Joy-full times

Christmas morning at Aaron and Meagan's house.

We were homebound this Christmas, but luckily, family came to us instead! Corey's parents were here for Christmas, and my parents came up a couple days after. It really made the holidays especially nice to have loved ones around, and we were able to spend Christmas morning with Asher at our own house for the first time! I am not a huge fan of transporting presents, so that was another bonus. Christmas Eve day I had asked Asher what Santa would bring him. His reply was, "Santa brings presents. Don't pee on Santa." I was dying over that one. I can only imagine that stemmed from our talking about not peeing on Thomas, Elmo or McQueen (all his underwear characters). That night, we ate some yummy snacks and treats, read Luke 2, sung Christmas songs (chosen by Ash) and drove around Old Town and the Country Club neighborhood to look at all the amazing luminarias (I figured sitting in the car wouldn't be too bad with my pregnancy). I think we will make that one a tradition when we are in town for the holidays. They were amazing. Plus, I have a soft spot for Old Town on Christmas Eve since that is when and where Corey proposed. So romantic! Before we went to bed, we were sure to let Asher put out cookies and a carrot for Santa and his reindeer. Now every time he sees a carrot he says they're for the reindeer. Hopefully he doesn't use that one to get out of eating them.

On Christmas morning, we slept in a little (7:30), and enjoyed our time together opening presents and stockings. Santa must know how much Asher loves trains! We had to practically force him to stop playing with his train stuff long enough to check out his stocking. It was lots of fun and a nice relaxing start to our Christmas morning. A little later we drove up to Aaron and Meagan's place for breakfast (waffles, yum!) and some more gift-giving (again, I figured I'd just sit, be good and hang out).

Corey was able to get out and take Asher to the Aquarium where he ran his little heart out. He's been cooped up for a couple of weeks since he's been sick, so I think it was a welcome relief. We ate, talked, laughed, played games and had a truly wonderful time with family celebrating Christmas. I can't believe we get to hang another stocking up on the fireplace next year!

Leaving treats for Santa.

Asher did get to visit with Santa for a second. Aaron was asked to be one of 'Santa's helpers' this year. Priceless.

Stocking from Grandma and Grandpa Pettit. This thing was actually pretty heavy!

Fun trip to the Aquarium with Grandma and Grandpa Reitz.

A common sight at our house. Ash is quite a game lover. He received Chutes and Ladders for Christmas, and has asked to play "Shoes and Socks" almost daily since. Wow, that game can be a real commitment.

Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa Pettit. He now knows how to blow bubbles in his milk, thanks to a little encouragement from Grandma.

Why everyone needs an almost 3 year old

As I am settling into my new routine of sitting around all day trying very hard not to do anything, I am finding that my almost 3 year old is not such bad company after all. Not that we didn't spend loads of time together before, but now that I have so few distractions, he is an even bigger part of my day. He not only keeps me entertained with his hilarious antics and toddler-ese, but he is actually helpful!! It's almost as if he is rising to the occasion and realizing I may actually need his help a little. Well, as much help as a pint-size kiddo can be anyway.

Case and point:

Corey's been helping with the laundry so I don't have to lift/bend so much...not good for the ol' cerclage (this too is VERY helpful). A load of laundry was in the dryer, so I asked Asher if he could get the clothes out and bring them to me so I could fold them on the couch. He was ecstatic to be given such an important task and immediately ran to the dryer to begin his chore. The best part is that it took him (no exageration) at least 25 trips to the dryer to get it all done, and he doesn't walk back and forth, he runs as fast as he can. Some trips yielded nothing more than one of his socks. When I'd ask him if he was almost done, he'd reply with, "no, there's lots more." The poor kid doesn't even realize that was only a medium sized load. We'll need to work up to a large one. All I had to do was sit on the couch and fold, and the clothes came to me. Asher has certainly been an untapped resource until now!

• Who else would read me books about counting and the alphabet?

• Who else would beg me to do everything for himself? (Not even our 'grown-up' husbands do that)

• Who else would go get their own underwear, all the way upstairs when they have an accident?

• Who else would accept a reward of hugs, kisses and the occasional well earned cup of hot cocoa (with a pile of whip cream) for a job well done?

• Who else would take a nap every afternoon just so I can take it easy and even take a nap myself if I so wish?

• Who else would let me play Candy Land and Memory every day with him?

• Who else yells, "Dion, no bark!" when Dion starts his incessant doggie rants?
  

• Who else tells me he "loves me more" when I put him down for naps?
  

I love my little boy and I seriously can't imagine how bored I'd be without him here to keep me company, and I am so lucky to have such a good helper! ( I actually mean that...mostly).

Asher's reward for helping mommy. The story (in pictures) of the cup of cocoa that was TOO hot. Poor baby! I felt so bad. How could something so delicious be so mean? My fault.

Mmmm.

P.S. I am in no way affiliated or in support of those promoting child labor.

The Bachelor

So, Corey came home the other day and told me the most hilarious conversation he had with one of the secretaries at work. Seriously, some people need a way to help edit their thoughts before they turn into words...some kind of virus scan for humans that can be implanted into their brains.

