Christmas 2008

This Christmas was really special for us. Somehow, having a son of my own really has sensitized my spirit to the true overwhelming significance of this day. I will say-in the midst of decorating, shopping, throwing parties, and wrapping gifts; it has been easy to let myself be distracted by the world and completely miss this meaningful life changing celebration. I routinely had to actively meditate on Christ and fix my eyes on Him in order to tune out all the hoopla that is how we celebrate here in America. I look forward to creating meaningful traditions for our children that allows their little hearts to be softened to Christ during this time rather than consumed with receiving gifts. I have wanted to write something of real significance regarding the birth of Christ, but this season words fail me and I just almost feel intimidated to tell His story. We will see....

Christmas Eve was spent at our church's candlelight service with my siblings and parents. It was really special even though I spent the second half following David all over the place. (He had a cough and couldn't go to the nursery.) We then met up with my extended family and had such a fun time enjoying their company and eating good food. This is a tradition that has been going on since I can remember and I look forward to it every year.

Christmas morning was so sweet for our family. David is old enough to really enjoy the few gifts he received and he spent most of the morning playing with this new cars/trucks, hugging on his Mama and Daddy, and reading his books. We later met up with Grant's family for a late breakfast and then spent lunch with the Estess extended family. David was showered with gifts to say the least and is currently learning to dunk his new basketball goal despite the obvious leanings of his genetic make-up. (I won't dash his hopes just yet.) He basically spent most of the day camped out in his Cozy Coupe he got from Gran and Papaw and is just now learning how to make it work....we are moving backwards so far. Also, I would like to give a shout out to my SIL who we call Maynee---she knitted that precious hat for David and I am obsessed with it. How cute is it!!!???!!?

Anyways----I hope you all had a wonderful time this year celebrating the birth of Christ with those you love most!!!

(new post below)

Christmas Festivities

Merry Christmas from The Estess Family!!!

Rudolph the Red Nose Therapist

Memories.....
Yes, that is right...my child hates Santa Claus. This was clearly against his will and I honestly was afraid he would hold a grudge and be upset with me for subjecting him to such terror. Thankfully, I got to rescue him from this dreadful moment in time. I am hoping that memory replaces the one where I force him into the strange old man's lap and walk away. Man, what we do to capture a childhood moment that the child doesn't even want to experience in the first place.
Bottom line: David.hates.Santa.Claus.

Deck the Halls

I absolutely LOVE decorating for Christmas. I am obsessed. I actually broke my long standing rule that Christmas decor cannot go up before Thanksgiving. Mainly, because I feel sorry for Thanksgiving. It seems to always get the shaft in our society. Thanksgiving is a big deal in our family and I always enjoy it despite the cheesy pilgrim decor I often around town. Pilgrimation is not something you will find in our home, but you all probably know that if you have been following my blog since last year's Santamation debacle. Anyways, I must confess I broke my own rule this year. Grant left me to shoot ducks the weekend before Thanksgiving and I spent most of David's sleeping hours covering the house in glorious Christmas accessories. Next year, we will definitely decorate the tree as a family...but for now Grant is largely uninterested. Anyways, we went out of town for the entire week and weekend of Thanksgiving and I really wanted to come home to a well-lit and festive home. I even had Grant go in to plug in the tree before I came inside from being away for T-giving. It was well-worth it.

So here are a few pictures of the various projects I worked on this year. Like I said before, burlap was my accessory of choice and I tried to keep it simple and natural this year. David has done GREAT with the tree. He stand as close as possible without touching it and he stares. He is in love with it. Every morning we go straight to the tree and stand there together. He tempts fate from time to time by lightly brushing his chubby hand over a low-hanging ornament, but overall he has been fairly obedient. No broken ornaments so far!!

New post coming soon. It involves the big man in red and our son who is currently suffering from PTSD. He may need therapy.

Mom's Group--Christmas style.

Update

David is nearing 15 months and he is just more fun than I could have imagined.  Funnily enough, he loves costumes.  He is not of the age to go and initiate wearing one, but when he finds himself decked out he parades around the house and wears it as long as I will let him.  We love this Batman costume.  When we found out David was a boy, my mom dropped a gift bag on our front porch filled with cute boy things: red goloshes, goggles, batman cape, etc.  Such a good idea!!

He has also mastered the art of moving about on his riding toy.  It was a hit for Thanksgiving and he rode it all around the lake house.  You will notice his 'War Eagle' t-shirt...though it did not pull us through the humiliation that was the Iron Bowl, we love it still.  I found it for 3 dollars and I think it must have been meant for our family--or it could reflect the current crummy state of Auburn athletics.  Either way, it is our new favorite t-shirt!

And yes, we are wearing jeans now.  I had mixed feelings about approaching this milestone and was quite resistant until the Auburn-Georgia game.  He was decked in jeans and a white turtleneck with the CUTEST vintage blue cardigan that has Auburn stitched in orange where the lapel would be.  It was his dad's when he was little and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to wear it in Jordan Hare.  Well, he was so precious in those denim things I have begun allowing it more and more.  It is sad and cute all at the same time.

Lastly, you will notice a picture of David parked on a blanket with a look that says, "Are you serious Mom?"  Well, around 13 months David grew a voice.  No, I do not mean a voice that speaks words, BUT rather a voice that says 'You can't tell me what to do.'  I knew this was coming, but had no idea he would sprout such independence so early.  Though I realize he is a toddler and will continue to exhibit toddler behavior for years to come, I wanted to instill a sense of authority and obedience in him as soon as developmentally possibly.  I have a friend who has taught her children to sit on a blanket for 15 minutes as a time and she claims to start them as early as one year old.  The idea is to instill self-control into your children while at home and practice behavioral skills that are much needed outside of the house...such as sitting still when told to.  So, I have stolen this great technique and have implemented in our home about three times a week.  We only ask he sit for 5 minutes for now, but he is slowly learning that this is a time where he must do something simply because Mom says so.  I am not saying he likes it, but we are getting there.  Overall, I have seen a small decline in his compulsion to consciously defy what I may ask of him.  He is still young and deserves a lot of grace for now.  Even so, I am excited that he is starting to learn who is in charge around here and follow accordingly most of the time.  And the parenting journey begins....