Prepare for tons of pictures.

Christmastime is here! If you’ve been reading my blog for any time at all, you have to know that I spend most of the year looking forward to this time! 🙂 And I am SO excited about spending it with our little Nater-Tot this year – yay!! (Though, based on the above picture, I might be slightly more excited than he is!)

Last Wednesday started Jon’s Thanksgiving vacation from work, so we packed up almost everything we own and moved it all over to my parents’ house for what was supposed to be a two-night stay.

We left Sunday afternoon. 🙂 What can we say? They spoiled us rotten with yummy cinnamon rolls, an amazing Thanksgiving dinner and tons of leftovers. Plus, we had constant help with the Nater Tot (who started laughing at us this past week! He’s been laughing when you tickle him for a couple of weeks, but lately he’s been just dying of giggles when Jon plays with him at night. SO FUN!) and he didn’t want to leave either. Who wants to leave when you’re the center of attention?

We stayed up late playing Mexican train and watching movies and just talking and laughing. My brother Bryant was in town for the whole time we were there and aside from my sister Cayce having to work a few of the days, everyone was home for the whole time. I love my family! We had the best time! I was looking through pictures and somehow we missed getting some of Cayce and Caleb with Nathan. And some of the whole family. 🙁 Guess we’ll have to remedy this soon!!

I found Nathan’s Thanksgiving shirt at Kohls and even though it was a little big, I just thought it was the cutest thing ever!

Have to admit – it was kind of a bummer to wake up Monday morning and find no cinnamon rolls eat, no coffee being made, no newspaper to read… 😉

Yesterday, Jon’s aunt and uncle from Maryland were coming through town and they were SO sweet and took us out to dinner. Nathan just loved them. I think he’s gotten to used to having tons of attention all the time. Now he’s not content to stay home and have it just be us.

Yesterday was also Nathan’s four-month-checkup. He – once again – was rudely awakened from a nap by the nurse, but he did do a lot better with his shots this time around (and so did I).

His current stats are: 26 1/4 in long (95%), 13 pounds 15.5 ounces (25%) and his head was 43 cm around, though I don’t remember what percentile that was. Long, skinny baby! Our doctor said he was doing great – perfectly healthy, despite his constant spitting up. 😉 We are so blessed!

I finally found Nathan’s stocking! Last year, we put one of those little mini stockings up since we didn’t know whether he was a boy or girl. So crazy to realize that at this time last year, I had just announced I was pregnant! I wasn’t showing and was still in the middle of horrible morning sickness. It is SO much more fun this year!

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for my online booksigning this Saturday! I’ll be giving away lots of fun prizes and I’ve also got some GREAT deals on autographed copies of the Lauren Holbrook and Maya Davis series!!

And today… is Jon’s birthday!! 🙂 I am SO thankful to have such an amazing husband and that Nathan has such a wonderful dad. I couldn’t have asked for a better man! I love his heart for God and the way he makes Nathan laugh. I love how protective he is of me and how he goes along with all my crazy ideas (hey, let’s put up Christmas the weekend before Thanksgiving this year!). I love how he is such a huge help around the house (especially now with the Nater-Tot here) and how he supports me in being a mom and in my writing. I love how he provides so well for us and takes such amazing care of his family. It’s my prayer that Nathan turns out like his daddy. 🙂 I love you, honey! Happy birthday!

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Jon and I spent last weekend in Colorado Springs visiting our sweet friends, Jen, Greg, Noah, Brian, Becca and Barb. Super fun, because we totally surprised Jen! And I would like to say that I have TONS of adorable pictures of Noah and Nathan.

But I can’t say that because I don’t. Someone forgot to put the camera in the car. And someone didn’t want to go back for it.

That “someone” was me on both accounts. 🙁 We were already running late and I didn’t want to add another twenty plus minutes to our trip.

Especially since it was Nathan’s first road trip and I was dreading a baby screaming in our ears for six hours. But I was SO proud of him! He cried for a total of maybe thirty minutes the ENTIRE twelve hours we were in the car this weekend. He did awesome!

So, I have these few pictures I took with my phone. Jen got some cute pictures that she’ll have to email me. Hint, hint. 😉

Nathan loved playing with all of Noah’s fun toys!

And speaking of Noah, here’s the little cutie with Mimi Barb – he’s got teeth! And he’s walking! I dread Nathan getting older, but seeing Noah makes me realize it’s okay if he gets a little older.

Just a little though.

And, I have FUN news for you guys out there who have blogs: Shutterfly is doing something really cool and offering 50 FREE Christmas cards to bloggers. You need to go to this link here and fill out a form: Bloggers can get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

After that, they’ll email you the info you need to get your Christmas cards! Also, check out their other fun products – they’ve got beautiful calendars and I think these little gift tags are just about the cutest things. 🙂

Don’t y’all just love Christmas cards? This is the time of year when I start getting excited about getting the mail. Not just bills anymore! I think my favorites have always been the photo cards – I love, love, love seeing all my friends and family. I can’t wait to send out pictures of Nathan to everyone – he’s getting so big so quickly! I love the ones with the multiple photos – I’m thinking I might include several pictures from these last few months, instead of just one (one? Seriously, how could I even start to pick?). Here’s my current favorite, but I’m still debating!

