Peeks into our Weeks

We have been pretty busy the past couple of weeks with so many wonderful things, so to get caught up, I've decided to do one big post of many mini-posts!

Thanksgiving

Our 2010 Thanksgiving family picture (Cooper was fast asleep for it)

This Thanksgiving we had so very much to be thankful for, and it was so nice to have a day to celebrate all our many blessings. At the top of our thankful list: our healthy, typically happy baby...

...who did a lot of this all day on Thanksgiving...

and finally did some of this that evening.

It was definitely a holiday for celebrating our wonderful family. We had dinner with my mom on Wednesday, lunch with my dad on Thursday, and then dinner with Karl's family. Karl's grandfather and cousin came to visit from Oklahoma, which we look forward to each Thanksgiving. We took advantage of their visit this year to get some good family photos!

Decking Our Halls

The day after Thanksgiving, I told Cooper it was time to get ready for Christmas.

And he said, "Say what?!"

To get us in the Christmas spirit, we went to pick out our Christmas tree.

Cooper's response to picking out the tree was the same as when we picked out a pumpkin...

...he slept through the whole thing.

Then it was time to pull out and dust off our Christmas decorations. I absolutely LOVE Christmas, and it is so exciting to have a little one around this year. However, that little one made decorating a bit of a challenge. He gives me limited time to do things other than dote on him; therefore, our halls took three days to deck, but alas, they're done! Here are a few of my favorite things for this year:

1. Cooper's Stocking

I am so happy to have three stockings up there this year!

2. Baby's First Christmas ornament

I got a Radko ornament to go with the one Karl got me for our first Christmas.

3. My dad's old Christmas tree by Cooper's picture with Santa

Each year I look so forward to getting out that Christmas tree. It was my dad's when he was a little boy, and he gave it to me when I was a little girl. As much as I have always loved it, I love it even more beside this little picture!

Now that we're all decked out, I think Little Man is feeling the excitement too.

Jolly Old St. Nick

Cooper made a visit to see Santa Claus and tell him his Christmas list, which I'm pretty sure only consists of milk and clean diapers, so it's a good thing Santa is creative and can pack some exciting things away in his sleigh for Little Man.

A Visit to Mommy's Side of the Family

Last Thursday we took our first road trip over to Georgia to visit with my mom, grandmother, cousins, aunts, and uncles. This was their first time to meet Cooper, and it was a proud visit for me as I got to show off my little baby! I think Cooper had a great time too as he bonded with his cousin Brady and all his other relatives. It was a wonderful trip!

Cooper with his great-grandmother

Mama with her two great-grandsons

Cooper and Brady (Brady, you're going to be such a good big brother!)

Some fun time with Nana

While we were there, my cousin had her baby shower to celebrate Baby Paxton's upcoming arrival. It was a beautiful shower!

Is this not the prettiest little pregnant lady you've ever seen?!

Stephanie with my Aunt Pam (her mom)

Me and Stephanie

Hannah, Stephanie, and Olivia (our other girl cousins)

The yummy food table-we had fondue, and it was so good! This was my first experience with fondue (sad, I know), and it might be my new favorite thing. We had a cheese one and a white chocolate one and a milk chocolate one and a ton of things to dip in them. It was all delicious!

Alright, I think that just about covers everything. If you made it to the end of this incredibly long post, you deserve an award!