Christmas shopping! YEA!!
Day 48: Day with the Babinecs (12/18)
I am horrible! No pictures were taken at the party but afterwards the kids took a bath in Grandma's jacuzzi and I had to take a picture.
There has to be pictures of us in Grandma's jacuzzi floating around somewhere when we were younger, probably this age!
Day 46: Traveling in the Car (12/16)
I literally read all the way to Indy. Three Reader's Digest and probably eight Sports Illustrated. I found this little joke in a Reader's Digest and it made me laugh out loud. I even sent it to my mom!
Day 45: Book: Plague (12/15)
This is the fourth book of the GONE series by Michael Grant. I have really enjoyed the books and wanted to say a young adult book if you may be interested. Fortunately the series isn't over, I think there will be two more books. Unfortunately, those books haven't been published yet, so now I just wait.
Day 43: Prof. Development on Christmas Break... (12/13)
Even though school is out for the teachers, the media specialists {fancy words for librarian} are contracted until this Thursday. So from Monday until Thursday, I am either working in my library or participating in professional development. I am doing this knowing that Rennie and Gavin are at home and I'm not... how exciting!
Day 42: Remembering Grandpa (12/12)
We were cleaning the garage and found a stack of pictures. This was one of them. Gavin is 18 days old.
I miss Grandpa.
Day 41: Chirstmas Card Pictures (12/11)
We were taking pictures for our yearly Christmas card and these were ones that didn't make the cut but I couldn't let them go to waste. I wanted to share some of my favorites. I took about 40 pictures because you never know what face Gavin is going to show or what he's going to do. :)
Day 39: Christmas Lights (12/9)
Tonight we went to the Holiday Light Spectacular in Del City. Gavin loved every moment! All he said the entire time, "Look Daddy/Momma, Christmas Lights!" The lights are with themed Christmas music on the radio and we drive through the city part for about a mile took us about 10 minutes. There were all sorts of scenes and light shows. It was a cheap and fun way to spend Friday night.
This age is so much fun! The discovering and knowing what's going on and happening. Last year we went through and at one year old Gavin could have cared less. This year he talked and pointed things out and screamed with excitement. I love being a Mommy.
Day 38: Advent Calendar (12/8)
This year instead of a chocolate Advent calendar with the little doors, Nana and PopPop found this Advent calendar in which you put sticks on each day to finish the Nativity scene.
It's super cute and Gavin loves to put the stickers on the picture. He always counts the empty spaces when we put a new sticker on. He looks forward to putting the stickers on.
I have a hard time just giving him the sticker and showing him the white outline of where it's supposed to go. I let him put the sticker down all by himself. Sometimes it's not turned the right way or in the exact spot but he gets really close. I am trying real hard not to be OCD about it because he is proud of himself when he put it down. :)
Today we put down the palm tree. If you notice in the picture it is turned sideways. I was going to let it go... but Gavin noticed it and pulled the palm tree up and fixed it so it was standing straight up! I was so proud; first that he noticed it and second he knew how to fix it!
Not only are we counting down to Christmas but the Advent is its own little mini lesson.
Thanks Nana and PopPop.
Day 37: True Life Fortune (12/7)
Without going into any details {because some things just do not need to be on the internet} this fortune was in my cookie today. It's kinda spooky when things like this happen but my fortune will be followed.
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