Christmas Eve at Mamaws!

We had an awesome Christmas Eve at Eric's parents house! Eric's Mom and Grandma made a ton of delicious food (we are still eating it). It was a great night!! As Gavin told his Papaw, "this is what Christmas is all about....being with your family."

Gavin and his "Old Papaw" listening to the story of Baby Jesus.

Daddy and Gavin

Nolen (Eric Jr.) in Daddy's hat

Nolen with his present from Sean, Sonda and the kids (he LOVED the wrapping paper because they have been watching Rudolph for like 3 weeks)

Papaw telling Gavin about his bear hunt.

Adorable Elliott opening her present from us!

Wyatt with his skateboard things Uncle Eric picked out.

Kellen opening his present.

Me and my Sexy Man

Gavin with his present....putting up his "hang loose" sign. He says that means "cool" and that's what surfers do.

Daddy with his sweater....

Eric's Grandparents.

Christmas with Nanu and Papa!

Nanu and Papa came up for a few days before Christmas. They let the kids open gifts before they left....which was very exciting (especially for Gavin). Gavin got a really cool V Tech piano and Nolen got Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse (he loves Mickey).

Gavin's Christmas Program!

Gavin had a little Christmas program at school (not really a program--they sang a few songs). He did soooo good. Before they went onstage they told all the kids to watch their teachers and Gavin really follows instructions because he did not take his eyes off Mrs. Raechel. He knew all the words and hand signs....we were so proud!

Mommy and Nolen waiting for Bubba

Nolen playing with Daddy's beard.

Merry Christmas!!

I am sure any of you that have children know how difficult it is to get just one picture where everyone is smiling and has their eyes open. Nolen has made that very difficult this year.....so I am pretty proud that we got this one.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

Gavin and Nolen's cousin Kellen was in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! He was Charlie! Gavin LOVES Kellen and was so excited to get to go see him. Mommy, Daddy and Gavin had a special night (without Nolen). We went and ate at the Bijou Bistro and then went and saw Kellen. He did such an awesome job and we are soooo proud of him. In Gavin's words "that was really cool"!

Talk about BED HEAD!!!

This is what Nolen's hair looks like when he wakes up in the morning....


Cute huh?????

Gotta love Nanus and Mamaws!!

I get soooo tired of trying to come up with new things for Gavin to eat cause I deal with it everyday. But my Mom (the boys call her Nanu) and Eric's Mom (Mamaw) always manage to come up with something that Gavin loves that I never thought of.
The latest is Gavin's Special Muffins by Mamaw. Debbie made him cinnamon soy muffins in little cupcake pans and he ate like 6 of them....he loved them.
My Mom was in town for a few days this past weekend and she made Nolen grilled cheese. Obviousely, Gavin can't have grilled cheese so she decided he needed something special. She made him a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich! She put his special butter on the outsides of the bread and peanut butter and jelly inside and grilled it. The pb&j was oozing out of the inside (special sauce) and Gavin thought it was the best thing he had ever tasted. When I got home he informed me that he wants Nanu's PB&J everyday!
I can't compete with Mamaws and Nanus!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Gavin!!

Gavin turned 4 on December 8th. I cannot believe that he is already 4!! We had a pirate birthday party for him. As most of you know...Gavin is severely allergic to milk so we thought it would be really nice to have a milk-free party...I mean he deserves to be able to eat everything at his own party, right??? I usually just make him a little cake and then buy a pretty one that everyone else can eat. However, since it was a milk-free party I had to make the cake for everyone because there is not anyone that makes cakes that do not contain milk. Lets just say that I got in a little over my head. After about 4 hours decorating the cake...I felt it was complete; only to find out a few hours later that the bow of my boat was falling off--panic, complete and total panic. I flipped out....so the next day (only a few hours til the party) Eric and I spent about another hour trying to fix my pirate ship. I think I pulled it off pretty well considering that this was my first pirate ship cake....and my last!!! Trust me, it is worth every penny that a beautifully decorated cake cost. My goal for 2009 will be to find someone who makes milk free cakes.

Gavin and Nolen with Cousins Kellen and Wyatt

Daddy Pirate and Gavin

Cousin Elliott and Mamaw

This age is soooo fun for pictures!

Nolen is at such a cute age.....he is constantly making funny faces and saying new things. I want so badly to capture these adorable memories on camera. BUT everytime he sees the camera he says "cheese" for about 1 second (not nearly long enough for me to focus and take the picture) and then runs away. When I make him stay......this is what I get.



Or this.......

My Daddy can make anything out of cardboard!!

No really...he can. I didn't believe it either but Gavin has been saying that for months. He has made wings, a knight suit and several other things I can't recall. This is the most recent.....a reindeer and sleigh. Gavin is really into Christmas this year. He knows EXACTLY what Christmas is about.....he told me the other day on the way to school, "Mommy, Christmas is really all about Jesus". However, he also loves all the other parts of it too. Gavin was really into decorating this year (he is gonna be just like his Daddy....who loves Christmas more than any man I know). For your viewing pleasure.....Gavin in his cardboard sleigh singing his very own version of Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer!!!! HILARIOUS!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We went to Florida for Thanksgiving this year. We figured since there is pretty much no way we are going to Florida at Christmas with 2 kids and all the presents and such that we should go Thanksgiving instead. I got to enjoy my Nanny's dressing and our little Southern tradition...raw oysters on Thanksgiving! We enjoyed getting to see everyone....but I think Eric missed his Mom and Grandma's cooking.

Disney on Ice!!

Ok....I got a little behind but I am gonna try to update.
We went to see Disney on Ice and the boys LOVED it! They both sat perfectly still the entire time and Gavin wanted to go back the next day!

Indiana Jones, a Skunk and a Hospital!!

We had a lot of fun on Halloween. Gavin was so excited to dress up as Indiana Jones (even though he has never seen the movie) and Nolen was a skunk (the same thing Gav was a few years ago). Nolen quickly got the hang of the trick or treating thing. Everything was going great UNTIL we were almost back to our house. It was pretty much dark by now and one of our neighbors had given the boys m&m's in a little pumpkin bag that wasn't sealed (which were going to go straight to the garbage when we got home--we don't do open candy). As you may recall from a previous post, Gavin is allergic to milk. Well, 2 m&m's (yes...just 2) fell out of his little treat bag and he thought they were skittles and picked them up and ate them. Let's just say it was one of the scariest things we have been through....EVER! Almost immediately, he began coughing...then breathing wierd, then throwing up. We threw the boys in the car and rushed to the hospital. Every inch of his skin was as red as you can possibly imagine. We got to the hospital and he was given a steroid and benadryl (he swallowed a pill cause they were out of liquid...I was so proud of my 3 year old swallowing a pill like a big boy). He settled down and quickly returned to his normal energetic, talkative self. He absolutely loved the Doctor (who brought him skittles..since that's what he thought he was eating before). It made me realize just how serious this whole milk allergy thing really is. That is something that I never want to experience again. Halloween was SCARY for us this year.....