Christmas and such.

I'm pretty sure the entire nation is sick.

It seems like everyone has a cold. Brad's been fighting his off for over a month now. Because his body isn't able to fight off sickness as well as it should, his doc gives him antibiotics just about every time he goes in (which is really only like once or twice a year). He got a z-pack, but that didn't do it. He ended up with a bad sinus infection over the weekend. So yesterday, they gave him stronger stuff. He read the info on it, and apparently, it's used to treat anthrax. If this doesn't work, something is severely wrong.

Noah has his very first ear infection.
I knew something was up last night when he was actually messing with his ear (and not his cheek+ear... as in teething). He's been all stuffy and runny (and just developed a small cough) for over a week, so I figured it was time to take him in.

I'm SO glad I did.

The doctor has been a rough place for Noah. Not in that he's had a lot done to him that it freaks him out... but that he knows where he is. He recognizes the nurse that gives him a shot (and he knows when it's coming). It freaks him out that a total stranger is messing with him. Boundary issues. His mama's got 'em too.

But today?
Today he walked around the waiting room like he owned the place. He played with the loopey thingy and about gave me a panic attack when he headed straight for the 2 girls with strep.
He got a tad worried with the nurse, but no tears.

And the doctor? He actually gave her a half smile.

She was amazed at his size (tallness, not chubbiness for once). She said she'd just got done with a 15 month well check and that baby was like half his size. She asked if my husband was tall, and I explained that we both have big people in our families.

She was also impressed that he's almost 16 months and is just now getting his first ear infection (and it's a small one). She couldn't believe this was his first time being on antibiotics.

Do I get a gold "I've kept my kid healthy" star?
Seriously, it's like getting a big pat-on-the-back (as if you can control all of the germs your baby comes in contact with). Yay me. My kid lives in a bubble.

We got our tree last weekend.
See, in this house, we do real.

None of this fake, boxed stuff. I have to have my house smell like Christmas. And if I'm going to have to vacuum up pine needles? At least these kind will make my vacuum smell nice. Really, try it. The container will smell like Christmas for a month. :)

I have a slight love affair with Christmas trees. From what I've gathered, the majority of people out there don't really enjoy decorating.
Me? I'd love to make a profession out of it. Back in high school/college, I would decorate 12+ trees every year (all family)... usually alone, because no one else wanted to deal with it.

Something about bringing out boxes from the attic full of pretty, sparkly ornaments... all with a story or meaning... makes my Christmas complete. Sure, it's much easier to buy them prelit... but then I have no control over how many lights are on it. Or where the lights are placed. I also like my tree to be packed full. The only branches that escape a hook are the wimpy ones. Objects without a hook... vintage Christmas cards, handmade angels, etc... those get set inside. And my favorite? Ting-a-lings. Yeah, okay, I don't know what they're really called. But that's what I call them.

(My hubby laughs at  me because he thinks it could be interpreted as slightly innappropriate... but his mind belongs in the gutter most of the time anyway.)

Oh, and I googled it, and it turns out, it's a Christmas cookie recipe (so I was on the right track, right?).

my version of a ting-a-ling:

We went to our usual spot (a lot next to the local video store), but his trees were lookin' a little sad this year. Poor guy. I could see Brad roaming around, trying to figure out which one he was going to spend $50 on that he didn't hate. So I saved him. I smiled and said, "Brad, I think Noah's getting hungry. Why don't we go grab some dinner and come back?"

Two gold stars for me.

We drove around aimlessly for about 15 minutes, figuring that somewhere we'd run into another lot. Our town is really small. Like, we have one grocery store type small. You can count the number of traffic lights on one hand type small. So we kept driving and driving.
And then we saw it.

We live pretty close to McAdenville (aka Christmastown USA), and about two streets down from the back entrance, there was a gorgeous set-up on this dead end street. The lot has colored Christmas lights, a blow-up Santa, a huge bonfire with chairs, a small store, make-your-own Christmas wreaths, and free fresh popcorn for the shoppers. I hate I didn't bring my camera, because it would've been a perfect picture spot. We found a gorgeous tree for $50 (it would've cost us a lot more somewhere else). The ladies that work there were very nice and put it on top of our car for us (much to the embarrasment of Brad, because apparently, he didn't do it right).

Noah has surprised us. He's not all that interested in the tree.

Most toddlers I know want to play with the ornaments, pull the tree down, etc. Not Noah. He wobbles around, takes a quick glance at it, and continues on. Basically, he's totally unimpressed.

And this is our tree. I know, the bow is waaayy over-the-top. But I like it. And I got a great deal on it. This lady that works at Michaels does this on the side. Also, I know it's not on there right. I can't reach the top, and Brad hasn't fixed it for me yet. If anyone would like to buy us a step ladder for Christmas, I would be very appreciative. :)

I have to say, he amazes me. All I have to say is, "Noah, no-no..." and we're done. He moves on (don't hate!). He's also getting a little OCD. He lets me know if there's a mess on the floor, and we need to vacuum. He likes doors shut. Our china cabinet tends to open itself. You would think he'd walk over and get into the breakable stuff inside... but no. He just gently shuts the door and moves on. You have no idea how happy this is making his mom.

And lastly, I really, really tried to take good Christmas pictures of Noah this year. I've got all these free cards to order, and I need a good picture. The problem? He won't sit still!

I had all of these visions of the perfect picture. Him sitting on the front steps of my mom's house, Christmas decorations in the background, him smiling sweetly at the camera and fake snow strategically scattered around him...

Um. Yeah.
The two pictures up top on my header? Those are as good as it got.

There was much less of this going on:

And a lot more of this:

What's that blurry mess, you ask? That's our (sorry, my brother's and parents') Great Dane Zeplin giving Noah a quick smooch. Good thing Noah loves dogs.

So yeah. They may not be pro quality, but I definitely can't help but laugh at the ones I ended up capturing. He's just so darn happy, it's infectious.