Christmas Doing

December is quickly passing us by and I'm trying my best to get things documented. We have been busy and Georgia Grace has been puny so I haven't found the motivation to blog like other months. We took her to the doctor yesterday and she has another ear infection :(. We are praying she is well for Christmas and our trip out west!

Despite being under the weather we still were able to celebrate Christmas this week in lots of fun ways. Tis the season!

For Marcus' class Christmas party my MIL always make the students a big crockpot of hot chocolate and Georgia Grace got to help with the tradition this year. Her favorite favorite thing to do is stir. She is always packing around a spoon and looking for something she can whip up. 

Friday was also the AKK Christmas party. Georgia Grace got to join in on the fun and show off her dance moves!

She danced with a boy for the first time at the party. Aiden was her dance partner and she is very fond of him. Tell me how she is already doing this?!?

Friday night we had the Ross' over to exchange Christmas gifts. This was her first real experience opening gifts this year and she was all about it.

Such a big girl these days. Too big in my opinion!

Uncle Nate, Aunt Rachel, Georgia Grace, and Roman Henry. Can't wait to have him with us next Christmas!

Saturday was a "stay in and get well" day. Just like with all children it seems she only feels bad at night and does great through the day. This was me attempting to get a picture of her in front of our tree. And this is real life. I think we are going to have a very blurry Christmas! :)

I took a picture with her in front of the tree last year so I wanted to carry on that tradition. She was all smiles and feeling great Sunday despite a rough start to the weekend.

Christmas 2012 & Christmas 2013

What a difference a year makes! And I should mention that she is wearing the exact same dress both years. One of the many reasons I love smocking.

GGH decided to give the sitting in Santa's lap thing another try at my mamaw's on Sunday. She liked this Santa much better. She gave him loves and everything. We've made a real turnaround!

This is what exhaustion looks like.

It's Christmas Eve Eve! I remember when I was little starting the "It's Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve..." way early in December ha! That wasn't annoying at all I'm sure.

 Let the festivities begin!

Brain Dump

We are in the midst of such a busy week. Company Christmas party, school Christmas party, potluck at work, open house at work...it's a doozy! My mind is in several places so I'm just jotting down some notes of what's going on in our neck of the woods.

1. Georgia Grace loves our Christmas tree and gets into it every night. Luckily no ornaments have broke and tears have been kept to a minimum

2. This is kind of personal but I wanted to document to remember in case I need to refer back to it in the future. We are battling constipation with GGH hard these days. The transition from breast milk to whole milk did not go as well as planned. She accepted it beautifully but it has led to some bowel problems. We haven't quite figured out the best remedy yet. We are strongly pushing fluids and that's going better but she is just not a big drinker. And she still prefers her bottle over anything. I'm hoping the newest action we have taken will be the answer. It's been pitiful though. Makes my mommy heart so sad.

3. In reference to #2, she is slowly learning how to drink from anything other than her bottle. She has never been crazy about her sippy (we think it's because she has to do it herself; no spoiling here!) and hasn't quite mastered the straw yet so we are trialing all methods of drinking. I have been concerned that she hasn't been drinking enough so we are offering beverages from a sippy, straw, and wide mouth cup.

She's doing much better! We used some good ol' peer pressure at AKK to help demonstrate how to drink from a cup. You'll notice she thought it was the thing to do when the big girls were doing it.

4. She has learned to shake her head "No". If someone holds out their hands to hold her and she's not interested or if we offer her a drink and she's not thirsty, she politely just shakes her head.

5. I finished all of my Christmas shopping yesterday and I'm pretty proud of that. There's usually one or two odds and ends that I still need at the 11th hour but not this year.

6. Christmas Cards have been ordered for over a week now but still haven't been delivered. Guess I'll pull an all-nighter when they arrive getting them addressed and stamped!

7. I gave my boss her Christmas gift today and it brought her to tears. This is a mousepad with all the Department Heads that are under her. I had never seen her cry so I knew it was special to her.

8. Our trip to Jackson Hole for my dad's 50th birthday is a little over a week away. This will be Georgia Grace's first plane ride so I've started researching the must knows for air travel with a baby. I'm so so excited about this trip! I wonder if we have enough warm clothes?!? The 10 day forecast shows a whopping high of 23 and low of 6 for next Friday. Brrrr!

Weekend Recap

This weekend recap will be pretty minimal and boring because that kind of sums up the weekend and it was perfect. I got more sleep this weekend than since I can remember. And we had so much fun. Here's what our weekend looked like-

As I mentioned on Friday, we had our "1st Annual Gammy's Christmas Sleepover". We headed over to their house when I got home on Friday and didn't leave until Saturday evening when Marcus got back from his hunting trip. GGH spent a lot of time on Gammy's hip this weekend.

She loved playing on the steps and with their cat Peanut. Peanut wasn't as crazy about his visitor as she was him but they got along just fine.

She was too busy for pictures. She loves thoroughly exploring Gammy's house when we visit. And we had our first experience with her trying to open a Christmas present. She stopped when we told her "No" so I was proud of her. She keeps us busy!!

