Our White Christmas

Happy Birthday Jesus, and Merry Christmas to everyone!!

We had a wonderful day indeed! Santa came to see us, we got {and were able to give} lots of great presents, we enjoyed spending time with family, and we got a real treat as a result of the weather -- a WHITE Christmas, Atlanta's first in 128 years. It was so much fun to end our day playing in the snow! :)

Here is a glimpse at our day in pictures ...

It looks like Santa enjoyed his cookies and milk,

and Rudolph enjoyed his apple :)

Checking out what Santa brought -- a tool bench and a train.

And lots of goodies in Ryan's stocking -- a Buzz Lightyear cellphone,

Toy Story stickers, a Cars coloring set, a book, a new

toothbrush, vitamins, candy.

"Hello!"

Helping Pop open his present :)

Ryan loves hats so we got him an Atlanta
Braves hat that is just his size.

We also got him a dump truck. Can you tell by his face

that he is making the sound of a truck?

Uncle Alan got Ryan a new Woody doll. It is

just like the one in the movie!

Ryan LOVES it, and refused to put it down :)

Mr. Potato Head! "Thanks Mama and Dada!"

Daddy got a new Army fleece. Now he doesn't have

to be cold at work anymore. And I think he

likes it based on his big grin :)

Uncle Alan also got Ryan some Legos :)

And Pop got him two sound puzzles :)

We cannot leave Riley out. She is always so excited

for her present, just like a child :)

Ryan got a rocking horse from Papa Tony and

Deedee, and a cowboy outfit from Wyoming.

Christmas smiles :) Love this pic!

Once we finished opening presents, R snuck outside

to check out the snow that had started falling :)

After Ryan's nap, we headed over to Pop's house to see

Aunt Laura, and Ryan got MORE presents :) Unfortunately,

he was done opening presents by this point so

Laura had to help him along. He was thrilled with

his new books and Toy Story 3 though!

Playing with the bow :)

Presents from Ama and Granddaddy - a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

pillow pet and a Jingle All the Way Interactive Storybook. I think Ryan

likes Jingle as he is giving him a big squeeze :)

Flying with Uncle Alan :)

After dinner, we headed outside to play in the

snow and build a snowman :)

Building a snowball :) And no, Ryan isn't wearing gloves.

He refused to wear them and screamed when we made

him go inside. So we gave in and let him play without them,

seeing that we don't have this opportunity very often,

and concluded that having cold hands doesn't bother him.

He caught on quickly ... probably due to the fact

that Uncle Alan was throwing snowballs at him.

He loved the snow!

Giving Uncle Alan some snow for the

snowman. Every little bit helps, right? :)

The boys with their masterpiece :)

Our Christmas 2010 Snowman :)

"Happy Birthday, Jesus!!"

'Twas the night before Christmas

We spent the majority of the day on Christmas Eve relaxing, cooking, and running to the grocery store for a few last minute items. No shopping or wrapping happened at this house. We have been ready in that regard for a least a week :)

That evening, we headed to the Christmas Eve service at our church with Pop, Uncle Alan, Papa Tony, and Deedee. Here are a few pictures we took before we left for church. Ryan was really cheesing it up in these shots :)

After hearing a wonderful Christmas message and singing some of our favorite Christmas hymns, we had a yummy Mexican dinner together at Pop's house.

Uncle Alan and his shadow patiently waiting

for dinner to be ready :)

Then we went home to get ready for Santa's arrival, and go to bed so we were nice and rested for the next day :)

We put out some cookies and milk for Santa, and an apple for Rudolph. We forgot a note though -- will have to remember that for next year.

Ryan really wanted to eat one of the cookies. He got in

a few licks before putting it on the plate :)

We then read The Night Before Christmas together before calling it a night.


"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ryan!!

We cannot believe our baby boy is now 2 years old!! 2! Where does the time go?

{Time, even though we do look forward to what the coming years bring, it would be nice if you could slow down just a little -- please and thank you!}

Ryan is such a blessing to us, and has brought us tremendous joy over the last two years. He is such a sweet, loving, and fun little boy.

Ryan had his 2 year check-up on Monday, and is a perfect and healthy boy. He is 37 inches long {still in the 97 percentile} and 31.5 pounds. He is learning new stuff everyday, and can now say quite a few words -- hi, bye, mama, dada, dog, ball, more, milk, juice, up, arm, nose, eye, hair, go, stay, please, hand, no, yeah, again, mine, shoes, hat, sit, get, two, car, door, bat. He has also recently started saying some two words phrases with his most frequent being "up, please!"

We had a nice dinner last night at Carrabba's just like we did the night before Ryan was born {on the way to the hospital, actually}. As we have decided to continue this tradition every year since, this was our third year of having dinner at Carrabba's on December 22nd :) Ama, Granddaddy, Aunt Carol, Catie, and Candler were able to join us this year as well -- an added bonus!

And we have had a wonderful day today celebrating Ryan's birthday!

Daddy made us a yummy breakfast this morning, which Ryan got to eat off the red "You're Special Today" plate {for the first time}.

Ryan loves bacon and milk. Eggs, not so much.

Opening presents from Mommy and Daddy -- a vacuum.

And a Children's Nativity Set.

Getting birthday wishes from Uncle Joe, Aunt Michelle,

Erica and AJ -- also enjoying a little naked time :)

Then we had a nice family birthday party for Ryan this afternoon. Ryan had lots of fun being the center of attention, and playing with all the balloons we got to decorate the house :) He also got lots of great presents -- he is a very lucky little boy! Thanks to Grammy, Pop, Aunt Laura, Papa Tony, Ama, Aunt Carol, Catie, and Candler for being with us to celebrate!

Homemade cookie cake that Mommy made for Ryan's party :)

Snacks for the party.

Daddy did a great job decorating!

We are ready for the party to begin :)

Checking out the Toy Story balloon --

Ryan loves Buzz and Woody!!

The birthday boy :)

Ryan LOVES balloons. Everyone joked that

they could have just gotten him balloons instead of presents.

Aunt Carol and Catie -- so glad they were able to come :)

Enjoying some Cheetos with Pop and Grammy.

Opening a Little People school bus from Aunt

Laura. She wrapped everything in Toy Story

wrapping paper -- R was thrilled :)

Playing with Ryan's new Buzz Lightyear phone from Grammy.

Play food from The Young Family to go with Ryan's new

kitchen :) He is a big fan of the ice cream cones!

Another present from Aunt Laura ...

a Toy Story bath set :)

Time for birthday cake and singing :)

"Happy birthday to you!,

Happy birthday to you!,

Happy birthday, dear Ryan,

Happy Birthday to You!"

Ryan loves being sung too! And he looked around the

room and made sure everyone was singing :)

Trying to blow out the candle -- it looks

like he has it down in this picture but he struggled

a little with actually blowing it out.

After the party, we ventured across the street with Pop, Papa Tony, and Deedee and had some pizza for dinner --one of Ryan's favorites. It was a perfect day, and Ryan was worn out by bedtime! :)

Sound asleep!

Happy 2nd Birthday, sweet Ryan!!! We love you so very much!!!