A little background:
As many of you know (and can obviously see), Corey is bald. Now, this isn't the typical and dreaded male-pattern baldness that everyone with a Y chromosome fears from the day they realize their grandpa went bald at 28. No, Corey has alopecia, which is his body's way of saying it doesn't want to waste time and energy on hair for a while. The look he currently sports was a result of his alopecia getting worse and worse during the final year of his undergrad (a result of extreme stress in my opinion), which caused him to finally shave it all off. I came home one day and ta-da...Corey and his brother, Adam, had decided to go for it. I think it looks great! And talk about low maintenance, wow! People always think he's really into swimming or something since he's so aerodynamic.

So, at work, he has displayed a picture or two of our wedding. Corey still had hair back then so people often think the pictures are of his brother. He thinks its pretty funny.

Conversation:
(Secretary walks into Corey's office and sees pictures.)

"Who's this?"

"Oh, that's me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I have alopecia."

"So, all your hair fell out?"

"Uh-huh."

"Your wife is pretty. Did she know that was going to happen to you?" (Nice, but he didn't exactly trick me into marrying him!)

"Yeah, she knew it was a possibility...she knew I had alopecia."

(Pause, as she stares at the pictures)

"Wow, you could have been on the Bachelor!"

(Very awkward pause follows.......end of conversation.)

Yes, crazy secretary lady, he could have been on "The Bachelor", except that I snagged him first! Hmph.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving was great this year, even though our numbers were small...just the three of us! We (Corey as a runner, me and Ash as spectators) started the day off with the Albuquerque Turkey Trot, a 5K race at the Uptown shopping center. Corey chose to burn off some calories before the calorie fest that is Thanksgiving Dinner. I actually loved being there, cheering Corey on and watching all the runners. What a fun way to start the holiday! Corey came in 6th place in his age group, not a bad feat for a guy who runs for 30 minutes or so a few days a week. Way to go Cor!

The proud (and very cold and wet) family, post race.

Corey and fellow running buddy Aaron.


It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...!

After the race, we headed home to engage in some major cooking. I guess the day didn't officially start with the race for me. I was up at 6 a.m. to make sure our gigantic turkey was thawed enough to pop into the oven. Somehow we ended up with the largest turkey we've ever had, and it was for just the three of us! So, at the crack of dawn, bleary-eyed and clumsy, I was dealing with a slippery, awkward and slightly creepy looking 22-pound bird. Of course, they never thaw in the amount of time they say they will, so I was doing the whole water bath in the sink thing. I hurried and got ready, knowing I'd allowed myself plenty of time to finish up with the turkey and head out the door. Of course that was before I realized the whole inside of the bird was still frozen solid. I could not get that nasty neck out of the turkey! Finally I pulled it out, but remembered hearing stories of people cooking the turkey with the whole gizzard bag inside. I couldn't find that thing for the life of me, so, of course, I called my mom. She just laughed and said it was in the other end. Oh, right. There are two holes to stuff things into. Relieved, I found them and tossed them in the trash since nobody at our house thinks they are a delicacy (ew!). After a little more rinsing and patting, Corey helped me stuff the giant bird into a roasting bag, the pan and into the oven. What a workout! And I didn't even stuff it. Then we headed out the door.

After the turkey, the rest seemed reasonable. We had stuffing, cranberries, cranberry fruit salad, rolls, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams and pumpkin pie. I cheated on the yams since Corey won't touch them. I bought some canned ones and sweetened them up a bit. I also bought the pumpkin pie because it seemed like a lot of work for only 3 people. That, and Costco makes a mean pumpkin pie. Was it a big spread for our little family...yes. One of these years when its only our family we will have to go out for dinner. But the sentimental fool inside me battles it out and I end up making a lot more work for myself. It was a nice, mellow holiday with good food, despite all the work.

Asher's idea of smiling for the camera.


Corey and I started seriously wondering if he was going to stop eating. Isn't there a gland in your brain that secretes something to tell you when you're full? We thought maybe his was broken.

Before Thanksgiving, when I'd ask Asher what we eat on Thanksgiving, his reply was, "Punkin pie, juice and water." What about the turkey? Sheesh. Every time we'd serve up leftovers to him he'd ask me, "Is it Thanksgiving?" He loved the food.

Black Friday was a no-no for me, being nearly 6 months pregnant with a cerclage, I am starting to really take it easy. Actually from here on out, no more doing pretty much anything. Luckily, I have all my shopping done, most of which I did online anyway. I haven't been shopping on Black Friday in years. All those psycho shopper stories can be a little intimidating. I'm not sure its worth it most of the time!

Over the weekend, we also put up and decorated the tree. Corey even put the lights up outside! I love having everything up so we can enjoy it all longer. I figure you might as well, since a couple days after Christmas I start feeling the urge to put it all away. While decorating the tree, Asher gets to open a new ornament to put on the tree. We try to pick one out that is a reminder of this year and represents something about him. His recent train kick served as a good cue so this year it's a Thomas the Tank Engine ornament, which he of course loved. I love this tradition. It's one that Corey's family started when he was born. When they were first married they didn't have any ornaments for a tree, and decided that each of their children would get one ornament (or more) every year so when they had their own tree, they'd have something to decorate it with, plus a bunch of memories behind each one. Our first Christmas together, our tree was far from bare since he came with a box full of them.

We've had the Christmas music going all weekend, and I can officially say we are ready for Christmas. I love this time of year...all the symbols, the colors, the lights, the music and the family. Thanksgiving was nice, and we are really looking forward to a great Christmas too. We truly have so much to be thankful for!

Asher and Dion, hanging together outside this weekend. Maybe all that Turkey finally caught up with him.