My sister came to the sleepover too but didn't get there until late due to babysitting obligations. Georgia Grace was already asleep when she got there so I told her I would stay up with her for a little while. And guess what us wild women did?!? Watched episodes of Supermarket Sweep on YouTube!!

Y'all that might be my favorite show of all time (behind Full House of course). And I had kind of forgot about it but something jogged my memory of it the other day and since then I have been setting up our ipad on a stand in the kitchen and watching episodes while I cook supper.

Marcus had never even heard of the show. And thinks I'm crazy. Maybe he's right!

Saturday morning we slept in (well GGH was up at 4:55 am but once she went back to sleep she slept until 9 am) and lounged around the house. We watched the Cats lose (I don't want to talk about it) and then we headed home to greet daddy.

While the girls were wearing pjs and baking cookies, Marcus and Eric went bear hunting. They had the best time based on the reports that I have received. Much more fun than walking a graduation line so he says ha! They did not kill or see a bear but 7 bears were killed in EKy this weekend. They made history by hunting in the first ever bear season in Whitley County, Kentucky. Love them both!

Sunday was our church's Christmas Cantata and one of my best friends since birth came!! I was so excited to see her and her family. She graduated with her Masters in Nursing from WKU this weekend. I'm so proud of her! The memories with this girl are endless. She is my kindred spirit.

Sunday afternoon was our town's Christmas parade. We braved the cold and attended but stayed inside my dad's office mostly and watched from the window. It was too cold to wave but she watched and loved it all. Her precious peacoat and hat were early Christmas gifts from Uncle Jake and Aunt Shanna. I love them on her!

Sunday night we went to a cookie baking party at my Aunt Kim's. Their house is full of boy toys but she found a way to make them fun :)

The busyness of the season arrives this week and I feel a little overwhelmed by all my obligations but I am just going to take it one day at a time and enjoy the season. The hustle and bustle fuels me to get everything done so I'm not rushed during the 11th hour tying up loose ends. I want to enjoy every second of Christmas with our little angel.

Tis The Season

It's 12 days until Christmas and our calendars are full of our favorite seasonal traditions. We are busy but it's the good kind of busy filled with activities that are life giving and that celebrate the greatest story ever told. 

This week has been a fun one starting with an unexpected snow day. This was my view as I headed into work early Tuesday morning (Mom-I had just pulled out of my driveway and I was in park. Had to give a disclaimer-safety first!). This was probably the peak of the snow accumulation but it did make for an interesting commute over bridges and two lane roads.

Daddy and Georgia Grace spent their snow day in jams visiting AKK friends. The big bear that has made an appearance in a couple of photos is Aunt Shanna's but GGH has kind of taken him over for now. She loves to run up to him and just fall in his lap. It's precious.

She has had a change of heart concerning Santa (a 5 foot fake dancing Santa mind you) and has come all the way around to giving him kisses! A far cry from our scene two weeks ago. She's back on the nice list :)

I should also mention that this girl said her own name this week! It's not completely clear but you could for sure hear the "Jor" and the "Ja" sounds. She makes me proud everyday!

This week has been the week of the deliveries. I would guess 90% of my Christmas shopping has been online this year so you can imagine the excitement coming home to stacks of packages like this!

Wednesday night our church had our annual holiday meal and the children's choir had their play "Stranger in a Manger". Such a cute performance that I have seen time and time again but it never gets old. All of the kids did so great!

For the meal the older mature ladies in the church each decorate a table. There's a wide variety of Christmas, Thanksgiving, kids-themed, I even saw a Duck Dynasty themed Christmas spread.  Such a neat tradition that I look forward to every year.

I had to snap a picture of our AKK friend Thomas. He made a beeline to Georgia Grace as soon as we got there. He is such a little model!! He was very proud of his bowtie and Georgia Grace had to check it out.

This girl right here has turned into an eating machine this week. You will notice her tray is empty and that's because I couldn't give her bites fast enough! I feel like her appetite has doubled. Now if only we can start liking our sippy cup this much...

I snapped this of my angel baby when we got home from church. It was a one nap day so she fell asleep on the way home from church in her peacoat and hat. I could stare at this picture forever. She's perfect.

Last night after we put the baby to bed, the kitchen was clean and the laundry was caught up, I took my Christmas spirit up a notch by kicking back and watching one of my favorite Christmas movies, Home Alone. I wanted to document this because I want to remember this view for years to come. While I spend a lot of time wishing we had a bigger house or that the next step in building a home would be provided, it's moments like this that remind me of how great our little home is. It may not be a big home but I bet you won't find a cozier one!

And because I am a creature of habit and love my Five On Friday routine, here is a mini version to cover the amazing weekend we have in store.

1. Tonight is the "1st Annual Gammy's Christmas Sleepover"! Our Christmas jams are packed and our bellies are ready for some yummy sleepover food.

2. Our slumber party was scheduled because Marcus is going out of town this weekend with my BIL to go bear hunting. Eric's hometown is having their first ever bear hunt and they think there may be one on their land. He has been looking forward to this so much.

3. Big news-Marcus has completed his Masters Degree! I am so proud of him. His graduation for his Masters would be Saturday but he thinks he would rather bear hunt instead ha! I will post a picture of him with his degree once he receives it in the mail. We are so happy he has this chapter of grad school complete. I'm thankful for the sacrifices he makes to give us the best life.

