Christmas Day

I think Ben & I were more excited on Christmas morning than the baby was.  We were so eager for Jackson to come downstairs that we were up at 7am -- coffee made, video camera rolling -- just waiting on the first whimper from upstairs.  Around 8:00, we couldn't stand it any longer and broke our #1 rule: never wake a sleeping baby!  Jackson went from grumpy to happy in about 20 seconds and didn't know what to think when we saw all the gifts under the tree!

The big gift from Santa -- a 4-wheeler just like Daddy's, only smaller.  He was a bit intimidated by the power behind this bad boy and preferred to push it instead.  (On a side-note 2 weeks post-Christmas, Jackson still prefers the green 4-wheeler that Ben salvaged from the neighbor's trash.)



Helping Poppy open the "Bimini's Oyster Bar Ring Game" that Ben carefully constructed for Poppy.  Poppy was so surprised & impressed by Ben's level of detail and handiwork.

Jackson's other favorite gift: his cowboy boots!  Oma & Opa picked out the perfect gift!

Next came the stockings...Jackson was eager to help Nanny & Poppy open their's first!

Jackson loves his Poppy!

After presents & breakfast, we loaded up the car & headed to Bebe & PopPaw's in Conover to celebrate Christmas with them & Mike & Jenn.  First things first at Bebe's...more presents!!  Uncle Mikey & Aunt Jenn gave Jackson this awesome guitar, which he loves!

Giggling with Bebe...this little boy sure does adore her!  "Bay-Bay" as he calls her! 



 Time to open his presents from Bebe & PopPaw, including a Thomas train set (which I failed to actually get a picture of).  He was obsessed with it.  And still is.

Showing Uncle Mikey his choo-choo and cowboy hat!

The rare group shot...Christmas Day 2010!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve rolled around a few days after I had a terrible 24-hour stomach bug and just as Ben was recovering from his bout with it.  Needless to say, I forgoed my much anticipated cooking & cleaning binge and just did as much as I could to get by.  Christmas Eve was spent hanging around the house, and Poppy & Nanny came down around lunchtime.  We went to the mid-afternoon Christmas Eve service at church, then went by the Roper Mountain Holiday Lights to see Santa & check out the Griswald-esque displays.  It was a mighty impressive show of lights and the Santa there was very authentic looking.

(None of the pics of the Christmas lights turned out, but this is how Jackson was able to take in the view!)

We enjoyed some home-made clam chowder for supper and then let Jackson open a couple presents before bed.  His instant favorite...the Thomas Train from Uncle Jon!  (Bella was also quite fond of the train tent)

He also loved the tool bench that Poppy & Nanny brought, and especially loved rocking the safety goggles.



After lots of playtime, it was bedtime for Jackson so Santa could come!

'Twas the weekend before Christmas....

We opted to throw a spin on our Christmas traditions this year and spend Christmas at home in Greenville rather than spend it shuffling between my parents' homes.

So the weekend prior to Christmas, we designated as "Christmas with Poppy & Nanny" and gave them an entire, uninterrupted weekend of quality time!  As we arrived late Friday night, Jackson woke up from him car nap for a late-night hoorah, eager to play with Poppy & the tool bench.  Around 11pm, we decided it was time for our little trooper to hit the hay.

Saturday morning, Linda treated me to a manicure & pedicure and we fit in a little shopping before the annual Isaac Family Christmas Party.  Yes, this your typical Griswold-esque-extended family-at the church fellowship hall-type Christmas party and I regret not taking a group picture. We all had fun catching up with family & stuffing our faces, and Jackson got his paws on an icing coated cooking that was an absolute disaster.

Post-party, we headed up to Blowing Rock to spend the rest of the weekend at the mountain house.  We celebrated Poppy's 59th birthday and did our Christmas gift-giving.  Jackson enjoyed hanging out with his cousin Parker & the "big boys".

Jackson racked up big-time with lots of toys & a basketball goal!  Even so, the jumbo box the goal came in was as big a hit as the goal itself (go figure).

We got several inches of snow while we were up there and Poppy & Jackson took a chilly hike around the property.

On our way back to Greenville, we stopped by Dad's office for the much anticipated picking up of Ben's 4-wheeler.  It's been living in the basement of the office for a few years now due to lack of garage space/places to ride, but Ben's been eager to get it back.  So we loaded that bad boy up in the truck, along with a slew of other miscellaneous tools & construction materials that Dad hooked Ben up -- solid wood door (workbench), scroll saw (for Ben's woodworking?), office chair (chair for workbench), 2 5-gallon buckets full of assorted nails, screws, wrenches, tools, etc. 

While Ben was loading his "treasures", Jackson ran around the parking lot & played in the trailer to burn off some of his energy.  After the truck was loaded down, we truly looked like we had raided a junk-yard. 

Nash-Vegas

Last weekend, we headed to Nashville with our good friends The Browns to attend Kyle Dunbar's wedding.  Sally & I went to high school with Kyle and have kept in touch with him and several other classmates over the years.  It was so much fun to have a weekend away from parental responsibilities!

Our first night out & about, we hit up as many local joints as we could manage.  Along the way, we accrued quite a few random photos...

Friday night on Broadway

Ben & Justin, observing the action from the sidelines

Hanging out with Kyle (our groom!), Dusty & Emily

Randomness #1:  These two women who were out & about in bikini t-shirts (for no occasion at all).  We loved it & they let us try them on for a photo op.  Can you say "Girls Weekend 2030"?

Randomness #2:  Sketchy kidnapper-look-alike with gold chains posted up at the bar.  Under the false pretense of taking a pic of Sally, I snapped one of him...and apparently, he was in on this & smiled for my picture.  I guess you had to be there.

Randomness #3:  Off-duty Christmas Elf.  He was a "real" elf...meaning when his shift was over, he left the mall (?) and dropped by Tootsie's for a cold one.

Saturday, we slept until noon (yes, noon!) and then went shopping for Sally some cowboy boots.  The wedding was Saturday night and we all had a great time celebrating with Kyle & his new wife Meredith!

This boy's got moves!

Dancing to the music of "Christmas Puppy"

Playdate Fun!

I owe all the girls from playgroup lots of pictures since I'm usually the one who busts out the camera at the first sign of a potential photo-op.  We get together every Friday for a morning full of toddler playtime and mommy socialization. Here a some overdue pics from the past few weeks...

All the kiddos, scrapping for some Bugles, like puppies at the food bowl!

Playgroup Thanksgiving crafts...

Burning some post-playdate/pre-nap energy at Chic-fil-A

I love how Jackson & Slade are such sweet little buddies.

Peeking through the window at the cute 3-year old eating lunch =)

All the little ones, ready to cruise the Holiday Fair

Playing in the poinsettias at the Holiday Fair

Aren't these the sweetest little grins?!?