All I want for Christmas...

Well, this explains Jackson's recent fussiness and sleeplessness.

I was not expecting this to happen so soon. Eliza didn't get teeth until she was 8 months old. Jackson is only 5 1/2 months! Although, he has the body of a 12 month old so maybe that explains it. Baby Tylenol...I don't know what we'd do without it.

Merry Christmas

We had a very nice Christmas this year. My mom and dad were in Arizona with my brother and his family and my younger brother and his family were in Texas so it was a little different this year but still fun. On Christmas Eve, Matt was planning on taking Eliza to the Chipmunks movie but she woke up with a high fever and just didn't feel good all day. So even though she had been looking forward to it all week, we had to postpone the movie and spent the whole day vegging on the couch.

Thankfully, Christmas morning Eliza was back to herself and running back and forth between our room and the living room talking about all the presents that Santa left under the tree. Eliza got a little kids computer in the hopes that she will stop wanting to type on ours all day long, some clothes, Candyland (we play it at least twice a day), and her favorite....a camera. Her aim is a little off but she has had so much fun taking pictures. Eliza was also very helpful unwrapping everyone else's gifts.

In the afternoon, we went to my grandpa's house for a visit. It was really nice. He gave Eliza a Tinkerbell slap bracelet which she loves, along with many, many cookies.

Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa McCann's. Eliza got so many nice things and had a really great Christmas. I think she was trying to figure out why Santa left her presents at so many different houses but she sure wasn't complaining.

By the way, Eliza got to see the Chipmunks movie with dad on Saturday. She loved it.

Santa

Look who showed up at grandma and grandpa's house on Sunday! Eliza gets a little bashful around Santa but was still excited to see him. I think Jackson liked the way his beard smelled.

Grandma Burton

We lost my Grandma Burton last Saturday. She was 87 years old and she lived a very wonderful life. My Grandpa died 13 years ago so it's hard to be really sad because she's finally with him again. They have 6 children, 20 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great granddaughter. We had a nice funeral yesterday and almost everyone was there. It was nice to hear and share our fun stories and memories of Grandma. There are so many memories but since it's Christmastime, here are some things I remember about the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa.

We always went to their house in the afternoon on Christmas day.

Their tree was mostly decorated with little pictures of all their children and grandchildren.

The gifts we got from them were always homemade things. I remember getting loaves of bread and jam, a binder of all our ancestors and their personal histories, a book of piano music that my grandma loved to play that she thought I would like, a binder full of Christmas stories, and a journal.

I remember putting on the Christmas story one year. I played an angel I think.

Not Christmas related but Grandma's Applesauce Oatmeal cookies were always a favorite. I have a copy of her recipe written in her handwriting that I will always cherish. I think I'll make a batch soon but I'm sure they won't be as good.

One of the many things I admired about my Grandma is that she always remembered everyone's birthday. And when it got so she couldn't write birthday cards anymore she would ask that we call her on our birthday. She always wanted to know what we were doing and how our families were.

Grandma Burton was very special. She loved her family and prayed for them. I hope she felt all of our prayers in her behalf towards the end of her life. I truly feel so happy that she is with Grandpa again and I know that their example and teachings will always be with us. I feel blessed that I have had my grandparents in my life for so long. Many people don't. Six months ago my other grandma passed away but I knew both of them for so long. It's such a blessing to have a funeral and have it be more of a celebration of their life, rather than a sad occasion. That was the case with both of my grandmas. I love them and miss them but as long as we remember them and the things they taught us, they will always be near.

Grandma is home for Christmas. We love you!

These are some pictures from when Eliza was about 7 months old. I can't believe those are the most recent pictures I have of her but here is my sweet Grandma.

Welcome to the family!

My brother David and his wife Amanda welcomed little Jared Weston into the world on Sunday. He was 7 lbs. 10 oz. and 21 inches long. This pregnancy has been such a tough one for Amanda and no one thought she'd carry this baby as long as she did. He was only about 10 days early! Amanda, you are a trooper! I never would have made it if my pregnancies were like that. He is beautiful, look at that hair! I love it!

Updates

It's been a while since I've posted and I know both of you that read my blog are dying for an update! :)

We've been mostly focusing on potty training Eliza and getting Jackson to take good, regular naps. The former is going pretty well, the latter....not so much. When Jackson was brand new he was always so spitty that I let him sleep in his car seat for a while and when I tried the crib he wasn't having it so I gave in and he's been sleeping in a bouncer chair ever since. Well, not only is he getting way too big physically for it, I figured it's gone on long enough and he needs to learn to sleep flat on his back in his crib. So it's not his fault, he doesn't know any different, but we're trying to teach him that's where he needs to sleep now. We'll see how long it takes.

Eliza has actually been doing great with potty training. She's been in underwear for the past three days and has only had two accidents. She's still in diapers at night and if we're going to be away from the house for more than 10 minutes but it's definite progress. I don't care what people say, bribery is a wonderful thing.

I guess I didn't ever post Jackson's 4 month stats from a month ago. He weighed 19 lbs. 13 oz. and was 26 inches long. He's still off the charts in weight and in the 99th percentile for height. He is a monster. I have never seen thighs as big as his. I love it! We'll see how big he is at his 6 month check-up in January.

Here a video of Eliza feeding Jackson. She always asks if she can feed him but if there is baby oatmeal involved, she dry-heaves the whole time. I don't know why she keeps volunteering.

Here are just a couple of cute pictures.

Tonight, Eliza and I went to my mom's work Christmas party. They had such fun things - face painting, a magician, balloons, cookies, and of course, Santa. She knows who Santa is and isn't scared of him but when she is put face to face with him, she kind of freezes up.

We're excited for Christmas and can't believe how fast this year has flown by!