Better late than never?

Um, hi.
Y'all still there?

I really didn't mean to take such a long break from blogging. It just kinda happened. And honestly? It's been nice. We've had lots of good quality time together... impromptu trips to the mall, playtime at the park, and pillow forts on those freezing rainy days... the good stuff. There have been times where I felt like my head might explode if I didn't sit down and write something. But overall, it's been nice to shut the computer off and chill with my family.

Noah's schedule has been a mess since Christmas. The other night, he slept from 1:30am - 5am. Then was up till 9:30am. Then slept until 2pm. Most nights, we haven't gotten to bed before 3am. Yeah, total mess. He's also given up naps, so my free time to sit and write has been limited. And in an effort to embrace the new year resolution vibes swirling around, I've been busy re-organizing, rearranging, and revamping the house.

So. I'm really behind. Like really really. Christmas was what? Two, three weeks ago? In any case, I started this blog to document our life, and I need to hurry up and do that before I forget. So here goes. Few words, lots of pictures. And no, they're not perfect. But I wasn't going for perfection. I was going for remembering. :)      

Dad's Birthday.
My dad was born on the 18th, and we always try to make a point to celebrate it separately from Christmas. So each year, we (my little family, my brother, and two step-sisters with their boyfriends) head on over to my dad's for a little party.

We don't buy ice cream at our house. Mainly because it's my weakness, and I'd be 500 lbs if we bought it. But Noah knows exactly where his grandparents keep their ice cream. He'll drag us to the freezer, over and over again, and point to the ice cream box. If he's able to reach it, he'll grab it out of the freezer and bring it to us. Clearly, the boy got it honest.

I love watching my dad with Noah. He's never had any issues bonding with Noah, despite the fact that Noah doesn't talk yet. He gets him... what makes him tick, how he likes to play, how to make that little face light up. He understands that it takes a little bit more effort to bond with Noah, and he enjoys putting in that effort. He and Noah have a very special relationship, and I love that.

Christmas Eve.
We always do Christmas Eve with my parents. It leaves us with fewer places to run to on Christmas Day without losing that Christmas-y feel.

First up was my dad's. We had given them a couple ideas of what to get Noah this year. He loves shape sorters, so they got him this Melissa & Doug one that's a little more challenging. They also gave him one of his favorite OT toys... veggies that you slice with a (play) knife. He plays with it constantly.

 However, they surprised us with one of their gifts. They originally planned on getting him a rocking horse, but they couldn't find what they were looking for. My stepmom happens to drive a little Mini Cooper. So when they saw this, they couldn't resist...

Noah loves it! Actually, he got annoyed with Brad, because he wasn't putting it together fast enough. :)

As for us, my dad got me a flash for my camera... not a Nikon, obviously, since those are super expensive. It's a Vivitar, which he says he used for his pro-level camera back in the day. I've had some time to play with it, and I'm loving it so far. I'm more of a natural light photographer, but I'm wanting to learn more OCF techniques. Sorry, I'm going totally off topic.
When we first drove up, there was a HUGE ladder propped up against the house with a big red bow and a tag with Brad's name on it. He's always having to borrow big ladders to clean gutters and all that on our house. It was the one thing I told my parents Brad needed, so I thought it was a great way to give it to him.

My Mom's.
After we visit my dad, we head straight to my mom's house, who lives about 5 minutes away. My grandmother (aka "MamMaw") usually spends the night there on Christmas Eve, and we have a PJ party. My mom makes sandwiches and appetizers, and my stepdad builds a fire. We have a cozy night in, and it's one of my favorite traditions. This year, my younger cousin Cameron was staying with my MamMaw, so we decided not to make him feel weird by being the only one in normal clothes. But my little sister kept the tradition alive. ;)

Seriously, this photo sums up my mom's personality. Totally.

This year, we asked them to help us out by getting Noah an iPad. We were really stressing about how we were going to afford one, even an older version. All the Craigs List ads were sketchy, and retailers have to price them all the same, so no major sales. We asked them to just take whatever they'd normally spend on us and put it towards an iPad. When my mom asked my stepdad about it, he told her to tell us not to worry about it. They'd go out and buy one, no questions asked. In his words, "Anything for that sweet boy..."

(testing it out)

It's been such a hit with Noah. He has several favorite apps, but the one I'm most impressed with has been the spelling app by TouchAutism.com. Noah didn't know his ABC's at all before. He still doesn't know them in order. But this app has taught him what the letters are, so if I say "A" or "F", he immediately points to those letters. Honestly, I think it makes more sense to him this way. Before, they're just arbitrary letters with no meaning. He gets numbers, because they make sense to him. They have a purpose. Put the letters in a specific order, and they suddenly mean something for him. Anyway, it's pretty amazing.

And of course, they still ended up giving us a Christmas. My mom has a problem with seeing her kids not open something on Christmas. They were super awesome and got me a Keurig (hallelujah! see above paragraph about Noah's sleep issues...) and a few other nice things. Knowing Brad needed a tall ladder, they gave him a gift card to Lowes (thank goodness we didn't end up with two huge ladders, lol!).

My mom's house at Christmas (the house I grew up in, and the house Brad proposed to me in front of)...

"Clark, is your house on fire??"

Christmas Day.
I was up until 4am building that firehouse. Brad and Noah crashed when we got home, and I realized Noah's big present wasn't put together yet. I sure wish Santa would bring this stuff pre-assembled. *Ahem*

But it was so worth it. Noah thought it was the coolest thing ever. He loves simple toys, preferably with a vintage feel to it. So I knew this would be a hit.
The only thing I didn't get for Noah that I wanted were cute Christmas PJ's. By the time I got around to looking, all the cute ones were gone. So I had to make do with what we had. Hey, he's wearing red. I count that as a win.

 

 

There was only one thing that Noah really wanted this year, which I didn't find out about until a few days before. Again with the vintage taste. Thank God for Craigs List.

After our little morning together, we always head on over to my grandparents' house where we meet up with all my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc for lunch and gifts.

 

 

Brad's parents came over that night for dinner and presents. I didn't really get any pictures, since we were all pretty tired by that point.

Hope y'all had a great Christmas and Happy New Year!!