Pre Christmas, Christmas, and Post Christmas

The rest of December flew by. I wanted to do lots of posts throughout the month but that didn't happen.

This guy is now 7 months old and weighing in at 16 pounds. The weight has really started to pile on and we're so happy. He'll probably never been rolly or fat but we are loving a little extra "Jax" to hold on to.

We invited the cousins and Grandma and Grandpa over for a Gingerbread making house night. It didn't go as smoothly as I hoped. It is hard to make graham crackers stay upright with just frosting.
Carter didn't mind, he happily shoved candy into his mouth as fast as he could.
Everyone got in on the action and some decent looking houses finally were created! Everyone had eaten so much candy that the finished projects weren't that exciting!

Christmas Eve came. We ate dinner with all of Neil's family. And I left my camera in the car. We opened some presents up there and Carter walked away with so many great presents I considered calling it good for the rest of the year....

One is his presents, a McQueen race track controlled by remote. It took my dad reading the instructions and Neil running the screwdriver to put the thing up.

We were lucky to spend Christmas Eve with Neil's family as well as part of mine. My parents and younger bro and sis came to spend the holiday with us. We celebrated with a delicious London Broil, grilled to perfection. I marinade a mean Broil and Neil grills it like nobody's business.

Once again, I failed to take many pictures. Carter was a grouch that day, thanks to a late nap so he wasn't in the mood for pictures or much of anything. As we read the Christmas story from the Bible he cried and yelled "I don't want to read the scriptures." Ahh memories.

I ended up making the sugar cookies without him. Vegan sugar cookies to be exact. My first attempt and they turned out really well. Carter loved them and so did Santa and his reindeer.

Our only family picture over the holiday. Christmas Eve with the boys in their Christmas Jammies all ready for bed.

The only thing Carter was really in the mood for that night was opening one gift. I let him open his present from Jackson. A Lightning McQueen toothbrush holder and matching cup. It was a hit.

Christmas morning came early, Carter was up shortly before 7. Even Jackson woke up a bit early and joined us for the festivities. Santa brought Jackson a barnyard that makes sounds and plays music. He approved.

And some bibs, toys, and plastic spoons. How did Santa know exactly what he needed?!? My parents got him a little dragon that plays music and pops balls up into the air. He was fascinated by it and would watch it while shaking with pure excitement.

Santa fulfilled Carter's dreams and desires by bringing him the carwash that he has been eyeing for months. And much to my dismay, it has a place for real water! There were wet spots in the carpet all day!
He got a great Mater alarm clock and his other favorite was an ambulance that makes real noises and the doors open in the back. He takes his monkey and cat for rides in the hospital each day. Apparently these stuffed animals also need picc lines and TPN. I cannot afford any more expense in regards to hospital bills!

Me and Jax. Luckily I got a new robe to replace the dinosaur I am sporting in this picture. Did you know that I am obsessed with robes and wear mine for hours a day?

Neil has wicked bed-head. And Jax hardly has any hair. Jax was very content and satisfied to watch us open our presents and play with wrapping paper.

My 2 boys. Together on Christmas. The best present I received that day. I was so glad Jax was home with us that I managed to overlook that Carter threw yet another fit when I asked to take his picture.

Grandma Alma(that is what carter calls her) feeding Jax a mist the chaos of opening presents. Carter was in charge of taking each person their presents and would usually even open it for them before the present got to them!

Grandma and Grandpa E even stopped by to see what Santa had left us.

Another McQueen present. This car is for an app on the Ipad that Carter loves. Santa brought this. Santa is just feeding into the addiction that is the Ipad.
Jackson is close to sitting up on his own but needs a little support. He loved sitting here playing with his new toy.

My favorite present for Jackson. This cute monkey hat. Isn't it darling? And NO I didn't not crochet it. I can barely sew on a button. I paid someone a handsome penny to crochet it for me. But seeing his fat face in it is worth the money!

After Christmas we went to Idaho to spend time with my entire family. Again, I rarely broke out my camera. (that is my new years resolution, more pics!)

I had a handful of willing people who wanted to play, feed and snuggle Jax. He is just starting the phase of "stranger anxiety" and took a few minutes to warm up to some of them. But once he did, he loved all the attention and love he received. Although none of them ever wanted to change a poopy diaper.............

Chloe feeding Jax. I could sure use a 7 year old as helpful as her in my house.

Along with the extra help I received with Jackson, Carter also had built in babysitters. Their names were Mario, Luigi, Dry bones, yoshi,....etc. He and his 2 cousins, Tristan and Mitchell spent HOURS a day playing Mario Kart. From morning to night we could find them on the couch. They were so cute. And so BAD at the game! The 3 boys had a great time together and I wish we all lived closer so they could play more.

Jackson even decided he wanted to play Mario Kart. Truth be told, he was no worse than the little boys......:)

Goodbye 2011. It was a long year, hard year. But still a wonderful year. Looking forward to an even better 2012.