Anyway, highly recommend that you participate if you’re a blogger!

Nathan and I ran to Target this afternoon to do some birthday shopping for a certain hunk that lives at my house 😉 (I know, I know. I’ll stop gagging you guys). So fun to be birthday shopping with my boy! We were looking at a few things and I thought, hmm…

Ha! Isn’t he so cute?! He didn’t last more than about ten minutes in there before I started feeling bad that he had to be strapped in like that in order to stay in a sitting-up position, so I pulled him back out. And just so you know, I wiped the daylights out of that cart before I set him in there. You know me! 🙂

My brother Bryant gets back in town tomorrow afternoon for Thanksgiving! Yay!!

Y’all have a great night!

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Which, by the way, I find disgusting. So, should you ever decide you’d like to mail me dinner, please don’t send Shepherd’s Pie. I can think of many more options for a meal than leftovers all smushed together and called a pie.

Nothing involving mashed potatoes should ever be labeled as pie.

Anyway, I have about six different posts I need to write, so I’m writing them all and grouping them into one!

First up, and most important, my little Nater Tot is officially four months old.

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO TIME? And why is it passing so darn fast? This month has been one of extreme changes – Nathan has developed quite the little personality. He’s just hilarious!

He’s now sleeping completely unswaddled – the only thing I do is put him in a little sleep sack so he won’t get cold at night. He’s gotten a lot more talented with his hands – he can now grab things and pull them directly into his mouth (oh dear!). He’s also moved up to the table with us – he’s now in a high chair!

He’s getting more consistent at rolling over from his stomach to his back, though he does have days where he doesn’t roll over at all. He’s definitely a homebody! When we are at home, he rarely, rarely fusses. Sometimes I can even get him down for a nap with very little crying involved.

And naps – naps are going MUCH better! He’ll sleep for about forty-five minutes to an hour at a time, which is just fine with me! At least I have a little time to get a few things done (like blogging!).

Nathan’s also learned something new – and it just makes me laugh!! 🙂

His four-month appointment is later this month, so we’ll get to find out what his stats are then. Jon and I tried measuring him and I think he’s about 25 inches long and weighs about 14 pounds.

Gosh!

Next up in the blog list, I’ve got the FUNNEST (nope, not a word) thing coming up on December 4th and I want you all to be a part of it!! I’m going to throw an Online Book Signing! I’ve got some major sales happening that day and also a lot of giveaways – so if you are thinking of ordering books for Christmas, please come by my site then!! 🙂 I’ll put up a lot more details as the date gets closer, but I did want to give y’all some notice!

Sneak preview of some of the giveaways… my Waiting For Ryan backpacks!

How many of you are already listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies? My sister and her best friend, Anna, came over the other night and we watched White Christmas with Bing Crosby and let me tell you: Classic. If you haven’t seen it, you should.

So, since I made a list of my Not-To-Miss Christmas songs, here’s my list of my favorite Christmas movies. Let me know if y’all have any to add!

Elf – Oh. My. Gosh. The beginning scenes? The middle scenes? The ending? The whole thing is just hilarious and I love, love, love the movie!

Miracle On 34th Street – I remember watching this one when I was a little kid and I just thought it was such a fabulous movie. So, I’m sure I have some emotional attachment to it, but seriously, the little girl in the move (Mara Wilson) is adorable.

A Christmas Story – Probably my all-time favorite Christmas movie. You cannot get any better than Ralphie and his obnoxious brother and their ridiculous parents. My dad and I LOVE this movie and it just gets better every year.

You’ve Got Mail – I know this isn’t technically a Christmas movie, but I love watching it this time of year, cuddled in a blanket and drinking a hot cup of coffee. I have serious coat-envy of Meg Ryan in this movie.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Old-school, but you got to love it. The Clay-Mation characters, the way Rudolph talks like he has a stuffy nose, the “I’m Not Just A Nit-Wit” song? Is there a reason to not love this movie?

I’m sure I’ll keep adding to these as Christmas gets closer. What about you guys? 🙂

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Last weekend, my mother-in-law flew in to spend a few days with the Nater Tot. And after a rocky night on Friday (beginning with a meltdown earlier that day – poor kid. Friday was not a good day for him!), he cheered up and we had a great weekend!

We did absolutely nothing except play with Nathan and go out to eat a couple of times. It was so nice! We haven’t spent an entire weekend lounging around the house in forever! Jon watched football, I actually finished a hat I’ve been working on for Nathan for the last few weeks… very restful!

The Thursday before Connie got here, Nathan rolled over about eight times in a row from his stomach to his back. Seriously. I’d lay him down on his stomach and he’d last there about three seconds before flipping over.

So, naturally, I was convinced that he was officially rolling over now. And I bragged the whole way home from picking her up at the airport that Nathan was rolling over and he was so talented.

Guess who didn’t roll over once the entire weekend? And guess who then rolled over twice the day after Connie left?