4. Our town's Christmas parade is rescheduled for Sunday. Georgia Grace was 5 weeks old for the parade last year so I'm excited to see her reaction this year.

5. Sunday (Saturday too) is our church's Christmas Cantata called "An Aberdeen Christmas". If you are local you really should come hear some of the best singing and instrumental music anywhere around. It's not really Christmas for us until we have seen "An Aberdeen Christmas" each year. Goosebumps galore. Your heart will be warmed and full of the Christmas spirit that only the gospel can bring.

I hope everyone has a fun festive weekend embracing the season!

One Year Pictures

I'm doing a little back blogging today for Georgia Grace's one year pictures. In my defense I just received them on Tuesday so I'm posting as quick as I could :) I mentioned through her birthday festivities that this photo shoot did not go well and I was thinking there was no way that we would even get one decent shot but to my surprise there are a few that I love.

Sweet daddy getting the balloons set up for the birthday girl.

So happy to be a big one year old! She was really hamming it up in the beginning.

My pretty little lady

And there's the happy birthday girl!

Everything was great until right after we took this picture and a bee popped one of the balloons. It scared her and she was done after that.

She wanted to be held the rest of the time.

We caught a few smiles here and there.

This melts my heart. A daddy's girl no doubt.

So sad! She just wasn't having it.

This was our best family picture that we got and I think it turned out great. You really only need a few good ones anyway.

"It's my birthday and I can cry if I want to!"

Oh those alligator tears.

We called it quits after this one ha!

She was smiling in this one :)

O-dog came to the farm (SIL and BIL's house) and had the best time running loose! He loves the farm so much.

If you think it's always peaches and cream around here, this is proof that things don't always go as planned. But that's part of our story. I'll always remember this photo shoot no doubt. Just like I'll always remember this year's Santa picture. It's all just a season.

Smiley, picture perfect photos are boring anyways :)

A Harrison Christmas

I have been slowly decorating our house since Black Friday and I finally finished everything this weekend. Decorating the house in a timely fashion isn't very timely with a baby! But alas it's all up and it feels like Christmas in our little country home. I didn't pull out everything this year due to lack of space and a curious one year old but my favorites have all found a spot. 

I'm starting with the main event. I love our tree! I stuck to my roots with the traditional ornaments, tartan plaid ribbon, and round bead garland and paired it with some deco mesh for a more dramatic effect. I love/hate deco mesh. Love the look, hate the arranging! They sell pre-lit trees, maybe they will come out with pre-meshed trees? :)

Some of my favorite ornaments this year-

My MIL gifts us a family ornament and a baby ornament every year and gives them to us over Thanksgiving so we can use them all season. This year Georgia Grace's ornament is a shoe representing her new walking skills she mastered in 2013!

This is the 2013 family ornament and it's soooo adorable! Both ornaments are from Ornament Shop.

Of course our tree had to have some Kentucky blue.

And Marcus' team teacher and our church friend Janet found this for us at Glendale Days so we had her pick it up for us. It's like an ornament made just for us.

This is the same as last year but I still wanted a picture nonetheless. We use our fireplace every night during the winter. It takes cozy to a whole different level. It's looking like we may have a rough winter so I'm sure it will get plenty of use this season. Since Marcus and I are only doing stockings this year I expect my sock to be overflowing with goodness in a few short weeks! 

My favorite thing to decorate in our house is our "green cabinet". I change it up with every season and it's just a perfect display shelf. This year I stuck with the classics-Spode, holly leaves, tin cookie cutters, DIY Anthropologie snow globes, and a first Christmas framed photo.

This is definitely "Pinspired" chalkart but I freehanded it and it turned out better than I ever expected. I received my first B in Art in 4th grade and I like to think of this as my redemption :)

Just a simple wreath hung over our mirror but I love the little touch of Christmas it adds to the room. But I don't love the fingerprints on the mirror so just ignore those :)

I feel like reindeer decor/clothing is really in this year and I love this one I picked up our first Christmas together. The reindeer, christmas tree print and wooden manger are all TJ Maxx finds. I like the simplicity of this space.

We also kept it simple outside with just some wreaths in the window/door and garland and bows on the railing. I took this photo during the ice storm so you will notice our flag is frozen stiff wrapped up in itself and our hedge is doing some major drooping. Snow would have been much prettier!

 I forgot to take a picture of my dining room table and now it is the gift wrap station so just imagine a tartan plaid tablecloth and a candle topiary with woven greenery and there you have it :)

The 2013 Christmas home tour is complete! What a wonderful four Christmases we have had in our first 'Harrison Homeplace'. So many memories and so many firsts have happened inside those walls. I will be sad to close this chapter of our lives. We are so proud of this place.

Tomorrow night is our Christmas meal at church and this weekend is our Christmas parade and Christmas Cantata. The Christmas cards are rolling in and wrapped presents are starting to cover the tree skirt. Favorite Christmas movies are getting watched and the gift list is getting shorter and shorter. It is the most wonderful time of the year!