Yep. That’s my son. I swear, Connie, he really does roll over! 🙂

Last night, Jon and I left Nathan with Gammy and Pops for a much-needed coffee date. And since he’d gotten a bath and his last nursing at their house and slept the whole way home, we decided to see how he would do if we didn’t swaddle him. We’ve been swaddling him every night and for most of his naps.

He did SO GOOD. He slept until almost eight this morning and when I went in and checked on him, he was sleeping with his arms up by his head. So cute! I nursed him and put him right back down and he’s going on another two hours of sleep – WOW. I am so thankful that we’ve been blessed with a baby who is such a naturally good sleeper!

Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!!

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For those of you who won the influencer copies, I wanted to let you know that I talked to NavPress and they should be getting to you guys sometime soon! I guess they got mailed last week via media mail, which can take up to a couple of weeks.

So, keep your eyes on your mailbox!

Also, I’ve been having some issues with PayPal, so if you pre-ordered a copy of Double Shot and haven’t received it yet (unless you live outside the US), could you please send me a copy of your PayPal transaction and I’ll be sure to send that ASAP!

Also (you can never have too many alsos), I’ve been working on my newsletter (monthly? HA.) and hopefully I’ll get that out soon! I’m planning something awfully fun for Christmas!

And speaking of Christmas (did you like that little segue?), I’ve been listening to my Christmas music (I know. Shock and awe), and I’ve come up with a few songs that are must-haves this year (what am I talking about? Every year):

1. It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas – by Bing Crosby

No one else can match Bing on this one. Enough said.

2. The Christmas Song – by Michael Buble

I’m a huge, huge fan of the Boob – as Jon calls him. Oddly enough, my son is too ;). Apologies! I couldn’t resist a little nursing humor. 😉 But the song really is good.

3. Angels From the Realms of Glory – by Steven Curtis Chapman

When I was a little kid, my mom had Steven Curtis Chapman’s first Christmas CD, The Music of Christmas, and played it all through the whole month of December. So since then, SCC has become the voice of Christmas for me and this song is just a cool way of sharing the gospel in a Christmas song.

4. Baby, It’s Cold Outside – by Dean Martin

Classic. Classic. Classic. This is the best song to sing while driving. Particularly if you are driving away from Starbucks with one of those new Toffee Mochas and there’s frost on the windows. (And yup, they can make those with fake milk.)

5. Please Come Home For Christmas – by Bryan Duncan

One of my favorite rockin’ Christmas songs ever. Though, I must say that I hated this song the Christmas Jon and I were engaged and apart. Sort of like I can’t stand “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” when we won’t be. Honestly. Tears have ensued because of such things.

Anyhow.

I’ll keep you updated as this list changes, as I’m sure it will! 🙂

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

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I hope you all had a great Halloween! 🙂

I want you to know… I searched EVERYWHERE for a costume for Nathan. I mean it. Every single place I could think of. I only had a few criteria it needed to meet:

1) 0-3 month preferably
2) a boy’s costume
3) something he could move around in
4) something he could be held in
5) nothing scary or gross
6) under $10
7) preferably a baby cow. or a pig. or a moose (couldn’t you just DIE with him in a moose costume?)

And oddly enough, no one had anything that met all the things I was looking for. Which was a real bummer because I was all set and ready to take millions of pictures.

Instead, I found a snuggly pair of jammies at Target and he wore that. Probably not his first choice, but it was the choice that I had to make. Next year. Next year I will start my search for the baby moose costume much earlier.

We had our friends Clint and Leigh Ann over for pumpkin carving and soup. And those pumpkins…

Turned out amazing! I love how it’s amazing, amazing, ehhh, and amazing. The jack-o-lantern in Nathan’s pumpkin. We probably should have taken more time carving his.

We had such a great night though. The house was hot, the soup was hot and so the back door was open most of the night (our heating bill is going to be HORRENDOUS with how high we heat it with Nathan here!). We ran out of candy around nine, sadly. And I saw about eight Scream masks with blood running down them and decided all that is wrong with the world had to have some origin with those.

I’ve loved reading your favorite fall recipes! And I have to tell y’all – I found a pumpkin pie candle at Target the other day (same day I bought the onesie, actually) that seriously makes your house smell like you’ve been baking all day. Yummishness, over here.

Last week was my beautiful sister’s twentieth birthday – SO crazy! She’s such a good Auntie Cayce – Nathan just adores her. He lights up whenever she smiles at him. I think someone might need a little chat on how Aunties can only be Aunties and he needs to start flirting with girls his own age. 😉

Well. The N-Tot is down for a nap – which have been going SO much better! He now naps for at least an hour twice a day – YAY! I didn’t end up sticking with the cry it out method. It seriously KILLED me to listen to him sob in there and I decided that I need our rocking time just as much as he does! My baby won’t be a baby forever…

Anyway. The above paragraph was supposed to be my sign-off, but I got distracted. Can we tell it’s getting close to the holidays? I feel like my brain doesn’t work quite as well this time of year.

I’ve been working on a Tootise Pop while writing this and I’m happy to say that it takes 54 licks to get to the center of the Tootsie Pop.

Y’all have a great day. 🙂

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